Louisburg senior Jackson Olson watches his tee shot during a tournament earlier in the season. Olson finished second Thursday at the Prairie View Invitational.

LINN VALLEY — It has been a tough spring for the Louisburg golf team, but it all finally came together for the Wildcats on Thursday.

Louisburg traveled to the Prairie View Invitational and came home with some hardware. The Wildcats won the team title with a season-best score of 355 and edged out runner-up Iola by four strokes at the six team meet at Deer Trace Golf Course.

With all the team success, the Wildcats also earned several individual honors and it started with Jackson Olson. The Louisburg senior took second overall the tournament with a season-best 83.

Olson tied with Iola’s Brennon Coffield and Eudora’s Ty Deterding with the top score, but Deterding took home top honors on a scorecard tiebreaker. 

Senior Nick Lancaster had one of his best rounds of the season as he carded an 87 and finished seventh overall. Sophomore Sam Frederick finished in 10th with a 91.

Louisburg senior Carter Stuteville was fourth on the team, and took 14th overall, with a 94. Junior Cole Mynsted (98) and sophomore Josh Holtzen (109) finished 19th and 24th, respectively

The Wildcats are back on the course today for postseason play. Louisburg is taking part in the Class 4A regional tournament at Coffeyville Country Club.

The top three teams qualify for the state tournament next week, along with the top five other individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Louisburg freshman Danny Napier jumps onto home plate as his teammates celebrate his 3-run walk-off home run Wednesday against Paola at Lewis-Young Park.

It may have taken a day to finish it all, but for the Louisburg baseball team, the wait was well worth it.

After having to suspend the first game due to weather, and wait a day to finish what was a 7-2 loss to Paola in the first game of the doubleheader Wednesday, the Wildcats made it a memorable Senior Night finish in game two.

Louisburg had a flair for the dramatics as the Wildcats lost the lead twice — only to get it back on a Wyatt Holland pinch hit grand slam the first time. The Wildcats then won it in walk-off fashion with a Danny Napier 3-run home run in the seventh, to give them a 12-9 victory over the Panthers.

It was the perfect ending for the four Wildcat seniors — Jackson Kush, Corbin Hamman, Kaleb Carter and Cade Driskell — who were playing in their final game on their home field.

“That was a huge win heading into regionals,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “The guys fought hard all night. When things didn’t go the way we planned, everyone kept battling and found a way to win. It was a crazy game all around. Credit to Paola as they continued to battle from behind, just like we did.”

Through four innings, there wasn’t much drama to be had. Louisburg had 3-0 lead and the Panther bats hadn’t been able to touch Wildcat starter Alex Saad.

Paola eventually was able to break through in the top of the fifth when the Panthers exploded for six runs in the inning that was aided by a couple Wildcat errors. Down 6-3, the Wildcat bats got to work in their half of the inning.

Jackson Howard and Brody McGreer opened the inning with singles and Bristol Barbour was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jack Anderson worked a walk to score Howard.

Holland then came up to bat as a pinch-hitter, and on a 3-1 count, the Wildcat junior smacked the ball over the centerfield fence for the grand slam to give Louisburg the 8-6 lead.

“Wyatt did a great job of coming in, in a spot we needed and did his job really well,” Larson said. “He worked the count well and got ahold of one. That was really great to see.”

With the Wildcats two outs away from victory, Paola struck again. The Panthers doubled, reached on an error and walked to load the bases. Paola then scored on a ground out and another a single to take the 9-8 lead.

Louisburg reliever Declan Battle got a strikeout to end the seventh and gave the Wildcats one final opportunity to get the win.

Anderson opened the bottom of the seventh by getting hit by a pitch and Holland worked a walk. Then after a strikeout, Battle reached on a fielder’s choice and the Wildcats were down to their final out.

Sophomore Luke Schultz came up in a big way for the Wildcats as he singled home Anderson to tie the game. The Louisburg freshman catcher walked to the plate with a chance to end it — and he did.

