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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seaman’s softball team scored 22 runs in 12 combined innings in Friday’s Centennial League doubleheader at Hummer Sports Park.
Seaman shut out Topeka West 11-0 in the first game and won 11-4 in the second game.
Seaman’s two-strike approach worked wonders for the Lady Vikes on Friday.
The Lady Vikes were walked 16 times in both games. Most of the walks were a result of the Vikings being patient when they were in a pitcher’s count.
Seaman senior Rylee Murray reached base eight times in Friday's doubleheader sweep over Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“I thought our kids executed a lot of the things we were working on pretty well,” Seaman coach Jay Monhollon said. “They did well the baserunning and put themselves in good situations to keep advancing us. I was pleased with how our kids came out with great energy as well. Gordy (Ramos) does a great job with (West). They are developing fast and we knew that. (West) is making great strides.”
Seaman outfielder Rylee Murray had an impressive two games on Friday. Murray got on base eight times out of her nine plate appearances. Murray was even able to hit a two-run triple in Game 2, giving Seaman its first extra-base hit of the day.
“It was a battle every time I got up,” Murray said. “Credit to (West), I was down two strikes almost every single time. With the triple, it felt nice that I was able to hit my teammates in. None of this is possible without the people I’m surrounded by.”
Seaman senior Skylar Duncan starred in the pitching circle in both games Friday as the Vikings took a pair of Centennial League wins over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
One of the key contributors to Seaman’s Friday night success was pitcher Skylar Duncan. Duncan pitched a complete game shutout in Game 1 and sat down six straight batters in the second game, giving the Lady Vikes the sweep.
“I thought I could’ve done better today,” Duncan said. “My teammates were able to hit the ball great tonight. When my teammates are hitting like they did tonight, I really don’t feel any pressure to over-perform.”
In game one’s 11-0 shutout over Topeka West, Seaman kept the game plan simple. Get on base.
The Lady Vikes collected nine hits with 11 runs. Surprisingly, Seaman didn’t collect an extra-base hit in the five-inning effort. That wasn’t necessary.
Brilea Flott led Seaman with three hits, all singles. Murray got on base three times with two walks and a single.
Seaman’s ace, Duncan, only allowed one hit to the Chargers in the first game. Duncan allowed a small number of free passes and trusted her defense by pitching to contact. Duncan didn’t fill up the scorebook with strikeouts, she got the job done by doing the simple things right.
“Offensively and on defense, we struggled in the first game,” Topeka West's Ramos said. “We gave up too many walks and it put a lot of pressure on our defense to do everything perfectly. It wasn’t our best effort in the first game.”
The defense was rock solid from Seaman again in the nightcap, with Aspen Burgardt was in the circle for the Lady Vikes.
Burgardt’s outing lasted five innings. In the five innings, Burgardt allowed four runs and seven hits and only gave up one walk. Like fellow teammate Duncan, Burgardt let her teammates behind her work. Burgardt only struck out two batters, but the outing was still successful.
Although Topeka West lost by seven runs, pitcher Amia Alexander-Sims showed serious poise in the effort. Sims pitched the entire seven-inning game and was able to fan 11 Seaman batters.
A few wild pitches, walks and a few basehits allowed Seaman to get a comfortable seven-run lead before the third inning concluded. Topeka West needed to mount an offensive attack to chip at the large deficit.
Sophomore shortstop Siani Sanchez was a bright spot for Topeka West in Friday's Centennial League twinbill against Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Things were slow for Topeka West until the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore shortstop Siani Sanchez would bring in two runners with a hard hit triple that landed in the centerfield warning track.
“(Sanchez) has improved a lot,” Ramos said. “She is just a sophomore. She does everything we ask her to do. She didn’t have as many hits as we would’ve liked today, but every hit that she did make had an impact on us.
“The sky is truly the limit for that girl.”
Seaman was able to shut the door on Topeka West’s short-lived success with solid pitching from Burgardt and Duncan.
“We have things we want to carry over from tonight and we also have plenty of things to work on,” Monhollon said. “I’d like for us to be even more patient with our plate appearances and we have some stuff to clean up on defense.”
First game
SEAMAN 11, TOPEKA WEST 0
Seaman 320 06X X – 11 9 0
Topeka West 000 00X X – 0 1 4
W – Duncan. L – Stafford.
Second game
Seaman 223 202 0 – 11 6 1
Topeka West 100 030 0 – 4 7 2
W – Burgardt. L – Alexander-Sims. 2B -- Topeka West: Sanchez. 3B -- Seaman: Murray. Topeka West: Sanchez.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
New Washburn University women’s basketball coach Lora Westling kept it brief in her introductory press conference Friday as the sixth head coach in program history in the McPherson Booster Room of Lee Arena.
