Jefferson West came up just short in the Class 3A softball semifinal at Arrocha Ballpark on the University of Kansas campus, falling 2-1 to the Southeast of Saline Trojans. It was a hard-fought battle throughout, but the Tigers will still have a chance to bring home a third-place finish tomorrow.

Both teams were strong through the first two innings, keeping the game scoreless until the Lady Tigers broke through in the top of the third. Emmie Dean scored on an RBI sacrifice bunt by Taryn Taylor to give Jefferson West a 1-0 lead. The Tigers had an opportunity to extend the advantage to 2-0, but an unfortunate wild pitch bounced off the top of the backstop and directly back to the catcher, who tagged out the runner attempting to score from third.

Southeast of Saline quickly answered in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from Annabel Soell to tie the game at 1-1.

The Trojans took the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a single by Kyiah Samuelson and held on through the final two innings to secure the 2-1 victory and advance to the state championship game.

Despite the loss, Addison Schwinn turned in another strong performance in the circle for the Tigers, striking out seven batters and raising her season total to 129 strikeouts. Jefferson West was led offensively by Joslyn Sutton, who went 2-for-3 at the plate and added a walk.

The Tigers also played a clean defensive game with no errors and drew five walks against a pitcher who had allowed only 25 walks and just five earned runs all season entering the matchup.

Southeast of Saline will now face Silver Lake in the Class 3A state championship on Friday. Meanwhile, the Jefferson West Tigers will return to the field tomorrow at Rock Chalk Park on the University of Kansas campus for the Class 3A third-place game against Haven at 3:00 p.m. Coverage will once again air on 103.9 KNZA.