Napier, who was robbed of a home run by a Paola outfielder earlier in the game, cleared the fence this time on a home run to right field and the celebration ensued.

“Danny was hitting the ball well all night,” Larson said. “He had a really hard hit ball right at the third baseman and a home run robbed earlier in the game. He went with the pitch and hammered it to right field.”

McGreer and Jackson Kush led the Wildcat bats with a pair of hits, while Kush had a double. Battle also doubled and scored a pair of runs, while Anderson scored three times and had an RBI.

Saad and Battle competed to keep the Wildcats in it as the two combined to give up five earned runs, with the rest of the Panther runs coming on four Louisburg errors.

“I thought our pitching did well in game two,” Larson said. “We had a few mistakes in the field that need to get cleaned up, but Saad and Battle competed on the mound and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Wildcats also got out to a good start in game one last Tuesday as they took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning. Paola tied it with two in the sixth and then added another in the seven to take the lead.

Storms then rolled in and forced the postponement and the two teams picked up where the left off Wednesday. Paola struck for five runs in the seventh and handed Louisburg the 7-2 loss.

Battle led the Wildcat offense with four hits, including a double, while Napier and Barbour both had RBI doubles. 

Senior Corbin Hamman pitched the first six innings for Louisburg and gave up five runs, but struck out five 

Louisburg will now begin postseason play Tuesday in Atchison as the Wildcats are the No. 7 seed and will have a rematch against No. 10 Paola at 1 p.m. at Benedictine College in Atchison.

If the Wildcats advance, they will play the winner between No. 2 Atchison and No. 15 Eudora for the regional championship later that night.

“The guys are really excited for the postseason,” Larson said. “They know they can hang with anyone and it’s time to go see what happens. We always want to give ourselves a chance near the end and I think we’re playing our best ball heading into regionals. I’m excited to see what happens.”

The Louisburg 4×100-meter relay of (from left) Kendall Crossley, Mackenzie Rooney, Emma Lohse and Suzanna Dansel broke the school record in the event Friday at Wellsville with a time of 50.14.

WELLSVILLE — The Louisburg girls track and field team had, quite possibly, its best finish on the season Friday at the Red Bud Classic in Wellsville.

The Lady Cats made a little history to go along with it.

Louisburg finished runner-up at the 15-team meet with 97 points, just 10 points behind champion Spring Hill.

“It has been a while since we have placed top two at Wellsville,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “It is a testament to how hard they have been working and preparing for the postseason.”

The Lady Cats also rewrote a little part of their track history. The 4×100-meter relay team of Mackenzie Rooney, Suzanna Dansel, Kendall Crossley and Emma Lohse, not only won the event, but broke the school record time with a time of 50.14 seconds.

They broke the old record of 50.59, that was set in 2019 by Jordan Leach, Carlee Gassman, Rain Pugh and Sydni Keagle.

“The 4×1 ran a great race, and not only broke the record, they blew it up,” Reece said. “They are setting themselves up to run very fast here at the end of the season.”

Lohse continued that dominance in her individual races as she took first in the 100-meter dash in 12.61 seconds and first in the 200 dash in 26.67 seconds.

“Emma is a fierce competitor,” Reece said. “She does not always show it in her expressions, but definitely in her performance. She has also been a great leader this year for the underclassmen with her work ethic and preparation at meets.”

Freshman Suzanna Dansel was second in the 100 dash in 12.84 and finished fourth in the 200 in 27.19 to help the Lady Cats. 

Also on the track, Rooney scored points in both hurdle events. She took third in the 300 hurdles in 49.47 seconds and seventh in the 100 in 17.40.

Junior Emma Vohs finished fourth in the 400 dash in 1:03.94, while Crossley was sixth at 1:04.58. In the distance races, junior Maddy Rhamy was seventh in the 3,200 run in 13:13.

The Lady Cats also scored points in the other two relay events as the 4×400 team of Rooney, Lohse, Vohs and Crossley finished third in 4:21. Vohs, Rhamy, Erin Apple and Delanie Tally took seventh in the 4×800 relay in 10:48.

