photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora seniors Katie Courter, right, and Sam Claire hug after Claire throws the final strikeout in a 4-0 win over Rock Creek in the 4A state quarterfinal game in Salina on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Salina — No. 2 Eudora softball is back in the 4A state semifinal after a 4-0 quarterfinal win over No. 7 St. George-Rock Creek at Salina South High School on Thursday.

The Cardinals, a veteran team loaded with seniors who have played at the state tournament every year of their high school careers, came into the tournament with focus and drive. The team’s experience has helped the Cardinals get to this point in the season, and that experience can be what lifts them to a state championship.

“They were very focused,” coach Bill Finucane said. “When we made one or two boo-boos, they didn’t cave — they didn’t get down on each other. As a matter of fact, they bucked up with their defense and played even better.”

In practice leading up to the tournament, the Cardinals practiced on a turf field — which the state tournament is played on — rather than the grass and dirt at Eudora. The team made suggestions on what to practice and work on through the week to Finucane and the coaching staff, and those little preparation details are what Finucane thinks helped the team be so focused in the win.

From the start, the Cardinals were loud and fiery. The team prides itself on being the louder team in any game, and a lot of that came from senior shortstop and leadoff hitter Katie Courter.

“I think it’s important to go into a game and bring a lot of energy and get my team fired up,” she said. “We’re just so excited. We’ve been here for four years now, and we know it’s our time now and our last time to try at it. We’ve all played together for a long time and want it for each other.”

The Mustangs batted first but couldn’t put any runners on base. Courter knocked the ball to center field for a triple on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning. Upon reaching third base, Courter turned to face her dugout and shouted.

“My job is to set the tone and get on base, so the first pitch I like, I’m going to try to find a gap and trust that my teammates will bring me home,” Courter said.

Senior center fielder Lexi Born bunted in the next at-bat and reached first base, while Courter ran home. Despite the early run, the Cardinals didn’t get anyone else on base with three straight outs closing the first inning.

“The way we came out and put up a run right away on the board… that’s how you do it,” Finucane said. “They did what we’ve been asking them to do: play their game. And it’s nice to see.”

Senior pitcher Sam Claire struck out the side in the top of the second in order. She finished with 11 strikeouts in seven innings against five hits and no walks.

Sophomore first baseman Lori Brooks singled as the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the second inning. She advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt and made it to third on a single from junior left fielder Halle Hammes. Senior second baseman Maddy Arnold grounded into a fielder’s choice, which brought Brooks home at the expense of Hammes being put out advancing to second base. Courter flied out in the next at-bat, leaving Arnold stranded.

The Mustangs started the third inning with their first hit of the game, a single to left field from senior right fielder Mayci Clark. Claire tossed a strikeout in the following at-bat, and Courter forced the next two outs by catching Clark stealing for the second out and collecting the ground ball for the third.

Born flied out to start the third inning, but senior catcher Reese Pattison earned a free base after getting hit in the leg with a pitch. Senior third baseman Jaiden Burris doubled, which brought in the team’s third run, and Brooks singled two at-bats later to score the team’s fourth run. A groundout on the next play ended the inning.

The Cardinals attacked with a more small-ball approach instead of the usual big-time hits. Finucane said it’s important for the team to understand different ways of scoring runs in a tournament like this, where they’ll face good pitching and good teams.

“We practiced on that all this week to manufacture a run in any way,” Finucane said. “And they came through — they did a good job of that. I’m really pleased with the way it worked today.”

Eudora got itself in some trouble at the top of the fourth. Rock Creek strung together three straight singles to load the bases with no outs. That sent Pattison from behind the plate up to the circle to chat with Claire and the rest of the infield.

“We just told each other we know we’re a good defensive team,” Courter said. “If (Claire) gets the ball on the ground, we’re going to get the out at (home plate), and just let (Claire) pitch and know we’re behind her.”

Claire struck the next batter out for the first out of the inning, and Courter made another highlight defensive play by diving for a line drive and running to second base to force the double play. Finucane said that play was the difference in the ballgame.

“I didn’t know if I had the ball, so I looked down, saw I got it, turned to look where the runner was and saw she was way off,” Courter said. “I said, ‘You know, I’m not going to risk it. I’m just going to take it myself.'”

Eudora’s bats fell relatively quiet for the rest of the game, but the defense kept the pressure on. Arnold’s single was the only hit in the bottom of the fourth as the Cardinals didn’t score in an inning for the first time. Eudora retired the side at the top of the fifth and managed two hits but no runs at the bottom of the inning. Neither team managed to put a runner on base in the sixth inning.

In the top of the seventh, Claire threw three strikeouts against a single to secure the shutout and the Eudora win. The Cardinals moved to 26-1 on the season and will play on the second day of the 4A state tournament for the fourth straight year. The team is motivated to keep the momentum going for the final day after back-to-back seasons in which it placed third in the tournament.

“We’re where we want to be, and we have a chance to write our own script,” Finucane said. “As long as we don’t try to outperform ourselves, we’ll be in good shape.”

Eudora will face No. 6 Fort Scott in the semifinal on Friday at 1 p.m.