The Eudora High softball team poses with its second-place trophy after falling, 9-0, in the title game of the 4A state softball tournament. The Cardinals lost to Thomas More Prep after defeating Andale/Garden Plain in the semifinals Saturday in Mulvane.

Mulvane ? It took two hard-fought upset victories for the Eudora High softball team to advance to the state championship game but only one inning to derail the Cardinals’ title hopes.

After loading the bases with no outs in the second inning but failing to score a run, Eudora lost, 9-0, to Thomas More Prep in the Class 4A State Championship on Saturday.

“We couldn’t get a ball in play at the right spot,” Eudora coach Cara Kimberlin said. “Momentum-wise it would’ve helped us.”

After the first three Eudora hitters of the second inning reached base on a walk and two singles, TMP called on relief pitcher Maddie Holub. Holub quickly dispatched the next three Cardinals and held the 1-0 Monarch lead.

After upsetting third-seeded Girard on Friday evening, Eudora defeated second-seeded Andale/Garden Plain Indians in a tense 2-1 pitching duel.

Brynn Hamilton hurled complete game gems in both of those contests, allowing no earned runs in the process. But Hamilton could not escape the second inning in the championship game. She allowed two runs in 12â3 innings before making the switch to second base.

“They jumped on our pitchers early and scored a couple of runs,” Kimberlin said. “That’s a good hitting team. They just got on a roll.”

TMP was opportunistic at the plate, taking advantage of Eudora’s five fielding errors by scoring in every inning.

The disappointing second inning wiped out any momentum the Cardinals may have had. The next six Eudora hitters failed to reach base and the team did not advance a runner past second base for the remainder of the game.

This season marked Eudora’s first trip to the state tournament, so the second-place finish exceeded the team’s early-season expectations.

“We’re really upset right now because we didn’t play like we wanted,” shortstop Beth Folks said. “But I think, if we give it a few days, we’ll feel better.”