In the Circle

Let's go "In the Circle" with Salina Ortho, Kansas Pregame's look at some top softball stories from across the state, presented by Central Kansas' largest Orthopedic's Practice, Salina Ortho.

A battle of the defending 3A and 4A state champs saw the Rossville (15-3) sweep Wamego (14-4) in two games, winning Game 1 2-0 and run-ruling the Red Raiders in Game 2 10-0. Senior Emma Mitchell came through with a clutch hit in Game 1 to break up a no-hitter. In the second game, senior Hailey Horton hit her fourth home run of the year while fellow senior Kinsey Perine went 4-4 at the plate, helping the Bulldawgs run away with the second contest.

Rossville currently holds a 15-3 record with losses coming against two regional opponents they’ll likely have to beat to defend their title, having split games in a matchup with Santa Fe Trail (13-3) and lost both to league rival Silver Lake (16-2). The Dawgs have two remaining quality matchups before the postseason, facing 4A powerhouse Rock Creek in a doubleheader on May 7th and then a matchup with fellow top 3A team Sabetha on May 9th to close out the regular season.

To read more on Rossville, check out our Spring Edition feature on the 3A champs below:

In their second straight trip to the state tournament last spring, Rossville softball captured their first state title in 23 years after beating Santa Fe Trail 2-0 in the 3A final, avenging a 2-1 consolation game loss to the Chargers in 2022. If that revenge wasn’t enough the Bulldawgs also avenged a pair of “War on 24” losses to rival Silver Lake by scores of 5-1 and 5-0 with a regional championship win over the Eagles, 4-1.

“It felt good beating Silver Lake last year in regionals,” head coach John Nitsch said. “We had confidence we could do it if we got on them early.”

Nitsch earned Sports in Kansas 3A Coach of the Year honors and returns loads of talent in 2024 with eight of last year’s starters back for their senior year, putting them in a great position to add more hardware to their trophy case.

The returning starters inlcude seniors Katie Spielman (P/1B), Hailey Horton (C), Kinsey Perine (SS), Emma Mitchell (RF), Nagos Hale (DH), Kinsley Porter (1B), Keira Barber (2B) and Ryan Leathers (LF), along with junior Shyanne Haehn (3B).

While it’s a new season, little has changed in approach from the 2023 campaign.

“Last season was almost perfect,” Hale said. “I could not have chosen a better outcome for our team. The goals stay the same, win league, win regionals, and take state.”

Hale is coming off of an All-State season during which she hit .339 with 21 hits, 13 RBIs, and 17 runs scored. The designated hitter’s work at the plate earned her an opportunity to play for Haskell Indian Nations University after high school.

The graduation of last year’s Sports in Kansas 3A Pitcher of the Year, Brinley Dyche, is enough to leave a large void on any team, but the Bulldawgs do have back another high-level pitcher in Spielman, who posted a 7-1 record in the circle in 54 innings pitched, with a 2.945 ERA, and 40 strikeouts. Her presence was felt at the plate as well where she hit .273 with 10 runs scored and a home run. In spite of the good numbers, the two-time All-State selection is hoping to see improvements.

“I think I had a good season last year, but I’m striving for bigger goals this year,” Spielman said. 

Spielman spent her offseason working and taking lessons on her pitching, and feels good about the cohesion of the group returning in 2024.

“Our season last year was very successful, we ended up coming out with a state title and that’s what our goal for the year was,” Spielman said. “Our team has a great bond, and that really helps.”

Perine, a three-sport standout and All-State shortstop, adds more firepower at the plate for the Bulldawgs, coming off a .433 season at the plate with 29 hits, 15 RBIs, 34 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases. The senior currently holds single season school records including most times hit by a pitch in 2023 (12), along with home runs (12), hits (42), and runs (48) as a sophomore in 2022.

The Emporia State softball commit is noted by multiple coaches as one of the top players in the state, but is hungry to see continued growth nonetheless.

“I had a pretty good season last year, both in the field and at the plate,” Perine said. “Although, I am striving to have an even better season.”

Perine’s primary focus individually is to reduce errors on defense, a goal shared with fellow All-Stater Emma Mitchell, who hopes to finish with zero in 2024.  Both posted solid fielding percentages above .900 a season ago.

“I thought I had a pretty good year last year batting, and on defense,” Mitchell said. “I thought I really noticed growth as an outfielder.”

Mitchell batted .338 with 23 hits, 14 RBIs, and 14 runs scored as a junior after hitting .485 as a sophomore, good for two straight All-State nods.

After graduation this spring, Mitchell plans to continue her already impressive basketball career, that saw her score over 1,000 career points, at Emporia State.

Catcher Hailey Horton is another key piece back for Nitsch’s squad after she batted .324 with 24 hits, three home runs, 22 RBIs, and eight runs scored last spring, earning her second All-State selection.

Horton  – also a state champion wrestler – is currently planning on continuing her softball career at Highland Community College, but plans to enjoy as much of this last dance with her teammates as she can before it ends.

“Last season for us couldn’t have gone better,” Horton said. “Winning state was a dream come true. This season I want to win state again, but more importantly I just want to have fun. This is our last year for most of us, so I just want to make the most of it.”

Porter (.333), Barber (.250), Leathers (.250), and Haehn (.438) are also expected to play a continued vital role in 2024 - with Haehn returning as the team leader in batting average and second in RBIs with 20 - but Nitsch does expect some younger players to make an impact and add depth as well.

As the seniors for the Bulldawgs embark on their final season and opportunity to add to their legacy at RHS, Nitsch is aware classes like this don’t come around often. 

“This senior group is very rare,” Nitsch said. “They are talented and will work their tails off for you. Probably one of the hardest working classes I have coached and are willing to do anything you ask of them. They just want to win.”