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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman and Shawnee Heights softball and Heights' baseball team all gave themselves a chance to advance to Friday's Class 5A state tournament semifinals on the Wichita State campus.

But at the end of the day all three city powers had suffered heartbreaking one-run losses, including a 17-inning setback for the Viking softball team, and all were eliminated from state competition.

Seaman opened the 5A softball tournament and dropped a 3-2 decision to top seed and undefeated Maize South in the 3 hour, 35-minute marathon which set a record for the longest game (for innings) in Wilkins Stadium history while Shawnee Heights suffered a 3-2 walkoff loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the final softball game of the day and T-Bird baseball dropped a 7-6 decision to Hays.

Seaman senior Kaelyn O'Rourke celebrates an out against Maize South in Thursday's Class 5A state softball tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]

Seaman, which finished its season at 20-9, was locked in a scoreless deadlock with 29-0 Maize South through five innings before the Vikings took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double from junior Aubrey Warren.

Seaman senior Anna Mclaughlin scores against Maize South in the sixth inning of the Class 5A state softball tournament.

Maize South answered with a run in the bottom of the inning and the score remained 1-1 until the top of the 16th when Seaman went up 2-1 when senior pinch-runner Phoebe Brodine scampered home after singles from senior Raegan McConnell and sophomore Lauren Glasgow.

The Mavericks answered again in the bottom of the 16th when senior Sophie Stockam knocked in the tying run with a run-scoring flyball.

Maize South, which was playing Seaman in the first round for the second straight season (also a 3-2 South win), pushed across the winning run when junior Kinley Davis singled, stole second and third and scored when the ball got away from Seaman after the throw to third.

Seaman coach Daniel Ruda said that in a game like Thursday's there were plays throughout the 17 innings that could have been difference-makers.

"One bounce here, one bounce there and it's a different game,'' Ruda said. "That's what I told the girls. I'm so proud of them, how hard they played. There were some great plays that we made on defense to stop some of their rallies and it seemed like every time they had runners on we locked in and we made the play. Just one ball got away from us and that was the difference today.''

Seaman senior pitcher Kaelyn O'Rourke, who had battled through an injury throughout the season, turned in a yeoman effort for the Vikings, limiting the Mavericks to a single run in 13 innings before giving way to freshman Lydia Dreher.

Maize South countered with Stockam in the circle, with the Maize South star recording all but one out in the game, throwing the first 15 innings and then returning later in the 16th after sophomore Kinslee Cottner got in some trouble.

Stockam threw 223 pitches on the day.

Saints rally past T-Birds in seventh

Shawnee Heights' softball team spent most of Thursday sitting around and waiting for the chance to play, with the T-Birds' game against St. Thomas Aquinas starting a little over three hours later than its scheduled game time of 5 p.m.

Shawnee Heights senior Grace Proctor pitches against St. Thomas Aquinas in the 5A State Softball Tournament at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

But when Heights (20-7) finally did get on the field it turned in a stellar performance, taking a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh against the 2024 state runnerup Saints before No. 3 seed Aquinas (25-2) rallied in the seventh for a 3-2 win.

"A real long day for us to be quite honest. We've been here for a long time and it's a tough day,'' Shawnee Heights coach Tara Griffith said. "I thought we battled. They're a real good team.

"We played them 2-1 earlier this year so the fact that we had a lead on them going into the seventh (was good).''

Heights and Aquinas were locked in a scoreless deadlock through five innings before senior Grace Proctor doubled and junior Cianna Graves singled to put the T-Birds in business. Sophomore Grace Samuels came on as a pinch-runner and scored the game's first run on a wild pitch.

Shawnee Heights senior Taylor Brees races to third base in the Class 5A state tournament game against St. Thomas Aquinas Thursday at Wilkins Stadium. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]

Heights went up 2-0 in the top of the seventh when junior Jaidyn Euwer doubled and scored. Senior Taylor Brees was stranded at third after a triple.

Proctor took a four-hit shutout into the seventh but the Saints opened their final at bat with a bunt single from Shalynn Elmore before Clara Pinkham and Addison Sabers delivered back-to-back one-out doubles to tie the game.

Sabers got to third and scored the game-winning run on an RBI foul flyout to right by freshman Lauren Huenfeld.

Indians come back from early deficit for 7-6 win

No. 4 seed Shawnee Heights baseball looked like it was headed to the Class 5A semifinals after opening up a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, but Hays battled back to take a 7-6 quarterfinal victory at Eck Stadium. 

Shawnee Heights' Jackson Hayes slides home to score against Hays in the Class 5A state baseball tournament at Eck Stadium in Wichita on Thursday. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]

No. 5 Hays answered with a five-run fifth to take a 6-5 lead, but Heights scored a run in the bottom of the inning to knot the game at 6-6.

Shawnee Heights' Deacon Pomeroy pitches against Hays in the Class 5A State baseball tournament at Eck Stadium in Wichita on Thursday. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]

The Indians (19-8) scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the top of the sixth and were able to keep the T-Birds off the scoreboard in their final two at bats despite Heights hitting several balls hard, including a lineout to left from senior star Deacon Pomeroy to end the game.

"This was one of those games where I thought we swung it really well,'' T-Bird coach Jason Brown said. "Like the last inning we hit three straight barrels and just couldn't find a gap or a hole.

"Just like they've done all year long, they put us in a position to win. We just came up short today.''

Heights went 21-8 in its first season under Brown, winning United Kansas Conference and regional championships.

"I'm so proud of this team,'' Brown said. "They worked their tails off every day to get to this point and like we told them, they far exceeded our expectations. We didn't know what we were going to have coming into this year and the work that they put in, even in the offseason before the season started and practices and all of that stuff I couldn't be proud and more humbled for my first year as a head coach.''