In the field events, junior Katie Elpers finished runner-up in the javelin with a throw of 120 feet, 10 inches. Junior Maddy Carpenter-Ross also took second in the pole vault after she cleared 10 feet.

Senior Emma Prettyman scored points in all three throwing events. Prettyman finished fifth the discus (109-4), javelin (113-10) and shot put (35-0.5).

“As a whole team, the girls are competing well,” Reece said. “You can’t PR every meet, but you can step up to the competition and perform your best to put pressure on your competitors. Great things are in the future for this team.”

Louisburg is back in action today for the Frontier League meet at Baker University and Liston Stadium. Events begin at 2 p.m.

Other results are:

800 run: Nova Ptacek, 12th, 2:45; Erin Apple, 13th, 2:46

1,600 run: Ptacek, 15th, 6:11; Delanie Tally, 17th, 6:18

100 hurdles: Kate Frederick, 9th, 17.87

300 hurdles: Frederick, 10th, 53.77

Discus: Kenna Lohse, 17th, 92-7

Javelin: Lohse, 17th, 89-9

Shot Put: Lohse, 10th, 31-2.5

Louisburg senior Mason Dobbins tied the school record in the high jump Friday at Wellsville as he cleared 6-6 to win the event. The Wildcats won the Red Bud Classic, which was their fourth consecutive victory.

WELLSVILLE — Winning hasn’t been a problem for the Louisburg boys track and field team as of late, and it certainly wasn’t on Friday in Wellsville.

At the Red Bud Classic, the Wildcats won their fourth straight meet with 133.5 points and Eudora was second at the 15-team meet with 116. Louisburg scored points in all but two events as it cruised to the title.

“This group keeps improving every week,” Louisburg boys coach Andy Wright said. “There was a lot of good competition in multiple events, and the team as a whole stepped up. We just have to keep working to get better each week.”

Senior Mason Dobbins put together his best meet of the season and he has two school records to show for it.

Dobbins tied the high jump record after he cleared 6 feet, 6 inches to win the event. He equaled the mark set by Jason Burk (1998) and Dennis Seck (1991).

Dobbins also joined Caden Caplinger, Colyer Wingfield and Ashton Moore as they won the 4×100-meter relay in a school record time of 43.14 seconds.

The Louisburg senior also went on to win the 110-meter hurdles in 14.80 seconds and the 200 dash in 22.70 seconds.

“Mason had an absolutely amazing meet,” Wright said. “Mason has been clearing 6-2 for the last few meets and he was due for a big jump. I am super proud of how hard he has been working, and he is not done.”

The relay broke last season’s school record of mark of 43.33 seconds that was set by Dobbins, Caplinger, Tom Koontz and Ethan Ptacek.

“We have been running mid 43’s for the last three meets,” Wright said. “We were just waiting for the ideal weather to run in the lower 43’s. Not surprised at their time because this has been the same group all season and they have built up a good chemistry running together.”

The Wildcats almost saw a third record fall, this time in the pole vault. 

Caplinger, who had already cleared a personal best of 15-3, tried to surpass the school record of 15-6. His try at 15-7 came up just short, but finished first in the event.

Senior Nathan Apple also captured gold. Apple won the 300-meter hurdles and did it in a personal best time of 40.76 seconds.

Apple also medaled third in the 110 hurdles in 15.22 seconds. In the preliminaries, Apple also set a personal best time of 15.05.

Another senior, Nathan Vincent, scored points in all three throwing events and recorded a season-best mark in the javelin. Vincent had a throw of 180-6 to take third in the event.

Vincent also finished third in the shot put with a toss of 49-1 and was seventh in the discus at 143-1. Senior J.R. Rooney was seventh in the shot put at 47-4.75.

Also in the field events, senior Isaiah Whitley recorded a season-best mark in the high jump. Whitley cleared 6-0 and took third overall.

