Wichita Trinity blanks regional bracket to return to state baseball in dominant way

After losing in heartbreaking fashion in the game to go to the state tournament to Wichita Collegiate the past two years, the Trinity Academy baseball team was motivated to end the streak against its private-school rival.

The Knights did so in just about the most dominant fashion possible.

Trinity punched its ticket to the Class 3A state tournament in Manhattan next week with a 10-0 victory over Collegiate, limiting the Spartans to a single hit in a regional championship game played in Douglass on Tuesday evening.

“This moment has been a long time coming,” Trinity coach Josh Robertson said. “We couldn’t be happier for our six seniors who have gone through it all and watched the last two years Collegiate beat us and then go on and win two state championships. We just kept telling our boys to go out there and pitch and play defense and execute the small things and play Trinity baseball. We knew if they did that, we are going to be a very, very tough team to beat.”

The Knights have looked unbeatable so far in postseason play, as they shut out all three regional opponents by a combined score of 34-0. Matt Omundsen recently returned from injury to pitch a complete-game shutout in an 8-0 win over Douglass, striking out 11 hitters in the process, while Joaquin Sanchez struck out seven and kept Collegiate to one hit in a five-inning shutout in the final.

After winning just six games in 2021, then 11 games in 2022, Trinity has a combined record of 40-7 the last two seasons. Robertson said it’s a credit to the senior class featuring Omundsen, Sanchez, Jackson Witt, Jack Cary, Ethan Eberhardt and Logan Walker.

“Those six seniors have been through it together and they’ve shown the younger guys what it’s like to overcome adversity and to put in hard work and not give up,” Robertson said. “They just scratch and claw their way to obtain their goals. To give up zero runs in an entire regional just shows you what kind of mentality our guys had going into this.”

Cary, Josiah Sems and Witt all had multi-RBI games against Collegiate, which Robertson thinks can propel the Knights (20-4) with even more confidence entering the state tournament after beating the two-time defending champions.

“When you get so close and it doesn’t happen, man, it’s a tough thing to process,” Robertson said. “But when it finally does happen, it’s elation.”

Class 6A: Wichita Heights advances to state

The City League champions had little issue advancing to the Class 6A state tournament, as Wichita Heights defeated Wichita Northwest, 9-2, in a regional title game at McAdams Park. Kasch Oakley finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead Heights, while Jackson Ellison and Cooper Oakley each drove in a pair of runs. Aaron Maldonado pitched four innings to earn the win, while Ellison closed the game out in the final three innings. The Falcons (22-5) won 13-3 over Wichita North earlier in the day.

In another 6A regional in Topeka, Derby (12-16) saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion with a 2-1 loss to Topeka in the final. The Panthers advanced to the championship round following a superb outing by Hudson Halstead, who struck out 11 and pitched a four-hit, shutout in a 3-0 victory over Liberal. The Panthers received another gem in the final from Caden Riojas, who pitched a complete game, striking out seven with no earned runs and limiting Topeka to just two hits. But the pair of unearned runs in the third inning proved to be enough, as Derby’s only run, also unearned, came in the sixth inning when Halstead singled to lead off and then scored on an error. The Panthers had the game-tying run on third base with one out in the sixth, but the runner was stranded.

Class 5A: Eisenhower punches ticket, Maize South upset

Goddard Eisenhower finished a Cinderella run as a No. 12 seed to the 5A state tournament by winning a pair of one-run games for a dramatic sweep in the Topeka Seaman regional. Jared Cobb was the hero in the opening game, a 4-3 victory over Kapaun Mt. Carmel in eight innings, as his RBI single in the top of the eighth proved to be the game-winner. Eisenhower had another drama-filled game in the final against Topeka Seaman, as Bryce Engel delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the sixth inning in a 3-2 victory over the hosts. Carson Douglass, Max Warden and Carter Pabst combined to pitch a two-hitter for Eisenhower (14-12).

The biggest upset of the day belonged to No. 16 seed Salina Central, which reached the state tournament after a monumental 12-8 upset victory over top seed Maize South. The Mavericks had a steady stream of scoring throughout the game, but trailed 9-1 after the top of the second inning. Tate McNew, Hunter Higgins and Braxton Russell all had multi-hit games, while McNew and Kanyon Akers each drove in a pair of runs. The Mavericks were stunned to see a 19-5 season come to an early close.

