The Free State softball team entered the regional tournament as the No. 10 seed and collected 12 hits in the semifinal to propel past No. 7 Wichita Northwest, 16-7, before recording just three hits in the championship game, falling to No. 2 Derby, 5-0, on Tuesday evening.

Free State (11-16) opened the scoring in game one with three runs in the top of the third, including a two-RBI double by Mallary Hice. Wichita Northwest responded in the bottom of the third with four runs, including a two-out single to score the go-ahead run. A leadoff triple by Maya Friedman set the Firebirds up to tie the game in the top of the fourth, as they did so via an error.

After AJ Maginnis threw out the potential go-ahead run at home in the bottom of the fourth, Free State opened the game up with a seven-run fifth inning, kick-started by back-to-back triples from Delaney Bruhns and Sarai Preston. Another leadoff triple and an error allowed Hice to score in the top of the sixth to extend the Firebird lead to 12-4.

Wichita Northwest (13-12) started the bottom of the sixth with three straight singles, and eventually scored all three runners to cut the Free State lead to five.

Bruhns and Preston teamed up again in the top of the seventh to provide some much-needed cushioning, with a two-RBI double and an RBI triple, respectively. Preston later scored on a groundout to make the score 16-7. The Firebirds quickly recorded the final three outs, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.

In the championship game, the second-seeded Panthers (21-7) were first in the scoring column, scoring one run in each of the first three innings to lead 3-0. During the first three innings, the Firebirds had just one baserunner thanks to a two-out double by Preston in the first inning.

Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth inning. Derby began the inning with a walk and a single before an error on a groundout scored both runs to make the score 5-0.

With one last chance in the top of the seventh, the Free State lineup was retired in order, ending its run at a state tournament appearance.