Back on the track, the Wildcats also scored several points in the sprints.

Senior Ethan Ptacek was third in the 400-meter dash in 51.80 seconds and teammate Hunter Heinrich was sixth at 53.16. Ptacek was also fifth in the 100 dash at 11.49.

Ashton Moore took sixth in the 200 dash in 23.36 and was eighth in the 100 dash in 11.74.

In the distance races, sophomore Jerynce Brings Plenty ran a season-best time in the 1,600-meter run in 4:34 to take third. Brings Plenty also finished fourth in the 3,200 in 10:12.

Freshman Blaise Vohs took fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:06.

Louisburg also scored points in the other two relays.

The 4×400 team of Heinrich, Wingfield, Ptacek and Vohs was second in a time of 3:30, while the 4×800 of Heinrich, Brings Plenty, Vohs and Colton Blue was third in 8:36.

Louisburg is back in action Thursday when the Wildcats travel to the Frontier League Invitational at Baker University in Baldwin City. Events begin at 2 p.m.

Other results are: 

100 dash: Caleb Feldkamp, 15th, 11.89

200 dash: Feldkamp, 17th, 24.80

400 dash: Colton Blue, 12th, 55.61

800 run: Myles Vohs, 12th, 2:11

1,600 run: Noah Cotter, 12th, 4:55; Leo Martin, 18th, 5:08

3,200 run: Cotter, 9th, 10:51

110 hurdles: Kyler Biermann, 12th, 19.61

300 hurdles: Biermann, 15th, 49.19

High Jump: Evan McKitrick, 12th, 5-6

Long Jump: Isaiah Whitley, 11th, 19-5; Colyer Wingfield, 17th, 18-8.5; Vohs, 19th, 18-6

Triple Jump: McKitrick, 14th, 36-11; Trey Myers, 15th, 36-9

Discus: J.R. Rooney, 18th, 114-4; Ben O’Bryan, 20th, 107-10

Javelin: Tasen Ellison, 12th, 138-5; Brecon Klugman, 14th, 134-4

Shot Put: Jaymes Melton, 12th, 41-2.5

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week seven of the spring sports season, sponsored by Louisburg Family Dental.

MASON DOBBINS, SENIOR, TRACK AND FIELD

Louisburg senior Mason Dobbins wrote himself into the Wildcat track and field history books Friday at the RedBud Classic in Wellsville. Dobbins, along with teammates Caden Caplinger, Colyer Wingfield and Ashton Moore, broke the 4×100-meter relay record in 43.14 seconds. They broke the old record of 43.33 from last season that was set by Dobbins, Caplinger, Tom Koontz and Ethan Ptacek.

Dobbins then went on to tie the school record in the high jump after he cleared 6-6. He equaled the mark that was set by Jason Burk (1998) and Dennis Seck (1991). In all, Dobbins took gold in four events Friday and helped the Wildcats to their fourth straight meet victory. He also won the 110-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the spring season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Rowan Yows

Week 2: Sabra Brueggen

Week 3: Danny Napier

Week 4: Corbin Hamman

Week 5: Megan Quinn

Week 6: Lexi Hampton

Lexi Hampton gives senior Tehya Harvey a big hug following her first goal of the season, while fellow senior Adyson Ross comes in to celebrate Thursday during the Wildcats’ shutout of Bonner Springs on Senior Night. Harvey played in her first game of the season after suffering an ACL tear.

Senior night usually brings out a plethora of emotions and Thursday for the Louisburg girls soccer team was no different.

In fact, it might have had a few more tugs at the heart strings.

As happy as the Wildcats were to end their regular season home schedule with a 5-0 victory over Bonner Springs, it was how they did it, and who they honored, that made it even more special.

Despite have to dodge rain drops for much of the night, the Wildcats honored their senior class of Brylee Diederich, Bree Gassman, Tehya Harvey, Brianne Kuhlman and Adyson Ross and did so in convincing fashion.

