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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
After suffering their first loss of the season last Friday against Olathe South, Washburn Rural softball coach Liz Stover was obviously curious to see how her Junior Blues would bounce back in Tuesday's Centennial League doubleheader at Hayden.
For the most part Stover liked what she saw out of her team, with Rural improving to 7-1 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the league with a 6-0, 13-4 sweep over the Wildcats.
"I'm happy that they did bounce back the way they did,'' Stover said. "I'm happy with a couple of wins but I do think that there's still some things to work on.
"We're a pretty young team overall. We've got a lot of kids that don't have a ton of playing experience for the varsity team so far, so really we're just trying to work on staying consistent and focused.''
Senior standout Emmerson Cope, a Nebraska signee, tossed a no-hitter in the opener with 14 strikeouts and also put the Junior Blues ahead to stay with a two-run home run in the third inning.
Hayden was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the first in the nightcap, but Washburn Rural crushed three home runs in a seven-run second and four in the game on the way to closing out the sweep.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Silver Lake played small ball to create just enough runs to walk off both ends of a doubleheader with Rossville, winning 11-10 and 8-7 Monday night at Silver Lake.
After watching a lead slip away in the first game, the Eagles found themselves in a 10-9 hole in the bottom of the seventh inning. Silver Lake’s Logan Cathcart followed up a Blake Redmond single with a blast to center. The ball glanced off the glove of the fielder who lunged to make the game-ending catch. Cathcart raced to third with a triple.
“I just knew (the Rossville pitcher) was going to come first-pitch fastball and I just had to sit on it and take advantage of it,” Cathcart said. “Once I saw it get by the centerfielder, I just knew I had to get three (bases).”
The junior then danced on the path between third and home, waiting for a pitch to elude the catcher. The opportunity arose, and Cathcart slid across the plate just ahead of a throw to the pitcher who covered home.
“Coach was saying ‘Get ready for the passed ball and be on your toes,’” Cathcart said. “As soon as I saw it get passed (the catcher) I knew I wasn’t going to stop. I had to score.”
“The biggest thing was our resiliency,” Silver Lake coach Tyler Seele said. “It was back and forth, back and forth. Rossville did a good job responding, and I thought every time, we responded right back. It wasn’t always the prettiest. We kind of kicked the ball around a little bit. Our pitchers weren’t on top of hitters like we usually are.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE – Silver Lake handled its deepest rival, Rossville on Monday night with 5-1 and 5-0 Mid-East League wins in a doubleheader matching unbeaten softball teams that could make a deep run in Class 3A this season.
Silver Lake (6-0) has found its groove in the young season so far. Before the Eagles' sweep of Rossville, Silver Lake was coming off two enormous victories against Class 5A softball powerhouse Basehor-Linwood, who hadn’t lost a single home game since 2021 before the Eagles' victories.
“I talked to the girls, and I told them, ‘Don’t worry about the scoreboard and just go play their game,’ ” Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton said. “Every girl has a job, and they’re doing it. I think for once, I’m really feeling the name on the front of their shirt is bigger than anything else on the field right now. That’s been important for us this year. Just focus as a team.”
Silver Lake’s offense has helped balance the team’s overall success. In the twinbill against Rossville, the Eagles had multiple players have standout games.
In Game 1, Taylor Zordel and Raely Sterling had two-hit games, while most of the lineup contributed hits and walks.
Game 2 was similar to the offensive production. Kira Lowrey, Zordel and Kaibryn Kruger significantly impacted the win at the plate.
In addition to the offensive output, excellent starting pitching has contributed to Silver Lake’s scorching hot start this season.
Junior Avery Wende and sophomore Kendra Cook have gone through their season without setbacks and are thriving with undefeated starts.
Wende and Cook both earned wins against Rossville on Monday night. The duo kept Rossville’s stellar offense relatively quiet. The starters allowed one combined run, six hits and fanned seven batters.
“The biggest thing is that they’ve adapted well to our new pitching coach, and they trust their defense,” Hamilton said. “They’re throwing pitches knowing it’s going to get hit, they’re trusting those girls to make plays. I think that’s a big step for them because that’s tough to do in high school ball.
"When you keep the ball in the park, you have girls that can make plays. You saw (Taylor) Zordel make that backhand (play); she can go make some plays. I got some girls that are competitive, they just want to go compete.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2023 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
GIRLS
100 METERS
Nichols, Shawnee Heights 12.36
Marshall, Topeka High 13.17
Ross, Silver Lake 13.36
Steiner, Seaman 13.62
Zuniga, Topeka High 13.76
200 METERS
Nichols, Shawnee Heights 25.88
Brooks, Topeka West 25.98
Fredrickson, Washburn Rural 26.98
Marshall, Topeka High 27.13
Rezac, Rossiville 27.63
400 METERS
Brooks, Topeka West 58.98
Fredrickson, Washburn Rural 60.01
Hillebert, Hayden 60.74
Miller, Seaman 61.85
Rezac, Rossville 63.08
800 METERS
Druse, Seaman 2:21.80
Ismert, Washburn Rural 2:28.92
Carter, Washburn Rural 2:29.51
Foster, Rossville 2:33.78
Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights 2:33.97
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2023 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Dunshee, Hayden 10.94
Rollenhagen, Silver Lake 11.08
Heiman, Silver Lake 11.23
Murph, Topeka High 11.28
Peoples, Topeka High 11.35
200 METERS
Peoples, Topeka High 22.60
Cochran, Seaman 22.70
Rollenhagen, Silver Lake 22.79
Murph, Topeka High 23.06
Berry-Briggs, Shawnee Heights 23.08
Heiman, Silver Lake 23.23
400 METERS
Schrickel, Hayden 51.09
Roeder, Topeka High 51.60
Benz, Shawnee Heights 52.68
Terry, Washburn Rural 52.85
Roney, Washburn Rural 53.04
800 METERS
Moore, Seaman 2:04.63
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 2:05.09
Dial, Washburn Rural 2:05.41
Anderson, Seaman 2:05.59
Johnson, Washburn Rual 2:07.92
1,600 METERS
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 4:23.37
Njoroge, Topeka West 4:24.12
Dial, Washburn Rural 4:33.13
Johnson, Washburn Rural 4:33.46
Jowers, Seaman 4:46.58
3,200 METERS
Njoroge, Topeka West 9:26.36
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 9:31.56
Johnson, Washburn Rural 10:02.87
Fink, Washburn Rual 10:17.98
Jowers, Seaman 10:19.72