By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
For the first time in over two decades, the Salina Central Lady Mustangs are headed to the 5A state tournament, following a pair of huge wins at the Salina South regional on Tuesday.
A Central win over Emporia and a South victory over Newton led to a bonus Salina Showdown for a regional title that would go emphatically to the Lady Mustangs by a final score of 15-8.
5A regional semifinal: Salina Central 8, Emporia 0
The opener of this three-game set saw Central dominate out of the gate, holding the Lady Spartans to just three hits while allowing just seven total baserunners.
A pitcher's duel appeared to be in order after two scoreless innings, but in the third, Val VanZant and Ellie Riekhof each drove in a run to get Central on the board.
The Lady Mustangs scored three runs in the third, two in the fourth, and three more in the sixth, pulling away and advancing to the second round.
Riekhof, VanZant, and Charlotte Gordon led the charge at the plate, combining to go 10-12 with two triples, five doubles, and six runs scored.
In the circle, Sophia Johnson dominated, striking out eight while walking just three and allowing just two hits in a complete-game shutout.
5A regional semifinal: Salina South 16, Newton 1
In the second game of this year’s regional, it was the host’s time to show off, and the Lady Cougars delivered in a dominant mercy-rule victory.
South scored a pair of runs in the first, three in the third, and eleven in the fourth to win by 15 in walk-off fashion.
All nine members of the Salina South lineup reached base and came in to score at least one run, with Macy Yost driving in the game-winning runs on a bases-clearing 3 RBI triple.
In the circle, Paityn Fritz shut down the Lady Railer bats, allowing just one run on one hit and recording four strikeouts.
5A regional final: Salina Central 15, Salina South 8
At last, it was time for the main event, a highly anticipated rivalry matchup with a ticket to the 5A state tournament on the line.
Central may have been the underdogs without the history on their side, but the Lady Mustangs came out swinging, taking the lead on a three-run Ellie Riekhof blast.
That home run doubled Central’s season total, and in the second inning, they’d add another when Val VanZant took a high riseball onto the street beyond the left field wall.
The two teams would trade punches back and forth with South cutting the lead down to four in the fifth, but three runs in the sixth and seventh allowed Central to hold on and punch a ticket to the 5A state tournament for the first time in over 20 years.
This was a true team effort at the plate as all nine spots in the order reached base three times, with eight different Lady Mustangs crossing the plate for at least one run.
In the circle, VanZant would collect the win, and freshman Paxtyn Ekberg slammed the door shut, the two combining to allow just eight hits in a high-scoring affair.
The Lady Mustangs will join Maize South, Topeka-Seaman, Pittsburg, and three other winners to be determined on Wednesday on the campus of Wichita State University to battle for a state title next week.