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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Seaman Vikings softball team had thunder in their bats Thursday in 4-2 and 14-2 United Kansas Conference victories over city rival Topeka West, tallying 26 hits across the two games at Seaman.
Junior Aubrey Warren had three hits with a double in the first game and a home run and three RBI in the second game as Seaman took a 4-2, 14-2 UKC sweep over Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ace pitcher Kaelyn O’Rourke set the tone to start Game 1 of the twinbill for the Vikings, striking out the side in the top of the first.
Seaman put a run on the board in the bottom half of the inning, with Aubrey Warren crossing the plate on a Natalee Simpson single.
The visiting Chargers looked to answer, putting together back-to-back singles from Mya Miller and Christina Briggs to put pressure on the Vikings, but O’Rourke struck out opposing pitcher Jordyn White, a freshman, to put an end to the threat.
The Seaman offense went back to work in the bottom of the third, with Warren scoring again on a Simpson single and courtesy runner Phoebe Brodine coming around to score on an error to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead.
Seaman senior pitcher Kaelyn O'Rourke struck out six hitters in Thursday's 4-2 first-game win over Topeka West, [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After three shutout innings from O’Rourke, Seaman coach Dan Ruda turned to freshman Kynnedi Kitzman to start the top of the fourth.
Topeka West found its first run of the game in the frame, with Callie Jones drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on a Briggs single to cut the deficit to 3-1.
After Kitzman shut down the Chargers in the top of the fifth, Seaman added an insurance run in the bottom half, with Simpson recording her third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Topeka West showed signs of life to begin the top of the sixth when Jones launched a home run over the left-field fence to make it a 4-2 game.
After giving up the solo shot, Kitzman settled in and recorded the final six outs without allowing a hit or walk to earn the save for the Vikings.
Seaman recorded 11 hits in Game 1, with Warren leading the way with a 3 for 4 outing. Simpson went 2 for 2 for the Vikings, driving in a run in each of her three plate appearances.
O’Rourke earned the win in the circle, striking out six over three innings pitched.
Topeka West senior shortstop Callie Jones scored both of West's first-game runs in a 4-2 loss to Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Isabella Kutina and Briggs each had two hits in the loss for Topeka West, while Jones tallied both runs scored for the Chargers.
In Game 2, the Vikings sent out another freshman pitcher, Lydia Dreher, who retired the Chargers in order in the top of the first.
Seaman got on the board early again, jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a Raegan McConnell RBI double and an O’Rourke RBI single.
The hosts tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second, with Kayleigh Neill driving in Addison Sibley after Sibley’s leadoff double.
A few batters later, McConnell added her second RBI in as many innings with a single up the middle to give Seaman a 4-0 lead.
After a third hitless inning from Dreher in the top of the third, the Vikings broke the contest open with a seven-run bottom of the third.
With the bases loaded following two singles and a walk, Sibley hit a sacrifice fly to center field to push the Seaman lead to 5-0.
With two outs in the inning, the Vikings rattled off five consecutive hits, including a two-run double from Anna McLaughlin and a two-run home run to center field by Warren.
O’Rourke and Simpson each added RBI doubles before the Chargers managed to record the final out of the inning.
Topeka West chipped away at the deficit in the top of the fourth, starting the inning with three straight singles.
Jones drew a walk with the bases loaded, and Addaline Hall came in to score on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 11-2.
Seaman added three more runs in the bottom of the inning, starting with a leadoff single from Kinsley Smith.
The Vikings took advantage of four Charger errors in the inning to reach the final score of 14-2.
The hosts had 15 hits in the nightcap, with each starter recording at least one hit.
Warren drove in three runs in a 2 for 4 effort, while McConnell went a perfect 3 for 3 with two runs driven in.
Dreher went the distance in the circle, going five innings while allowing only two runs and striking out five.
With O’Rourke working her way back from a minor shoulder injury, Ruda was pleased with the way his two freshman pitchers took the pressure off of their star senior.
“(Kitzman and Dreher) have done a really good job of stepping up in (O’Rourke’s) absence, and getting that varsity experience right away,” Ruda said. “(We're) trusting all of our pitchers to go in and get the job done, and just trying to keep kids healthy for the long run.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural tennis got a runnerup doubles finish from juniors Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham and a third-place singles finish from junior Keegan Knudtson on the way to finishing second as a team in Tuesday's 10-school Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center.
Washburn Rural's Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham, talking to Rural coach Michelle Rose, finished second in doubles in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Deutscher and Willingham rallied from an early deficit to win their semifinal match before dropping an 8-7 (7-3 tiebreaker) to Blue Valley Southwest in the doubles championship match.
