- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Despite battling throughout, Hayden's softball team suffered a pair of Centennial League losses to Class 6A state power Washburn Rural on Tuesday at Hayden.
Hayden senior pitching standout Alyssa Droge has battled through three knee injuries and a cancer fight to lead the Wildcat softball team this spring. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But after everything Wildcat senior pitching standout Alyssa Droge has battled through, it's going to take a lot more than a couple of losses to wipe the smile off her face.
Droge's problems started back in her freshman year, beginning a series of three knee surgeries that disrupted her career.
"My first one was my freshman year in December (2019) playing basketball and my second one was in March or April of my sophomore year during softball,'' Droge said. "I think I got through about half the season. The third one happened the 3rd of July this past year in 2022 during summer ball and I just had it done real fast. The third one was a meniscus and slight ACL and the other two were ACLs.''
But as tough as the injuries were to battle through, Droge received her scariest news in August of 2021 when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"I had six months of chemo,'' Droge said. "I went to Children's Mercy (in Kansas City, Mo.) for one week every month for six months.''
Droge finally got some good news in late '21 when she found out that her cancer was in remission.
"My last chemo was on Christmas Eve and I officially began remission Jan. 11 of 2022,'' she said.
Droge admitted that she got to the point of 'Why me?' during her numerous battles, but did her best to maintain a positive attitude.
"I was like, 'When is this going to end?' '' Droge said. "But you've just got to fight through it. You're only given what you can handle and only what the Lord knows you can get through.''
Droge credits an amazing support system for helping her get through everything that was thrown at her.
"It was incredible,'' she said. "From fundraisers to getting cards from people at school while I was in the hospital, it was insane everyone that reached out and hearing everyone every time I see them just saying they were praying for me just means so much.''
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Hayden baseball didn’t have much to grumble about at the end of its day on Tuesday after the Wildcats posted a pair of run-rule victories against Topeka West in the non-league doubleheader at Haydenl.
The Wildcats displayed great patience at the plate and capitalized on nearly all of its opportunities offensively. In Game 1, with an eight-run first inning helping Hayden take a 10-0 win that took five innings. Then, in Game 2, the Wildcats earned an 11-1 victory that took six innings.
Cooper Grace helped Hayden baseball post a non-league twinbill sweep over Topeka West on Tuesday, 10-0 and 11-1. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“At the plate, I thought we squared some balls up and hit some balls hard, which is good,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “Hopefully, we build on our at-bats a little bit.”
Several Hayden batters finished the day with eye-popping stat lines in the doubleheader sweep.
Senior Jackson Summers had a combined five hits, including two doubles, a triple, four stolen bases, two walks and four RBI.
Cooper Grace, Dylan Foster, Konnor Becker, Easton Blosser and Brady Heinen had at least one game with multiple hits.
In addition, players such as Bradyn Rose, Evan Lenherr, Summers, Grace and Foster had various RBI games.
“The guys and I have been hitting the ball a lot trying to get better,” Summers said. “I felt good with the way I played today, but a lot of other guys hit well, too. I think we swing it really well and have a good zone. I’d like to maintain that same approach that we had today and just keep swinging the bat.”
- Details
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.
Washburn Rural senior Emmerson Cope hit a two-run home run in a 6-0 first-game win at Hayden and pitched a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Emmerson Cope (right) is congratulated by teammates after her first-game home run in Rural's 6-0 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
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.
- Details
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.
Silver Lake's Logan Cathcart set up a walkoff win for the Eagles in Monday's 11-10 first-game win with a seventh-inning triple. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Silver Lake's Dysen Schooler (7) and Logan Cathcart (9) celebrate the Eagles' walkoff 11-10 first-game win over rival Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
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.”
- Details
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.
Silver Lake junior Raely Sterling (5) is mobbed by her Eagle teammates after a first-game home run in Monday's doubleheader against Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Avery Wende pitched a complete-game victory in Silver Lake's 5-1 first-game win over Rossville on Monday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“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.”
