By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Topeka High used a defensive gem to hold off Blue Valley and advance to the semifinal round of the Class 6A state softball tournament, winning 5-4 Tuesday at the Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia.
Trailing 5-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Blue Valley put two runners on with no outs.
Topeka High sophomore first baseman Remi Cushinberry completes a potentially game-saving double play in the seventh inning of the Trojans' 5-4 Class 6A state quarterfinal game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Desperate to protect the lead, Topeka High third baseman Taimane Isaia smothered a hot smash, stepped on third and then threw across the infield for a dazzling double play, leaving the Tigers with just a runner at second.
It turned out to be the play of the game because Blue Valley’s next batter blasted a home run. Instead of tying the game, the Tigers still trailed by a run, thanks to Isaia’s defensive heroics.
“Funny thing is, I called timeout there, and I said, ‘Guys, we’re gonna get a groundball double play here,’” said Topeka High coach Shane Miles. “That was a huge thing because then you go from the tying run at the plate to now they’ve got to get some more batters up.”
“We’d been throwing inside the whole game, so I was close to the line,” Isaia said. “I was ready for that ball, and I knew in my head, ‘Ball first. Make the play at third first.’ What I didn’t expect was for my throw to go so high, but I got Remi (Cushinberry) at first and she’s got my back at all times.”
Junior pitcher Campbell Dawson went the distance for the win in Tuesday's 5-4 Topeka High Class 6A quarterfinal win over Blue Valley. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High softball celebrates Tuesday's 5-4 Class 6A quarterfinal win over Blue Valley after recording the final out. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Following the Tiger homer, Topeka High pitcher Campbell Dawson settled down to induce a game-ending flyout. Dawson went the distance for the Trojans, scattering nine hits. She worked around trouble in each of the first four innings before locking in. She set the Tigers down in order in the fifth and sixth frames. Miles stayed committed to Dawson even when Blue Valley rallied in the seventh.
“Campbell didn’t have her best stuff today, but she battled and battled and battled, and our girls made plays behind her,” Miles said. “It was her game.”
The Trojans capitalized on leadoff hits in the first and third innings with bunts and productive outs. Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Topeka High’s Madilyn Poole delivered the big hit – a bases-loaded single to score two more runs.
“We had some very clutch hitting,” Miles said. “We put pressure on defenses, and we allow that defense to make errors. And that’s what we did today. Putting pressure with bunts and then getting key hits.”
Making their second consecutive trip to state, the Trojans improved on last season’s exit in the first round. They will face Gardner Edgerton at 3 p.m. Thursday at Wichita State University.
“This is amazing,” Isaia said. “People never expected us to be here. But we’re a hard-working team. We know all these teams want these games. These games are going to be hard back-and-forth. And I know my girls. At the end of the day, we’re gonna push through mentally.''
The current Trojan players are too young to have been on the team when Topeka High won back-to-back state titles in 2021 and 2022. But Miles, the coach of those championship teams, knows this group wants to leave a legacy of its own.
“It was a very emotional win for us,” Miles said of winning the quarterfinal match. “(These players) got there last year and they weren’t satisfied. But winning that first game and going to Wichita, now you never know what can happen.”
TOPEKA HIGH 5, BLUE VALLEY 4
Blue Valley (20-7) 001 100 2 -- 4 9 2
Topeka High (26-3) 102 200 x -- 5 8 0
Cisneros and Gilstrap, Reinert (4). Dawson and Chard. W -- Dawson. L -- Cisneros. 2B -- Blue Valley: Gilstrap, Ross. Topeka High: Isaia 2, Backman. HR -- Blue Valley: Gilstrap.
