By Michael Buhler
TSnews
Three local baseball teams came agonizingly close to punching their tickets to their respective State tournaments last week.
The Cheney Cardinals, Eisenhower Tigers and Goddard Lions each reached the finals of their respective regionals, only to come up short in their respective championship games.
Goddard lost 6-1 in the finals of the Class 5A Andover Central regional to the host school last Thursday, while Eisenhower suffered a 4-3 loss to top-seeded – and host – Maize South in its regional final that same day. Meanwhile, Cheney lost 5-3 to top-seeded Wichita Collegiate in the finals of the Class 3A Kingman regional last Friday.
Cardinals can’t hold off Collegiate
The Cheney Cardinals had a 3-2 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth inning in last Friday’s regional final against Wichita Collegiate, but the Spartans scored solo runs in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to rally for the win.
Cheney ended the season with a record of 16-5.
Jackson Voth and Trent Canaan each had a pair of hits in the loss, while Harrison Voth struck out six in 4 2/3 innings on the mound.
The Cardinals used strong pitching to reach the final, allowing three hits and one run over their first two regional games.
Cheney opened regionals strong last Thursday as Blake Molyneux tossed a one-hitter, striking out seven and walking three. He also had two hits to lead the offense.
Logan Bartlett tossed a two-hitter against Kingman-Norwich in the semifinals, striking out seven and walking none while going the distance. Bartlett, Harrison Voth and Jack Gregory each had a pair of hits, while Trenton Reitmayer drove in two runs.
Cheney 010 200 0 – 3 7 4
Collegiate 101 111 x – 5 7 4
Trinity 000 000 0 – 0 1 1
Cheney 000 020 x – 2 7 0
W – Molyneux.
Kingman 000 010 0 – 1 2 1
Cheney 113 002 x – 7 9 1
W – Bartlett.
Tigers lose in final despite tossing no-hitter
The Eisenhower Tigers got a combined no-hitter from Owen Reynolds and Chance Holmgren in last Thursday’s regional championship at Maize South, but could not overcome four errors in a 4-3 loss to the host Mavericks.
The game was a battle of State-ranked teams, as the Mavericks are the No. 7 team in Class 5A and Eisenhower (14-8) is ranked 10th.
Ethan Eddy tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the sixth inning when he doubled home Reynolds and Jason McCarty for the Tigers, but Maize South (16-6) capitalized on two Tiger errors in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the unlikely win.
Reynolds struck out eight in six innings, but ended with a no-decision.
In the semifinal against Great Bend earlier that day, Tyner Horn and Trey Omli combined for a two-hit shutout of the Panthers in a 9-0 win. McCarty, Mason Turney and Carson Adams each had three hits, while Reynolds, Adams and Owen Rush each drove in two runs.
Eisenhower 000 102 0 – 3 5 4
Maize South 001 200 1 – 4 0 1
L – Holmgren.
Great Bend 000 000 0 – 0 2 1
Eisenhower 212 121 x – 9 15 1
W – Horn.
Lions come up short against No. 2 Jaguars
The Goddard Lions found their path to the Class 5A State tournament blocked by one of the top teams in all of Kansas.
The Lions (12-10) stayed close with Andover Central – who is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A – for 5 1/2 innings until the Jaguars scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull away for a 6-1 win. Lake Hamilton drove in Goddard’s lone run in the top of the fifth inning, while Mason Healy had three hits to lead the offense.
In the semifinal earlier that day, the Lions rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-5 win over Maize. Tyler Haskell drove in three runs for Goddard, while Seth Wilhelm drove in a pair. Wilhelm and Jaden Wiley each added a pair of hits.
Goddard 000 010 0 – 1 5 3
A. Central 110 004 x – 5 8 0
L – Watkins.
Goddard 001 114 0 – 7 8 3
Maize 000 041 0 – 5 6 0
W – Shope. Sv – Read.
Colts fall to Derby in regional opener
The Campus Colts ran into the No. 5 team in Class 6A in the regional semifinals last Wednesday as they lost 8-4 to Derby in the opening round of regional play.
Harley Buller had two hits for Campus (4-17) in the loss.
Campus 000 020 2 – 4 7 2
Derby 030 131 x – 8 7 3
