2A softball features three unbeatens

There are three undefeated teams going to the Class 2-1A State Softball Tournament, which begins Thursday afternoon at the Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia. Each of them are returning qualifiers and the defending State champion and runner-up are among them.

Uniontown will be facing one of them in the first round as the sixth-seeded Eagles (10-9) will face Oskaloosa (19-0), which finished fourth here last season.

The Eagles qualified for the first State Tournament in the program's history by winning its home Regional at George Warren Field Thursday. They drew a first-round bye in the six-team tournament -- which was counted as a win on their record by the KSHSAA -- then defeated St. Paul, 8-7, in the semifinals and drubbed top seed Yates Center, 10-4, in the championship. That last win avenged two run-rule losses at Yates Center a week prior.

Chase County, the top seed, is the defending champion, beating Udall in last year's title game, 6-0. The Bulldogs (23-0) qualified out of Lyndon, beating Alma-Wabaunsee in the semifinals, 5-1, and host Lyndon, 10-0, in the title game. Last year's championship was the school's first. Chase County finished third in 2010 but did not qualify in 2011.

Udall (21-0) is the No. 2 seed, beating Central-Burden 10-0 and Dexter/Cedar Vale, 11-0, to qualify from the Central-Burden Regional. The Eagles won State in 2006 and 2011 and are the only team other than Chase County to have won a State title before.

Oskaloosa, Uniontown's first-round opponent, finished fourth here last season, losing to Brookville--Ell-Saline in the third-place game, 11-0. The Bears were in the Valley Falls Regional and advanced to State by beating Troy, 9-2, and McLouth, 7-1.

Fourth seed Ell-Saline (16-2) had the only winning record in the Ellis Regional. After their first-round bye, the Cardinals posted back-to-back 10-0 victories over Lincoln and a co-op team with players from Sylvan Grove, Lucas-Luray, and Wilson. The Cards also finished third in 2011.

No. 5 seed Spearville (13-7) has qualified for every Class 2-1A State Tournament since 2008 but has only placed once, taking second in 2010. The Lancers were seeded third in the Stanton County Regional and beat second-seeded Elkhart, 4-3, and top-seeded host Stanton County, 10-8 in 9 innings, in the championship game.

Seventh-seeded Sterling (12-11) makes its first State appearance since 2006. The Black Bears were the No. 3 seed in the Canton-Galva Regional, which had no team with a winning record when the tournament was seeded.

The Black Bears drew a first-round bye as their Regional had only five teams. They beat second-seeded Inman, 5-3, then knocked off top seed Moundridge, 8-4.

Oswego (8-10) is the lowest-seeded team. The Indians, who play with Uniontown in the Three Rivers League, are also making their first State appearance, coming from their own Regional.

The Oswego Regional was supposed to have five teams but Sedan decided not to enter. Instead of drawing a four-team bracket, the remaining teams were given byes, so everyone was credited with a win without having to play a first-round game.

Despite their record, the Indians were the No. 2 seed as TRL champion Chetopa had the only winning record. Oswego bounced Longton-Elk Valley, 16-1, in the first round, then stunned Chetopa in the final, 1-0. All that happened last Monday, May 20, so by the time State comes around, the Indians will have had nine days off.

Two fields will be used at State with each side of the bracket playing on the same field Thursday. Games on Field A will feature Oswego against Chase County at 5 p.m. and Sterling versus Udall at 7. Field B has Spearville playing Ell-Saline at 5 followed by Uniontown against Oskaloosa at 7.

Semifinals will be played on each field at 11 a.m. Friday. The third-place game begins at 1 p.m. on Field B with the championship on Field A at 2 p.m.

This is the first year of the Thursday-Friday schedule for State baseball and softball tournaments after many years of a Friday-Saturday schedule. The idea is to keep Saturday open for make-up games in case of rain. In the past, rain on Friday has forced tournaments to conclude Sunday or Monday and cancel the third-place game.