An intense couple of days that featured some hotly contested high school softball ended on Friday with the Baldwin High girls holding up a state championship trophy.

Baldwin, seeded sixth in the Class 4A Division II state tournament, knocked off No. 8 seed Galena High, 12-10 in the state championship game on Friday at Bill Burke Complex in Salina.

The Bulldogs also knocked off No. 2 seed Girard High, 6-5 in a semifinal game earlier on Friday, handing Girard (23-1) its first loss of the season.

BHS reached that point by scoring a thrilling, 12-7, extra-inning victory in the state quarterfinals on Thursday, knocking off No. 3 seed Burlington High to advance to the semis. That loss was just the second of the year for Burlington.

The Bulldogs’ meeting with Galena in the state title game marked the first time all postseason that they had faced a team seeded lower than them. Back at regionals, on May 16, No. 3 seed Baldwin knocked off No. 2 seed Osawatomie 10-1 and No. 1 seed Santa Fe Trail, 4-1, just to reach the state tournament.

When the postseason began, Baldwin entered regionals as the No. 3 seed with a 13-7 record and on the heels of a loss to Tonganoxie in the final game of the regular season.

Five straight victories later, BHS finished the season with an 18-7 mark and yet another state championship trophy to bring back to the school.