The victory pushed the Wildcats’ record to 10-4 on the season as they look to continue to improve with the postseason looming.

“I told the (senior) girls the other night that I don’t have any regrets about the season, but my only regret is that I have only been around them a year,” Louisburg coach Ben York said. “They are a great group of girls. They like to joke and laugh a lot, but when it comes down to it, they are ready to go compete when its time. 

“There was already such a good foundation here when I started and the seniors are a part of that. They are just a fun group to be around and they have made a big impact on the program. Now we just want to send them out in the best way possible.”

Soccer didn’t even seem in the cards this season for one of the Wildcat seniors. Harvey tore her ACL in the fall and she thought her season was over.

It was a devastating blow, but it didn’t let it stop her from trying to make it back. That journey ended with one of the most memorable moments of the season to date.

Not only was Harvey able to play limited minutes, but she made a big impact on the game. 

Junior Lexi Hampton had a breakaway opportunity late in the first half, but saw Harvey on the opposite side of the field. Hampton made the perfect pass that found Harvey’s foot as she put it in the back of the net to score her first goal of the season.

“Not sure I would have seen that coming six months ago when we found out about her injury,” York said. “I don’t know you could write a movie script better than what actually happened. When we found out she was having ACL surgery, she was emotional. I told her whatever happens, we would get her whatever time we could on Senior Night. 

“It might be a pivotal moment for Tehya. It was neat to see the connection her and Lexi had. It was a very unselfish moment there from Lexi as she could have scored the goal herself, but it was a neat deal to be a part of. I was proud to be on the sidelines just to watch it all. Everyone has always been supportive of her and I think we all enjoyed the moment.”

Harvey’s goal put up the Wildcats up 2-0, as just moments before, Diederich opened the scoring to get a goal on Senior Night. 

Early in the second half, the Wildcats increased the lead to 3-0 when Hampton scored off an assist from Ross. It was Ross who followed that up with a goal of her own to make it a 4-0 contest.

Hampton completed the scoring with her second goal of the night as the Wildcat dominated possession from start to finish.

This was the second meeting between the two teams as the Wildcats defeated Bonner Springs 10-0 earlier in the season.

“I don’t expect a lot out of senior night as there is so many distractions, but we got the win and that is the most important,” York said. “I wasn’t frustrated that we weren’t scoring as much, even though we had multiple opportunities. The girls just stayed the course and didn’t get frustrated, which was good to see. Bonner was not the same team we played earlier in the year and they have improved as well.”

It was a nice win for the Wildcats as they were coming off a difficult 2-0 loss to Basehor-Linwood last Tuesday.

“We got off to a slow start and felt like a couple players weren’t firing 100 percent and it was one of those midseason games where you can’t explain why things happen the way they do,” York said. “I think if we were to see them again it would be different, but they have some fast girls. It was their senior night too and I think they were pretty inspired. It was a weird night for us, and we had plenty of opportunities especially late, but we just didn’t play well.

The Wildcats will end the regular season this week as they travel to Ottawa today and Lansing on Thursday. 

“The last two-and-a half weeks we have made a ton of progress,” York said. “This coming week is going to be a good measuring stick with where we are at. We are all healthy and are in a good spot. We have had some good practices, and if we can get out and play quick, then we can do good things. We have things we have been working on all season that are coming around too. Hopefully by the end of the year we can see it all come together.”

Louisburg senior Emma Prettyman, one of the top throwers on the Lady Cat track and field team, will join the Columbia College squad next season.

Emma Prettyman’s growth on the Louisburg track and field team has been a steady progression — starting as a junior varsity thrower to becoming one of the leaders as a senior.

Track has become a big part of Prettyman’s life and it has showed. She has been a consistent point-scorer in all three throwing events for the Lady Cats this season and she is not ready to give up the sport just yet.

During a signing ceremony earlier this year, Prettyman made it official. She signed her letter of intent to compete for the Columbia College track and field program next season.

