Rossville, Shawnee Heights baseball advance to state tournament after winning regionals
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Regional Tournament baseball began for two Shawnee County teams on Tuesday. It was a successful night for both schools as they saw their season continue. Rossville and Shawnee Heights were able to hoist the regional title and earn a place in next week’s state tournament.
Here’s everything that happened in regional play on Tuesday.
Shawnee Heights clinches spot in Class 5A State Tournament
Shawnee Heights returns to the Class 5A State Tournament after performing at a high level on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds outlasted De Soto 5-2 to claim the regional championship.
Deacon Pomeroy was the team’s hero in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game was tied at 2-2 when he stepped up to the plate with the base loaded. Shawnee Heights did all of their damage in the inning with two outs on the board.
Pomeroy drilled a ball out to center field clearing the bases en route to a triple. The Oklahoma State commit came up clutch in the most important moment of the game.
“You just go back to all of the work that you put in your whole life and trust the process and yourself,” Pomeroy said. “There’s a lot of trust in each other especially in the seniors, you just have to leave it out. It’s our last time ever playing here so it’s a good way to go out.”
De Soto could not follow suit in the final inning of the game as Shawnee Heights earned the victory. Pomeroy went 1-for-1 at the plate with four RBIs and three walks.
It was a big day on the mound for Cambren Floberg. The junior threw five innings allowing one run and six hits while securing a strikeout. Brody Cooper closed the game out securing the final six outs of the game.
“Our defense is really good,” first-year head coach Jason Brown said. “Our pitching is unbelievable and game-after-game we’ve been getting big hits in big situations. They never fold and never let the pressure get to them.”
Shawnee Heights defeated Highland Park in the first round of regionals earlier in the day. They earned a 10-0 victory prior to their thrilling victory over De Soto, which was their third win over the Wildcats this season.
Last season, Shawnee Heights reached the Class 5A State Tournament, but they lost to Spring Hill in the opening round. The Thunderbirds have featured in the state tournament often with 2018 being the last time they have advanced past the first round. The team’s last state championship came in 2011.
The Class 5A State Tournament begins on Thursday, May 29 and finishes the following day. The tournament will be held at Eck Stadium on the campus of Wichita State.
Rossville reaches state tournament for first time in six years
Rossville leaned on their pitching during the regional tournament. It’s an aspect of the team that they have been relying on all season. They know it and they aren’t afraid to share it because the talent of their pitchers is extremely high.
The Bulldawgs started Cameron Miller in their semifinal game against Mission Valley. Rossville secured a 7-3 win with Miller throwing a complete game. He allowed those three runs while striking out eight batters to help the Bulldawgs advance to the regional title game.
“Our pitching staff has been lights out all year,” Rossville head coach Kenny Swart said. “They’ve kept us in games and we go with a four-starter rotation. We knew when we got to this point, we’d be set up pretty good.”
In the title game, Rossville dominated Frankfort 10-1 to win the regional championship and clinch a spot in the Class 2-1A State Tournament. Cael Horgan, a sophomore, earned the start and pitched just as well as Miller.
Horgan allowed just one run and four hits while striking out eight batters in the win. It was a dominate performance from the righty as leaned on his fastball throughout the outing.
“I knew coming in that they were going to be pretty tough. They were tougher than most of the opponents that we have played so far especially at the top of the order,” Horgan said. “I had a great defense behind me.”
Rossville’s offense was led by Jared Cunningham. The first baseman went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the win. Canann Mitchell also provided a strong outing with three hits and scoring two runs. Mitchell has been a stand-out performer for the Bulldawgs. Mitchell leads the team with .422 batting average, 28 RBIs and four home runs.
“He makes us go,” Swart said. “He’s been solid for us all year and he’s driven in a lot of runs because those guys make it happen at the top of the lineup. Once we turned that corner with the hitting, we have had a lot of confidence and we’ve just started rolling.”
This is the first state tournament appearance for Rossville since 2019.
The two-day Class 2-1A State Tournament will being Thursday, May 29 and finish the following day. Rossville will play their state tournament at the Great Bend Sports Complex in Great Bend.
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Rossville, Shawnee Heights baseball win regional championship
