The St. Elizabeth Lady Hornets ran away from Gallatin with eight runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning, breaking open a 2-0 game and winning the Class 1 state championship 11-1 on Saturday morning from the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.
In a game heard on KGOZ FM 101.7, Gallatin had high hopes of swinging an upset, but those hopes took an early hit as St. Elizabeth scored a pair of first inning runs, with second baseman Reagan Wobbe cracking an RBI double to scored Allison Doerhoff, who had reached via a base on balls before stealing second. Wobbe stole third and scored after the throw got away from third base.
Gallatin starter Byrnn Bird kept St. Elizabeth off the board in the second inning, but the Lady Bulldog offense was struggling against St. Elizabeth right-hander Riley Hammond, as the Lady Bulldogs went down in order in the first three innings.
The Lady Bulldogs saw 12 batters reach base for the Hornets in the decisive third inning rally, with Doerhoff, Kinley Kemna, and Hammond hitting doubles as part of a seven-hit surge.
Gallatin scraped a run across in the fourth, with freshman shortstop Tegan Eversole scoring on a bases loaded walk to Paige Heldenbrand. Down 10-1 in the top of the 5th, Gallatin was held scoreless, leaving the Lady Bulldogs vulnerable to the ten-run, five inning rule. That rule ended the game in the bottom of the 5th, with Wobbe hitting a double into left-center field that scored Allie Williams with the championship clinching run.
The Lady Hornets of St. Elizabeth, the heavy favorite coming into the weekend to take the state crown, finish the year with a record of 30-2. In Friday’s semifinals, the Hornets beat Stanberry 12-2. Gallatin, reaching the state tournament in Springfield for the second consecutive year, finishes with a program-best runner-up finish, a Grand River Conference championship, and 24 wins to go against nine losses. The Lady Bulldogs should be strong again in 2025, with head coach Penny Gardner losing only two seniors to graduation, with center fielder Lyndsey King and third baseman Karydon Jones set to receive their diplomas in May.
Stanberry rebounded from Friday’s semifinal loss to St. Elizabeth with a 3-2 win over Paris in the third place game, with a walk-off single by Alyssa Wallace giving the Lady Bulldogs the mid-afternoon win on Friday. Gallatin reached the state final with a 5-4 win over Paris on Friday afternoon (on KTTN FM 92.3).
One of the biggest victories for Gallatin was a 3-1 triumph over South Harrison that gave GHS the edge over SHHS in the race for the GRC title. South Harrison, in Class 2, lost to Highland in the state quarterfinals on October 26th by a score of 9-0. Highland went on to win the Class 2 state crown, beating Mid-Buchanan 4-1 in the final.
The Class 3 state championship goes to the Oak Grove Panthers, courtesy of an 8-3 victory over the Centralia Lady Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Springfield.
The Class 4 state championship goes to Tolton Catholic, with a 2-0 win over Belton, while Class 5 was claimed by Lafayette (Wildwood), via a 3-0 title game win over Columbia Rock Bridge.