“I have wanted to compete at the college level if faced with the opportunity,” Prettyman said. “Now that I have been given this chance, I am really excited to see where it takes me.”

Columbia College is an NAIA school based in Columbia, Mo., and Prettyman saw this as her best fit to compete at the college level. The Cougars also have one of the better teams in the American Midwest Conference.

The Cougars recently finished second in the team standings in their conference meet and have a well-rounded program. It was one of the things that attracted Prettyman to the school.

“I looked into Columbia because it was a small school with a good teacher to student ratio,” Prettyman said. “I also liked that it wasn’t too far from home and because of the track teams. The coaches and athletes were really great as well.”

Prettyman has had a strong senior campaign for the Lady Cats so far this season, along with being a starter on the Louisburg volleyball and girls basketball team. She has scored points in all three throwing events for much of the year.

The Louisburg senior is now ready for one final run at competing in her first state meet.

“My senior track season has been my best season,” Prettyman said. “From not getting my freshman season (COVID-19), to where I am now, I have improved a lot. My goals for the remainder of the season are to make it to regionals and hopefully qualify for state.”

Prettyman is also looking forward to her time after high school and with her new team.

“I am not sure what events I will do at Columbia, though I believe I will have the chance to tryout hammer throw,” she said. “My goals are to keep improving and hopefully learn a new event as well as potentially break some records.”

Louisburg catcher Rylee Hickey tags out a Eudora player sliding into home Tuesday at Eudora High School. The Lady Cats fell to Anderson County and Eudora after winning three straight games.

EUDORA — After rattling off three straight wins, the Louisburg softball team has gone through a couple rough patches.

Most recently, the Lady Cats faced off Eudora in a single game last Tuesday and left with a 12-1 loss against a Cardinal team that is one of the top teams in the Frontier League.

On April 27, Louisburg hosted Anderson County for a doubleheader and lost a pair of 5-3 and 8-4 contests.

“Although we lost, we did have some positives against Anderson County,” Louisburg coach Nick Chapman said. “Our defense was better as we only made two errors all night long. We also have girls that are still consistently hitting the ball hard and making things happen.”

Against Anderson County, the Lady Cats got a good performance from starter Megan Quinn as she pitched a compete game. She gave up three earned runs and struck out seven.

Louisburg (6-12) had a 3-2 lead going into the sixth inning, but Anderson County scraped across a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to steal the win from the Lady Cats.

Quinn led the Lady Cat bats with three hits, including a double, while sophomore Katie McKain had a pair of RBIs. Junior Jenna Cauthon added two hits and an RBI, while Addy Stohs and Rylee Hickey each had a double.

“Jenna, Ashley (Moreau) and Megan are all finding ways on base and hitting the ball well,” Chapman said. “Addy is hitting the ball hard and doing a great job in the field. I’ve asked her to move around a little bit and she’s accepted that and done a great job.”

In the second game, Anderson County jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third inning and never let the Lady Cats in the game. The Bulldogs used their power as they connected on three home runs to pull away.

Junior Izzy Moreland started for the Wildcats, but worked around some rough patches as she was able to strike out 12 in five innings of work.

Quinn had another multi-hit performance with two hits, while Stohs, Moreland and Delaney Nelsen had RBIs for Louisburg. The Lady Cats made thing interesting with three runs in the sixth, but could get no closer.

Against Eudora, the Cardinals took a big lead on Louisburg from the first inning on and never let up. Eudora scored five runs in the first, one in the second, four in the third and two in the fourth.

Quinn, Stohs, Moreland and Moreau all had hits for Louisburg, while freshman Shyloh Waite had the team’s lone RBI. 

Louisburg will try and end the regular season on a good note as the Lady Cats host Paola on Tuesday for a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. at Lewis-Young Park.

Louisburg freshman Bristol Barbour looks to turn a double play after getting the out at third Tuesday at Eudora. The Wildcats lost the doubleheader opener, but rallied to take the second game, 15-0.

EUDORA — Last week’s doubleheader at Eudora was quite the roller coaster for the Louisburg baseball team.