“It’s a little surreal to be standing on this side of Lee Arena,” Westling said. “It’s an honor to have been selected as the next head coach at Washburn. Obviously huge, huge, shoes to fill, if that’s even possible. But (I am) looking forward to the challenge and just really thrilled to be here.”
Former Washburn standout Lora Westling was introduced Friday as the Ichabods' new women's basketball coach. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
The former national championship-winning player for the Ichabods, then Lady Blues, was presented with her old number 42 jersey and signature headband by Athletic Director Loren Ferré when she was introduced.
A member of the women’s basketball team from 2001-05, Westling cited the people around Washburn as a big reason why the decision to come back was so easy.
The Casper, Wyoming native thanked her parents and family for coming down for the conference. She also gave thanks to the players, coaches and staff at Western Colorado where she spent the past six seasons.
Westling gave praise to previous head coach Ron McHenry, who coached Westling in her time at Washburn, as well as assistant coaches Brette Herber and Erika Lane Yoder for the culture that had been built.
“That’s a gift, sometimes you don’t always walk into that situation. So we got great players here, great players coming in, and a great foundation to build from so I am very grateful for that,” Westling said.
Westling’s playing career ended with the 2005 national championship run, one she hopes to repeat, this time on the sidelines.
“The expectations are the same,” Westling said. “We want to win championships, we want to have great people, and we want to make the community better in every way we can.”
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Baseball is a game of slumps and struggles which is why Washburn University was just happy to be back in the win column with a 7-5 mid-week win over Northwest Missouri State (14-23).
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, Northwest has been playing well,” said WU coach Harley Douglas. “Overall I thought our guys fought really well, early on especially and didn’t let us get that turtle in a shell look.”
The victory comes on the heels of two home losses to Central Oklahoma by a combined 17 runs. The Ichabods (25-13) relied on its bullpen going five deep to throw 5⅔ scoreless innings to close the game.
“I thought we did a good job of coming out. We kind of lulled there in the middle, didn’t swing as well as we needed to at certain points,” Douglas said. “But they did a good job against us.”
Connor Scott (left) celebrates a home run with his Ichabod teammates in Wednesday's 7-5 MIAA win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Washburn senior Trevor Marrell pitched a scoreless inning in Wednesday's 7-5 MIAA win over Northwest Missouri. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
The stand alone match with the Bearcats counted as a conference game, with Washburn moving to 15-9 in MIAA play as the Ichabods get set for seven straight games on the road.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Three different city swimmers took a combined six first-place finishes on Wednesday in the Topeka West Invitational at the Capitol Federal Natatorium.
Topeka West swimmer Kadence Jeffries took first place finishes in both the 100 and 500-yard freestyle events and has yet to lose an individual event in swimming competition in 2022.
“I prepare myself mentally the night before each event,” Jeffries said. “As soon as I get on those blocks the day after, nerves kick in just a bit. When I get in, that adrenaline helps me do the best I can. The training that I’ve had also helps me compete and do the best that I can every single day.”
Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries continued her undefeated swimming season Wednesday with a pair of wins in the Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“Watching our girls swim is amazing,” Topeka West coach Courtney Johnson said. “With Kadence swimming three events in a row and Blanca (Espinosa) swimming two events in a row, and everyone else swimming in separate events is great to watch. With Kadence, she just always wants to go and be in events. I’m proud of our team.”
Seaman swimmers Avery Walz and Gabby Grace also took two first-place finishes in their respective individual events and won four gold medals overall. The Viking swimmers helped their team finish in second place.
Seaman sophomore Avery Walz posted a pair of individual wins and four gold medals overall in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman senior Gabby Grace captured four gold medals, two individual wins and two relays, in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A. Walz was the first place finisher in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke. Grace won both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke events
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After engineering an impressive turnaound at Topeka High, Trojan girls basketball coach Hannah Alexander confirmed to TopSports.news Thursday morning that she has accept the head coaching job at Andover High School.
"It's closer to family,'' said Alexander, who has led the Trojans to four straight Class 6A state tournament appearances with a pair of runner-up finishes. "My mom lives in Kingman and then (her husband) Blake's sister lives in Andover, so we will be closer to family and that's the whole reason behind it.''
Topeka High girls basketball coach Hannah Alexander, who has led the Trojans to an 88-8 record over the past four seasons, confirmed Thursday morning that she has accepted a position at Andover High School. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Alexander, who's team is coming off a 20-3 season, said it was an extremely difficult decision to leave Topeka High.
"It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make,'' said Alexander, a Kingman native. "The girls are great and it's a great place to be. I'm thankful for the time and experience that I've had.
"I've learned a lot from being here and I've met some amazing people -- players, coaches. My coaching staff I've been with for eight years so that's really hard (to leave), too, because we've been through a lot of ups and downs. So it was definitely not an easy decision, but it is for the family and to be closer to family.
"The boys are going to be starting school soon, so getting to a spot that we feel is comfortable for them I think is very important.''
