Emporia High Softball Will Face Goddard in First Round of 5A Regional

Postseason is here for Kansas High School softball.

The Emporia High School Lady Spartans (12-14) begin postseason play Tuesday against Goddard High School.

The two squads will face off at Salina SFB District Stadium for a 5A Regional West matchup at 2 p.m.

The forecast for Salina on Tuesday afternoon is 65 degrees with a north wind of 13 to 15 mph and occasional rain and drizzle.

Eleven-seed Emporia and six-seed Goddard will play in the Regional 4 bracket along with three-seed Salina-Central High School (21-5) and 14-seed Eisenhower High School (11-13).

Goddard High School is 17-7 on the season and brings some quality pitching to the circle.

Breckyn Baxter is 10-2 and has logged 106 strikeouts to 20 walks with a 2.80 ERA and 1.232 WHIP.

Teammate Abella Northcutt is 7-5 with a 4.73 ERA. At the plate, the Lady Lions are paced by Sophia Castorena, who is batting .423 with 30 hits, nine of them extra base hits, and 15 RBIs.

Goddard's team fielding percentage is .916, and they've committed 56 errors in 24 games.

Emporia coach Tommy McClure says the Lady Lions are a formidable opponent. The Spartans will need to minimize errors, receive stellar pitching from Alivia Barrett or Delaney Davis, and have the entire lineup bring productive bats to the plate.

"Me and head coach Erin Meyers go back to the GWAC days," said McClure. "She always had hard-hitting teams and tough defenders. Expect the same from this team. They will have some good pitching. They have played a tough schedule. We will have to play a complete game and minimize mistakes. We have yet to put a complete game together. We are going to have to do that to give ourselves a chance. Leave nothing in the tank and play ball."

The other 5A Regional West brackets-

Regional 1: Top-seed Great Bend (23-1), possibly the best team in the state, meets 16-seed Topeka West (9-17). No. 8 Kapuan Mt. Carmel (14-8) squares off against nine-seed Valley Center High School (14-12).

Regional 2: Four-seed Arkansas City High School (19-7) plays 13-seed Newton High School (12-14), and five-seed Maize South High School (19-7) battles 12-seed Hays High School (12-14).

Regional 3: Two-seed Bishop Carroll High School (23-3) meets 15-seed Andover Central (11-15), and seven-seed Seaman High School (17-8) faces 10-seed Salina-South High School (12-14).

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 9:37 AM.