photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora softball infielders celebrate after a Sam Claire strikeout in a 2-0 win over Fort Scott in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School in Salina on Friday, May 30, 2025.

Salina — Eudora softball fell short in the 4A state championship game, losing 4-1 to McPherson and finishing their season 27-2.

“I’m very proud of this team,” coach Bill Finucane said. “I’m very proud of what they accomplished and where we ended up, except for the last game. But I don’t think we have anything to hang our heads about. They should be very proud of what they’ve done.”

The championship game came down to the top teams in the East and the West, with neither team having lost a 4A game to that point this season. McPherson was 30-0 entering the game, and Eudora’s one loss before the championship was a 3-1 loss to 6A Olathe North, who held the No. 2 seed in the 6A tournament.

The Cardinals still put together an all-time season for their program. The team’s 27 wins are a school record, and Finucane believes it will last a long time. The senior class is the most decorated in the school’s history, with a championship in their freshman year, two third-place finishes in their sophomore and junior years, and now a runner-up placement in their final year.

“At the beginning of the year, we all sat down in a room and came up with a goal for ourselves,” senior shortstop Katie Courter said. “Someone joked around and said, ‘Undefeated.’ Coach Bill laughed and said, ‘OK, let’s be serious,’ so we all thought five losses. I never would’ve thought we would’ve come out and had two losses — one to a 6A school and one to a 4A school.”

From playing and practicing alongside each other to sitting together at lunch, the team grew a genuine friendship that helped them push each other to be their best.

“We’re more than softball teammates — we’re best friends,” Courter said. “It’s meant everything to play by them for four years, and it will be missed.”

“I’ve never been a part of a softball team quite like this one,” senior Kaylyn Carpenter added. “Just the atmosphere and the talent… it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

En route to the tournament, the Cardinals were nearly unbeatable. With such a large senior class that played a critical role in leading the team, the Cardinals came focused and prepared for each game. That focus and a lot of talent helped them hit 27 wins.

“They were leaders all the way,” Finucane said, “especially the last few years. They really jelled. They got together and realized, ‘This is how you become a team.’ And they did a real good job of that.”

In the championship game, the Cardinals were able to make contact with the ball at the plate but couldn’t fit the ball in any open gaps. Eudora didn’t get a runner on base until the fourth inning.

“The balls that we hit well, (McPherson) made nice plays on,” Finucane said. “A couple of balls we popped up, and you expect that, but we probably did it more than we wanted to.”

On the other end, the Bullpups started by manufacturing runs each inning. The Cardinals were always able to prevent a play or a run from spiraling, but the Bullpups scored one run in each of the first four innings, which put the Cardinals in trouble with the lack of offensive success at the plate.

McPherson scored in the second at-bat of the first inning. After a leadoff triple, pitcher Addison Chapman scored on a wild pitch. The Cardinals managed to get three straight outs to close the inning with one runner left on base.

Chapman threw two strikeouts in the second inning for McPherson as the Bullpups retired the side in order. Chapman finished with seven strikeouts in seven innings with only two hits and two walks allowed. Eudora senior pitcher Sam Claire pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and four walks but struck 10 batters out.

The Bullpups scored in the second inning on another wild pitch, which came before a walk that loaded the bases. Claire struck the final batter out to avoid any more runs. In the bottom of the third, the Bullpups scored their first run on a hit as Rylie Whitfield singled to bring Haely Hagemann home. Claire tossed another strikeout, and Courter caught a runner stealing second to end the inning.

Eudora scored in the fourth inning after senior center fielder Lexi Born walked with one out. Senior third baseman Jaiden Burris took a free base after being hit by a pitch, and Claire singled to bring Born home. Sophomore first baseman Lori Brooks flied out for the third out, but the Cardinals were on the board.

McPherson scored again in the fourth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Brooks made the play on a ground ball at first base to keep the inning at one run.

Sophomore Leslie Cundiff walked to start the fifth inning, but the Bullpups got the next three outs in a row. Claire struck out the side in order, giving the Bullpups their first scoreless inning.

“She was rolling as the game went on,” Finucane said. “She was throwing and rolling. She’s just a competitor. I have high hopes for her at (Kansas), and with her being so close, I can go watch her.”

