By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
Minneapolis battled to the very end but saw its season conclude at the 3A state softball tournament on Thursday, as the Riverside Cyclones survived and advanced on a walk-off winner.
The Lady Lions fought valiantly, scoring three runs to keep the game alive and force a bottom of the seventh, but from there, Alexis Scott’s RBI single delivered Riverside a punched ticket to Friday’s semifinals.
The Lady Cyclones capitalized on a pair of Minneapolis errors in the home half of the first to take an early 3-0 advantage in Topeka.
Minneapolis took some time to get going but responded in the fourth with a Sierra Cossaart RBI double and a Miley McClure RBI single to get on the board and cut the lead to one.
After an empty fourth inning, Riverside tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, but with their backs to the wall, Minneapolis went to work in the sixth, scoring three runs on a 2-RBI Cossaart hit and an RBI groundout.
Three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Scott, who drove a grounder up the middle and into center field to seal the deal for the Lady Cyclones.
Minneapolis’s stellar campaign draws to a close at 21-5 while Riverside advances to take on the defending champs in Frontenac (28-1).