By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After a semifinal romp where Washburn Rural's softball did more walking than swinging, it took the Junior Blues awhile to get their offense going in Wednesday's Class 6A regional championship game against Dodge City at Washburn University's Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn Rural senior Olivia Bruno delivers a pitch during Wednesday's Class 6A regional tournament. Bruno pitched a one-hitter and hit a home run in the Junior Blues' 12-0 win over Dodge City. [Photo by Aiden Droge/Special to TSN]
But it took just one swing of Olivia Bruno's bad to take care of that, with Bruno's mammoth home run over the left-field fence jump-starting a nine-run third-inning explosion on the way to a 12-0 victory and a third straight trip to the 6A state tournament.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning a Class 6A regional championship Wednesday with a 12-0 win over Dodge City. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural, which has now won 18 straight games, was locked in a scoreless tie with Dodge City through two and a half innings, but Bruno hammered a leadoff homer in the bottom of the third and the rest of the game belonged to the Junior Blues, now 20-2 on the season.
"I think we just needed something to get it going, and that sure did,'' said Bruno, who has now hit 11 round-trippers on the year. "We just started hitting and it was really good.''
Washburn Rural coach Tricia Vogel agreed.
"We needed a little spark,'' Vogel said. "I think we were playing a little tight to start with because the further you make it along in postseason the more pressure there is.
"It was a team we hadn't seen before and we didn't really know a whole lot about them and didn't quite make the adjustment at the plate so (Bruno) came out big with the spark we needed.''
Washburn Rural added three runs in the fourth en route to ending the game through four and a half innings by way of the 10-run spread rule.
Bruno also turned in a dominating performance in the pitching circle, limiting the Red Demons (16-6) to a first-inning single while striking out 12.
"We just wanted to come out and show everyone what we've got and what we've been working towards this whole year,'' Bruno said.
Washburn Rural had nine hits against Dodge City, with senior Kayden Smith and sophomore Kaci Bath both contributing triples while sophomore Emmerson Cope doubled twice and junior Campbell Bagshaw also had a double.
The championship game was played in an intermittent rain, but Vogel said Rural was thankful just to get the tournament completed.
"This is just crazy,'' Vogel said. "I've never seen weather like this where every day is just rain, so it's just nice we have a place to play. I'm just super thankful to coach (Brenda) Holaday and Washburn for letting us use the field and get the game in because our field's under water.''
Rural took a 10-0 run-rule game over Hutchinson in the semifinal, with Cope and Bruno combining for a one-hitter.
Bruno pitched the first two innings before Cope worked the final three innings and picked up the win.
Offensively, the Junior Blues had just four hits, including a triple from Smith and a double from Bath, but Rural took advantage of eight walks and two hit batsmen.
Rural scored five runs in the first against Hutchinson and added three runs in the second and single runs in the fourth and fifth.
The 6A state tournament will be played next Thursday and Friday (May 27-28) at the Shawnee Mission District Softball Complex.
Washburn Rural was the state runner-up in 2019 after placing third in '18.
CLASS 6A REGIONAL SOFTBALL
Championship
WASHBURN RURAL 12, DODGE CITY 0
Dodge City (16-6) 000 00 -- 0 1 2
Washburn Rural (20-2) 009 3x -- 12 9 0
Lopp, Lenz (3) and Miller. Bruno and Louderback. W -- Bruno. L -- Lopp. 2B -- Washburn Rural: Cope 2, Bagshaw. 3B -- Washburn Rural: Smith, Bath. HR -- Washburn Rural: Bruno.
Semifinal
WASHBURN RURAL 10, HUTCHINSON 0
Hutchinson 000 00 -- 0 1 2
Washburn Rural 530 11 -- 10 4 0
Lusk and Smith. Bruno, Cope (3) and Louderback, Rapp. W -- Cope. L -- Lusk. 2B -- Washburn Rural: Bath. 3B -- Washburn Rural: Smith.