Washburn Rural junior Keegan Knudtson finished third in singles in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational, helping Rural finish third as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After dropping a semifinal match to singles champion Sanjay Rajkumar of Blue Valley Southwest, Knudtson claimed an 8-3 win over Shawnee Heights' Brock Corley in the third-place match.
Blue Valley Southwest took the team title by a 79-68 margin over Washburn Rural.
Topeka West's Julian Ramcharan and Collin McGee led the Chargers with a sixth-place doubles finish in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West got a sixth-place doubles finish from Collin McGee and Julian Ramcharan.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park sophomore Micah Williams scored six goals in Tuesday's 7-2 Meadowlark Conference home girls soccer win over Kansas City-Washington.
Highland Park sophomore Micah Williams scored six goals in Tuesday's 7-2 girls soccer win over KC-Washington. [File photo/TSN]
Williams, an All-City pick last season as a freshman, now has 13 goals on the season after helping the Scots improve to 2-6-1 on the year.
Williams now has scored 36 goals in her career after scoring 23 goals as a freshman.
The Scots will return to action on Thursday with a Meadowlark Conference contest at KC-Wyandotte.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
MAYETTA -- Hayden senior Tagen Rodriguez shot a 71 to lead city golfers in Tuesday's Washburn Rural Firekeeper Open while Hayden and Rural recorded top-five finishes in the 12-school tournament at Firekeeper Golf Course.
Hayden senior Tagen Rodriguez tied for third place with a 71 in Tuesday's Firekeeper Open, leading the Wildcats to a fourth-place team finish in the 12-school event. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rodriguez tied for third place individually with his one-under-par round, leading the Wildcats to a fourth-place team finish with a four-man score of 303 while Washburn Rural was just a stroke behind at 304 to place fifth as junior Michael Wilson led the Junior Blues with a 74.
Junior Michael Wilson led Washburn Rural with a 74 in Tuesday's Firekeeper Open. [Washburn Rural golf]
Hayden senior James Kuta shot a 73 in Tuesday's Firekeeper Open, tying for 10th place. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior James Kuta tied for 10th individually with a 73 while the Wildcats got a 79 from junior Mateo Garcia, 80s from seniors Nick Gorman and Colin Scott and an 81 from junior Austin Bean.
Rural had five players shoot in the 70s Tuesday, with senior Xoaquin Overbey carding a 76 while senior Tagan Monasmith and junior Higgins Hawks had 77s and senior Tadd Armstrong a 78.
Junior Ayden Valdivia led Shawnee Heights with an 81.
St. James Academy won the team title with a 288 four-man score, led by sophomore individual medalist Josh Fratzel, who shot a five-under 67.
Shawnee Mission East finished second as a team at 290, with the Lancers getting a second-place individual finish from junior Hudson Bennish, who shot a 69.
Firekeeper Open
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
After a rough start to the season, the Shawnee Heights girls soccer team is on an upward trajectory with four wins in a row, the latest a 2-1 United Kansas Conference win Tuesday night at Seaman.
Senior Izzy Van Fleet (12) scored the game's first goal in Tuesday's 2-1 Shawnee Heights UKC soccer win at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Riding the wave of a three-game win streak, the T-Birds struck early, scoring just 34 seconds into the contest. Senior Izzy Van Fleet received a pass through traffic from sophomore Nina O’Neill-Bolanos in front of the Seaman goal and punched it home before the crowd could settle in.
But the Vikings struck back just as quickly. Junior Savannah Nelson scored off a pass from junior Ava Golightley at the 37:37 mark, wiping out the T-Birds’ early advantage.
Sophomore Nina O'Neill-Bolanos (2) scored the game-winning goal and also had an assist in Tuesday night's 2-1 Shawnee Heights soccer win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With 3:48 remaining in the first half, O’Neill-Bolanos launched a long strike off a free kick that sailed just over the outstretched arm of the Viking goalkeeper, putting the T-Birds up 2-1.
“We’ve seen that song and dance all season,” Shawnee Heights coach Nic Simons said. “We score early and then give up a couple of goals and start to have that self-doubt. But tonight, we were able to put that out of our heads and we took the lead, and we didn’t look back.”
The score would hold throughout the second half, thanks in large part to the work of goalkeeper Mackenzie Mertel.
“We didn’t get our heads down and we were able to battle against a very good Seaman team with some super dangerous players,” Simons said. “My hat’s off to them. This was just a great soccer match.”
Shawnee Heights celebrates a goal in Tuesday night's 2-1 UKC soccer win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The win lifted the T-Birds to 4-3-1 after an 0-3-1 start to the season.
“It feels amazing. I’m very proud of our team,” said Van Fleet. “We’ve worked really hard to be where we are right now in the middle of the season. We might have had a rocky start, but we did come back. And I think we’re going to do some amazing things for the rest of the season and postseason.”