Eudora had a good look to score in the sixth after senior catcher Reese Pattison and Burris reached with one out. Back-to-back outs left the two runners stranded and gave the Cardinals one last inning to tie or take the lead. Chapman singled for McPherson in the sixth, but the team didn’t bring anyone home, bringing the game to the seventh inning.

Needing three runs to stay alive, the Cardinals came up short and couldn’t put anyone on base. A strikeout ended the game with Eudora not scoring two runs for only the second time this season. The only other times the Cardinals didn’t score at least five runs against 4A competition came in the two previous state tournament games.

“They put up a good fight, and McPherson is a good team,” Finucane said. “Not that we’re not — I think we match up pretty well — they just played better than we did in that matchup.”

Eudora 2, Fort Scott 0

Salina — No. 2 Eudora softball (27-1) is back in the 4A state championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2022.

The Cardinals beat Fort Scott 2-0 in the semifinal game Friday afternoon, which the Cardinals lost in the last two seasons. This time, they closed it out on top but lost to No. 1 McPherson (30-0) in the state championship game.

The Tigers started on offense in the first inning and managed a single to right field but nothing else. They then retired the side in order with the Cardinals at the plate.

Claire struck out the side at the top of the second, giving her five strikeouts through two innings.

The Cardinals started strong in the bottom of the frame with a single from Burris and a walk by Claire with no outs. Fort Scott pitcher Jacee Rogers threw back-to-back strikeouts, and a lineout to center field ended the inning with two Eudora runners stranded.

Claire added two more strikeouts in the third inning, the latter of which was her 249th of the season, which broke Eudora’s single-season strikeout record. Senior catcher Pattison caught a fly ball in foul territory to put the Cardinals back at the plate.

Eudora struggled offensively, with Born being the only Cardinal to reach first base. She did so with a bunt with two outs and a lineout to third base in the next at-bat, ending the inning.

While the offense wasn’t clicking, the defense was. The Cardinals retired the side in order again as Claire struck the final two batters out.

Brooks reached first on an error to center field, and Leslie Cundiff brought her home with a double in the following at-bat. Eudora coach Bill Finucane signaled for Cundiff to keep running to third, and she was caught out trying to advance, which ended the inning.

Eudora sent three batters down in three at-bats for the fourth time in the fifth inning. Junior left fielder Halle Hammes was hit by a pitch at the bottom of the inning, putting her on first. Senior second baseman Maddy Arnold’s sacrifice bunt brought Hammes to second, and a double to Katie Courter brought Hammes home.

Courter tried to advance to third base but was called out. Finucane tried to lobby for an obstruction call on Fort Scott third baseman Abbie Gorman but was unsuccessful. A popout in the next at-bat closed the fifth.

Claire issued her first walk of the tournament in the top of the sixth, but the Eudora infield got the next three outs to leave a runner stranded on second base. The Cardinals couldn’t do anything with Burris’s double in the sixth, leaving the Cardinals needing three outs with a two-run lead in the seventh.

Hammes tracked a low fly ball in left field for the first out, and Claire threw 13 pitches to strike out the second batter. Courter caught an infield pop fly in the first pitch of the third at-bat, ending the game and sending the Cardinals to the championship.

Claire finished with 12 strikeouts in seven innings with one walk and one hit allowed. Burris led the team with two hits and was one of three Cardinals to record a double.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora senior third baseman Jaiden Burris creeps toward third base in a 2-0 win over Fort Scott in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Leslie Cundiff rounds toward third base in a 2-0 win over Fort Scott in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora senior pitcher Sam Claire celebrates a big strikeout in a 2-0 win over Fort Scott in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora sophomore first baseman Lori Brooks grabs a ground ball and throws to first in a 4-1 loss to McPherson in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora junior left fielder Halle Hammes watches a ball into the catcher’s mitt in a 4-1 loss to McPherson in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora senior second baseman Maddy Arnold runs to cover first base in a 4-1 loss to McPherson in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Eudora senior catcher Reese Pattison recovers a throw to home plate in a 4-1 loss to McPherson in the 4A state semifinal game at Salina South High School on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Salina.