Salina ? Melissa Pratt sparked Tonganoxie High with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first against Augusta on Friday in the Class 4A state softball quarterfinals.

It appeared to be a favorable omen for the Chieftains, but Augusta tied the game at three in the top of the second and scored four runs in the top of the sixth on the way to a 7-4 victory.

With the game tied at three, Tonganoxie was one out away from entering the bottom of the sixth still deadlocked. But shortstop Lindsey Himpel and third baseman Roxie Grizzle had back-to-back throwing errors to first, which helped Augusta pull ahead. Himpel’s throw sailed over the fence behind first, while Grizzle’s throw also was off the mark.

Tonganoxie started one final rally in the bottom of the seventh. Tracie Hileman tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Chieftain tallied just the lone run in the final inning.

Pratt, who hit her first home run of the season in the regional finals against Kansas City Piper, sent her second homer over the blue snow fence in center field at Bill Burke Sports Complex.

The shot ignited the crowd and the Chieftains, but Pratt knew her squad would need more runs.

“I didn’t like to have just that many runs,” the sophomore said.

THS co-coach Debbie Himpel said Tonganoxie, which was making its first state appearance, wasn’t able to string enough hits together against the Orioles (17-5).

“It just wasn’t meant to be,” Himpel said.

She said the young squad had some bad plays that led to the first-round exit.

“There’s no finger-pointing at one person,” Himpel said. “It wasn’t one person. It was a team meltdown.”

THS finished the season at 20-4 and was Kaw Valley League co-champions with Lansing as well as regional champ.

Pratt, who is a sophomore, said there’s reason to look toward the future with optimism.

The Chieftains graduate no seniors.

“It makes me feel a lot better that we got here,” Pratt said. “We have no seniors, so we’ll all be back next year.”