The Lady Jaguars defeated the reigning 6A state champions Olathe Northwest, 1-0, to win their first regional title since 2019, Thursday, May 22 at CBAC. The Jags advanced to the state tournament beginning Thursday, May 29 at KU.
In the first game of the regional tournament, the Jags defeated Olathe South. After trailing the first six innings, the offense started to come alive, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the 6th inning and resulting in the Lady Jaguars taking the matchup. This offensive display, along with very strong defense and great pitching by Emma Hadley, allowed the Lady Jaguars to take control of this game and defeat the Falcons 10-5 in the first game. Some top performances from this game were Madi Lehr going 2-2 along with 2 runs, and McKenna O’Leary going 3 for 3 with 2 RBIS.
Assistant coach Jessica Garcia said one moment of this game stood out to her.
“I think Addison Moeller walking as many times as she did three of her four at bats, set the tone for us she was going up there and taking at bats for the team, not for herself, which is key, especially in the postseason, being selfless and being a good teammate, and knowing what your role is,” Garcia said.
The second game of the night between Olathe Northwest was a very close one; both teams were tied 0-0 at the top of the 5th inning as the defense controlled the game.
Senior Molly Griffin said the tide of the game turned in the top of the 6th inning.
“In the top of the 6th, assistant coach Jess Garcia pulled the entire team together and at the time it was still 0-0 and she said this is our chance. She said don’t back down, and if we want it, we can get it right now. Go score, get loud, we can do it,” Griffin said.
The team credited sophomore Liv Peery for making incredible plays from third base. She had two huge bunts to move runners into scoring position, giving the Lady Jaguars the lead in the top of the seventh, 1-0. Also, sophomore Teagan Middleton had an incredible pitching game where she allowed only a handful of players to get on base. Ultimately it was the defense that prevented ONW from scoring in the bottom of the seventh, securing the win, 1-0. Resulted in Mill Valley getting the win and securing their first trip to state since 2019.
The Jags will compete in the state tournament quarterfinals against Olathe North Thursday, May 29 at KU.