Class 4A: Circle and Rose Hill advance to state tournament

Circle ace Landon Haines powered the Thunderbirds to the 4A state tournament with a dominant outing a 3-1 win over Clay Center in a regional final. Haines struck out 11 hitters and limited Clay Center to two hits, then also hit a solo home run at the plate. Cash Killian added another RBI hit, as Circle led 3-1 after three innings and then held Clay Center scoreless the rest of the game. The 11th-seeded Thunderbirds (17-11) rallied from a 4-2 deficit in their opener against Scott City, scoring five runs in the final two innings for a 7-4 win. Ben McAdoo delivered a key, two-RBI double in the sixth, then Easton Smith executed a sacrifice bunt for the go-ahead run.

Another strong pitching performance led Rose Hill (15-10) to an upset win over McPherson, 3-1, in a regional final, as Colton Roberts was one out away from a complete-game victory, striking out 12 batters and holding an explosive McPherson offense to a single run on three hits. Rhett Briggs finished with a pair of RBI hits and Blake Struble delivered the other. The Rockets capitalized on seven errors made by Larned in an opening-round 8-2 win, as Cameron Mock pitched a complete game on the mound and delivered a team-high two RBIs at the plate.

In another 4A regional final, Mulvane lost 7-2 to host Abilene. The Wildcats (17-9) defeated Lyons 12-5 to reach the championship game, as Hays Ensley, Grey Sanders, Brayden Tatum and Lucas Sorensen all had two RBIs. Mulvane was limited to four hits in the final, as Abilene took a 5-1 lead after four innings and never was threatened again.

Another AV-CTL Div. IV team that reached a regional final and lost was Wellington, which defeated Ulysses 14-1 and then lost 11-3 to host Pratt. Dusty Bannister finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Axl Norris drove in three runs to spearhead the win over Ulysses, but Wellington fell behind 6-0 after three innings to Pratt and never recovered. James Redford and Emerson Brownlee each finished with two hits for Wellington in the final.

Class 3A: Hesston tops Cheney to reach state

Hesston kept its state dreams alive with a dramatic walk-off victory in the semifinals of a 3A regional played in Halstead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 6-5 win over Haven. After a lead-off single by Whit Rhodes, Beau Warden blasted a game-tying, two-run home run in the seventh inning, then Aedan O’Halloran scored the game-winning run with a RBI hit that plated Brody Curran, who had reached on an error. That set up a title showdown against Cheney, which the Swathers (18-4) carried over their momentum to easily win 10-0 in the championship game. Rhodes paired with Gunnar Lewis for a five-inning, no-hitter, while Warden led the team with three RBIs in the final.

KSHSAA baseball regional championship game scores

Class 6A Wichita Heights

Wichita Heights 9, Wichita Northwest 2 (final)

Wichita Heights 13, Wichita North 3

Wichita Northwest 9, Wichita West 5

Class 6A Topeka

Topeka 2, Derby 1 (final)

Topeka 5, Wichita East 0

Derby 3, Liberal 0

Class 5A Maize South

Salina Central 3, Hutchinson 2 (final)

Salina Central 12, Maize South 8

Hutchinson 3, Hays 2

Class 5A Topeka Seaman

Goddard Eisenhower 3, Topeka Seaman 2 (final)

Topeka Seaman 11, Newton 0

Goddard Eisenhower 4, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 3 (8 innings)

Class 4A Abilene

Abilene 7, Mulvane 2 (final)

Abilene 12, Winfield 2

Mulvane 12, Lyons 5

Class 4A Pratt

Pratt 11, Wellington 3 (final)

Pratt 11, Concordia 4

Wellington 14, Ulysses 1

Class 4A Circle

Circle 3, Clay Center 1 (final)

Clay Center 4, Buhler 2

Circle 7, Scott City 4

Class 4A Rose Hill

Rose Hill 3, McPherson 1 (final)

McPherson 11, Chapman 1

Rose Hill 8, Larned 2

Class 3A Douglass

Trinity Academy 10, Wichita Collegiate 0 (final)

Trinity Academy 8, Douglass 0

Wichita Collegiate 2, Chaparral 1

Class 3A Halstead

Hesston 10, Cheney 0 (final)

Cheney 7, Kingman 4

Hesston 6, Haven 5

Class 2-1A Flinthills

Marion 6, Sedgwick 1 (final)

Sedgwick 11, Moundridge 1

Marion 10, Chase County 0

Class 2-1A Sedan

Medicine Lodge 9, Sedan 2 (final)

Medicine Lodge 3, Cedar Vale-Dexter 1

Sedan 11, Belle Plaine 8