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T-Bird softball opens season with UKC sweep over De Soto
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights softball opened its season Wednesday with a home United Kansas Conference doubleheader sweep over De Soto.
Senior Cianna Graves had a two-run double in Shawnee Heights' 8-7 come-from-behind second-game win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
After taking the first game 6-0 over the Wildcats, the T-Birds mounted a comeback in Game 2 to take an 8-7 extra-inning victory.
“The girls did a really good job of making an adjustment to their swings,'' Shawnee Heights coach Tara Griffith said. "They were getting us out early with those pop-ups.
"We made some adjustments and started swinging down a little bit and that helped us out a lot and we started getting more line drives and then just getting singles and kind of pushing people around.
De Soto took a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap and Shawnee Heights couldn’t find much of anything in the first couple of innings.
The T-Birds didn’t have a runner go past second until the fifth inning.
SHHS was able to get runners on with leadoff walks, errors committed by the Wildcats or two- out singles, but nothing came of it.
In the top of the fourth, De Soto led off with a single. After struggling with her command, T-Bird junior Kaelyn Fisher was pulled after giving up another single to push the De Soto lead to five and junior Haven Ellenburg replaced Fisher.
Shawnee Heights’ bats woke up in the bottom of the fifth and the T-Birds put some runs on the board.
It started with a leadoff walk from senior Aubrey Hamilton. Senior Addison Cooper had a base knock, giving Heights runners at first and second with one out.
After a fielder’s choice to advance the runners, the two-out rally began.
Senior catcher Cianna Graves nearly hit a three-run home run to left center, slugging a two-RBI double, making the score 5-2.
Jaiden Euwer helped Shawnee Heights softball sweep UKC foe De Soto Wednesday [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jaidyn Euwer blooped one down the right-field line, resulting in a triple and another run for Heights.
De Soto made a pitching change, but that didn’t stop Shawnee Heights.
Ellenburg knocked in a run of her own on a single, making it a 5-4 ball game.
After trading runs in the sixth inning, De Soto pushed its lead back to two at 7-5 with a run in the top half of the seventh.
In the bottom half of the frame, the T-birds tied the ballgame, beginning with a Graves leadoff single.
Seaman baseball splits UKC twinbill with Basehor-Linwood
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
The Seaman Viking baseball team opened the home portion of its 2026 season Tuesday with a doubleheader with United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood, winning 8-5 in Game 1 and dropping Game 2, 5-1.
The Vikings were able to jump out to an early 5-0 lead over the first two innings while only getting one hit. They were aided by four walks and three hit batsmen.
“It was nice to put up three in the first and two more in the second,'' Seaman coach Steve Bushnell said. "Their starting pitcher (junior Sam Porterfield) struggled with his control, but to come out early and get a lead with Axton Brewer (junior starting pitcher) on the hill, certainly allowed us to get comfortable and settle in.”
Following a couple of runs by the Bobcats in the top of the third inning to cut the lead to 5-2, the Vikings responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Viking senior third baseman Cooper Hayes hit a fly ball over the left-fielder for a triple and came home to score on an error on the throw back to the infield from the left-fielder.
The Vikings tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 8-2, thanks to another triple from junior Bryson Fehr and a single from senior Cole Rosenberger.
Bobcat senior first baseman Steven Zimbelman hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh off of sophomore relief pitcher Michael Dobbs, who picked up the win.
Ballard, Washburn basketball navigating changing D-II landscape
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After nine highly successful seasons at Washburn University and 11 seasons as a head coach, Ichabod men's basketball coach Brett Ballard is a full-fledged veteran.
Washburn men's basketball coach Brett Ballard and coaches all over the country are still trying to get accustomed to coaching in the era of the transfer portal and NIL deals. [File photo/TSN]
But in light of an ever-changing landscape at the NCAA Division II level, Ballard is dealing with things in the era of the transfer portal and NIL agreements that he never really had to worry about just a few seasons ago
"I just talked to my wife two days ago about how much our job description and the reality of our world has changed, especially the last two to three years,'' Ballard told TopSports.news. "Some of what we do is still the same, but a lot of what we do and what the reality of our jobs is has completely flipped.
"And to be real honest, from a coaching perspective, a lot of the changes aren't particularly positive.''
