SALINA — After a marathon 17 inning game, the defending champion and No. 2 seed Wamego High softball team slipped past No. 7 Clearwater 2-1 Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the 4A state tournament.
Their rivals, No. 6 Rock Creek, didn’t fare as well, dropping the opener 2-1 to No. 3 Eudora.
Wamego faced Eudora at 1 p.m. on Friday. Results from that game were unavailable as of press time but check themercury.com for updates. The winner of that game went to the finals later that day.
Wamego vs Clearwater
The game was a nailbiter to the end. For the first 13 innings, it was a duel on the mound between Tennessee signee Peyton Hardenburger for Wamego and Trista Welty for Clearwater.
Hardenburger put up a ridiculous stat line, going 17 innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while putting up 30 strikeouts on 195 pitches.
Finally, in the top of the 14th, Clearwater scored the first run of the game on a double after an inning-opening walk.
Wamego’s Landry Wagner scored on a Hardenburger double to tie things up.
The game kept going. Neither team scored in the 15th or 16th inning. Wamego finally put it away in the bottom of the 17th when Kyra Oberding drove in Alana McCarthy on a bases loaded walk-off single.
Despite the lack of firepower, the Raiders recorded plenty of hits. Hardenburger and McCarthy each had three hits, with a double for Hardenburger.
Rock Creek vs Eudora
Eudora drew first blood early in the bottom of the opening inning of, scoring on a double to right field that scored a runner on third.
The next frames were blank for both squads, but then Rock Creek put up its only run when Brooklyn Plummer scored on a Chloe Purvis ground-out into a fielder’s choice.
Eudora got the run back though in the bottom of the fourth, retaking the one-run lead on a ground out that scored a runner from third. Rock Creek was unable to garner another run, and was eliminated from the tournament.
Brynna Zoeller pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
Eve McComb led the way with two hits and a walk for Rock Creek.
The Mustangs end the season with a 19-6 overall record after the team’s fourth straight trip to the state tournament.
