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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 23-ranked Washburn University softball team will return to action on Friday, hosting No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State at 4 p.m., and then wrap up its home schedule on Saturday, facing Missouri Southern at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn University softball will honor seniors Hailey Neira, Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Autymn Schreiner and Marrit Mead between games of Saturday's twinbill against Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Between games on Saturday the Ichabods will honor Ichabod seniors Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Hailey Neira, Marrit Mead and Autymn Schreiner, who will be playing their final games at Gahnstrom Field this weekend.
Washburn enters the weekend with a 34-10 overall and 15-5 in the MIAA after going 4-0 last weekend with sweeps over Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State.
No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State is 38-4 this season and 12-2 in the MIAA and the Gorillas have won their last six games. PSU has gone a perfect 20-0 in home games this season while going 5-2 on the road and 13-2 in neutral site games.
Missouri Southern is 29-12 and 9-5 in the MIAA and just outside the top 25 rankings entering the weekend.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Two solid pitching efforts helped Washburn Rural sweep Hayden on the softball diamond Tuesday at Rural to improve to 8-2 under first-year coach Joy Marie Galliart.
Freshman Olivia Koch picked up a complete-game victory in Washburn Rural's 10-2 first-game win over Hayden on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“Anybody who watched us in our first game on March 22 and came back and watched us now, I think they would see tremendous growth and improvement,” said Galliart, a longtime coach in Oklahoma who took over the Washburn Rural program during the offseason. “We’ve made huge strides in the three and a half weeks since then.
“Change is hard for kids when they’re trying to do it under a new coach with some new philosophies. So it’s taken some time for them to adjust to those changes, but we’re really starting to move in the right direction.”
Freshman Olivia Koch limited Hayden to two runs in the first game of the afternoon, leading to a 10-2 Junior Blues victory.
“I think Olivia’s been doing a great job as a freshman,” Galliart said. “She comes in and does everything we ask her to do both offensively and in the circle. We’re trying to work on getting her to trust her pitches and rely on her defense. But she’s doing some great things for us.”
“I knew she was a great athlete, and I knew that she was a pitcher. But I think we’ve been equally impressed with her defensive skills (in the outfield) when she’s not in the circle. She loves to run bases, so having her at the top of our lineup with her speed also gives us an added bonus.”
Junior Layla Collis is congratulated by Washburn Rural coach Joy Marie Galliart after a first-game home run. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Avery Rupp celebrates a hit during Washburn Rural's doubleheader sweep over Hayden on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Koch benefitted from 14 hits by the Junior Blues, including home runs by Avery Rapp and Layla Collins. Washburn Rural will not rely on home runs, however, according to Galliart.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Silver Lake's softball team swept defending Class 3A state champion Rossville in convincing fashion on the Bulldawgs' home turf Monday night, winning 12-1 and 14-0.
Senior Avery Wende pitched a complete-game two-hitter in Silver Lake's 14-0 second-game win over Rossville Monday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Eagles combined dominant pitching with outbursts of offense to roll over their rival and improve to 8-0.
“I don’t know if there is any guarantee of how to predict what’s going to happen in (matchups between Rossville and Silver Lake),” said the Eagles coach Nick Hamilton. “I’ve been around this my whole life, and I know that on any given night either team could win. It’s that much of a rivalry.
“It’s good for both of us. I think that’s why there is such success on both sides. We both compete and push each other.”
In the first game of the doubleheader, pitcher Kendra Cook held the Bulldawgs down until the Silver Lake offense kicked in. The Eagles exploded for six runs in the fifth inning to blow the game open.
“Kendra has been solid in the ring for us,” Hamilton said. “She did a good job working in the offseason to improve on what she needed to improve.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's no doubt that Hayden's girls soccer team has been up against a brutal schedule over its first five games of the 2024 season, with three of those teams advancing to the state quarterfinals a year ago, including seven-time Class 4A-1A state champ Bishop Miege.
Hayden senior Elaina Wolff (2) and McPherson senior Riggs Kuhn battle for control of the ball in Monday's 1-0 Bullpup win over the Wildcats. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer, who team suffered a tough 1-0 loss to McPherson Monday at Hayden, also knows his Wildcats need to be able to beat teams like that if they're going to make another late-season run after finishing third in 4A-1A last spring.
"That's what I said to them, 'If you want to be the best you have to beat the best,' '' Kreutzer said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly girls swimming and diving honor roll for Topeka high schools throughout the 2024 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
Seaman 1:58.69
Washburn Rural 2:07.69
Shawnee Heights 2:13.20
Hayden 2:19.71
Topeka High 2:18.14
Avery Walz, Seaman
200-YARD FREESTYLE
Avery Walz, Seaman 2:03.60
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 2:11.03
Madeline O'Brien, Washburn Rural 2:20.24
Bailee Heincker, Seaman 2:22.64
Ava Von Lintel, Washburn Rural 2:27.72
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Avery Walz, Seaman 2:11.82
Joslynn Grace, Seaman 2:15.94
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural 2:18.98
Jella Belgardt, Washburn Rural 2:29.07
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 2:29.65
Tauren Walz, Seaman
50-YARD FREESTYLE
Tauren Walz, Seaman 26.11
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 26.93
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 27.26
Jella Belgardt, Washburn Rural 28.04
Molly Didde, Washburn Rural 28.61
ONE-METER DIVING
Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural 207.70
Kaylee Gregg, Hayden 202.30
Natalee Grauberger, Washburn Rural 177.05
Giselle Soto, Washburn Rural 130.55
Mackenzie Caryl, Topeka High 128.75