The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead in game one, only to see Eudora rally back to hand Louisburg an 11-10 loss. In the nightcap, the Wildcats took off from the opening pitch.

Louisburg used a 12-run second inning to pull away for a 15-0 victory Tuesday over the Cardinals to salvage a road split. The Wildcats are now 12-6 on the year heading into their final doubleheader of the season.

“We were definitely hoping for a sweep, but the guys answered well after the tough loss in game one,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “We hit really well all night and just had some costly mistakes that came back to bite us in the end. We will learn from this one and try to fix those mistakes moving forward.”

In the nightcap, the Wildcats took advantage of a couple Eudora mistakes and walked eight times to keep themselves active on the base paths.

Jack Anderson led the Louisburg bats with a pair of hits, to go along with 4 RBIs and senior Kaleb Carter finished with a hit and three runs driven in.

Brody McGreer added a pair of RBIs and two hits, while Jackson Howard also drove home two runs to go along with a hit and two walks.

Danny Napier had a pair of hits and an RBI, while Corbin Hamman, who ran for Napier, scored three times. Luke Schultz and Wyatt Holland also had an RBI base hit. 

Sophomore Alex Saad started the game for Louisburg and had no problems with the Cardinals. Saad didn’t allow a hit in the 3-inning game, worked around three walks and struck out five.

The Wildcats also got good starting pitching in the opener as Hamman, who was coming back from a minor injury, went 4 1/3 innings and gave up just two earned runs and struck out seven.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Eudora took advantage of four Louisburg errors as nine of its 11 runs were unearned.

Louisburg took an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Cardinals answered with seven runs in the bottom of the frame to take an 11-7 advantage.

The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but could get no closer.

Junior Declan Battle led the Wildcat bats from the leadoff spot as he finished with two hits and a run driven in. Freshman Bristol Barbour delivered a big hit with a 2-run triple to give Louisburg a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning.

Louisburg added on to its lead in the sixth thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Napier and Saad. Junior Nathaniel Lamm also finished with a pair of hits and 2 RBIs.

McGreer and Howard each added RBIs, while senior Jackson Kush scored a pair of runs and he also had a double.

The Wildcats will finish up the regular season with Senior Night this Tuesday as they host rival Paola for a doubleheader at Lewis-Young Park. Senior Night ceremonies will be held in between games. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Louisburg senior Jackson Olson watches his tee shot during a tournament earlier this season. Olson and the Wildcats shot a season best 363 on Monday in Ottawa.

OTTAWA — It might not have left with any hardware Monday, but the Louisburg golf team saw its fair share of improvements.

Louisburg competed in the Ottawa Invitational at the Great Life Golf and Fitness course and put together its best team performance of the season. The Wildcats recorded a 363 to finish in seventh overall — which surpassed their previous best by 12 strokes.

“We finally got two golfers in the 80s, which was good to see,” Louisburg coach Brian Burns said. “We worked hard on the short game and pitch shot distances and I think it probably helped each golfer drop a couple strokes.”

Wildcat senior Nick Lancaster recorded his best round of the season as he finished with an 85, just three spots out of a medal and took 13th overall. 

Senior Carter Stuteville also finished below 90 for the first time this season. Stuteville carded an 88 to finish 20th out of 53 golfers. 

Another senior, Jackson Olson, was next on the team with a 92 and finished 29th. Sophomore Josh Holtzen scored a 98 and was 35th.

Seniors Brock Varns (100) and Layne Ryals (123) finished 39th and 49th, respectively.

Louisburg’s schedule picks up next week as the Wildcats compete in two tournaments. They will travel to the Anderson County Invitational on Tuesday at Garnett Country Club.

Then in their final meet of the regular season, Louisburg will travel to the Prairie View Invitational at Deer Trace Golf Course at Linn Valley Lakes.

The Wildcats will then wrap up their season at the Class 4A regional tournament on May 15 at Coffeyville Country Club.