ShawneeDispatch.com

Shawnee Mission Northwest softball team, which had struggle throughout the season, found some redemption Wednesday night in Lawrence.

The Cougars swept the Lawrence High Chesty Lions, 4-3 and 12-1, in the regular-season finale for both teams. The pair of wins improved Northwest's record to 6-13 going into the postseason.

"Those last two wins were very important for us," Northwest coach Mark Balderston said. "That was the type of softball Northwest has been known for playing lots of hits, lots of good run production, good defense and strong pitching."

The victories were true team efforts from the Cougars as they used both solid pitching and copious amounts of hitting to bury the Lions. In game one, junior pitcher Kirsan Caswell pitched a complete game, holding off a late Lawrence rally to secure the win. Yet the game looked to be in the book for the Lions until the final inning.

In the top of the seventh, the Cougars came up for their last at-bats trailing 3-0. A one-out single by junior Meghan Miller was followed by a walk to Caswell. Sophomore Rachael Zdeb, facing a stiff wind, blasted a home run to left-center to tie the game and give the Cougars new life.

Neither team scored again until the top of the ninth when, with two outs, Northwest junior first baseman Alex Crowe doubled to left field. Junior shortstop Summer Kelley then lined a single to score Crowe and set up Caswell to put the game away in the bottom of the inning.

The Cougars racked up 12 hits in game one with 10 of them coming off the bats of Miller, Crowe and Kelley.

Game two was not quite as dramatic as Northwest collected a run-rule shortened victory. The Cougars exploded for 18 hits, led by Crowe and sophomore Loryn Goebel, who each went 3-for-4. Kelley and senior catcher Katie Songy had 3-for-5 performances, with Songy driving in three runs. Sophomore pitcher Jessica Schottler controlled the Lions by allowing only four hits and striking out five.

The Cougars are scheduled to play Olathe North at 4:45 p.m. today in the first round of regionals at the Olathe District Activity Center. If they win, they will advance to play Blue Valley Northwest or Shawnee Mission West at 6:30 p.m. in the finals.

North will be a formidable first-round opponent, however.

The Eagles, having one of the best seasons in North history, will present a big obstacle for the Cougars. At 16-4, the Eagles are heavy favorites to win, in large part due to the pitching talents of their ace, Sarah Espy. Still, with the improved offense and pitching shown last week, Northwest still has hope alive, according to Balderston.

"We're going to have to play mistake-free softball," Balderston said. "We can't give them more than three outs per inning. We've got to keep their batters off balance when we're pitching. Then, hopefully, the ball will bounce our way."