OVERLAND PARK — After suffering a first-round loss, the Neosho County Panthers won three straight games in the back side of the NJCAA Region VI softball tournament before their season ended on Friday with a loss to Kansas City Kansas.
Neosho County defeated Fort Scott on Wednesday, 11-0, Cowley in extra innings on Thursday, 3-2, and Allen on Friday, 6-1, before falling to KCK, 5-3 later on Friday.
“The tournament made sense with how our season went,” Neosho County interim coach Mateighia Tanner said. “We had plenty of chances to rollover after facing adversity. Losing to Allen put us in a bind, but then we came out and got wins over the next three days. We were resilient and the girls had been resilient all season. They left it all on the field.”
In Thursday’s thrilling win over Cowley, the KJCCC regular season champions, Brinly Bancroft belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth frame.
“Brinly led us off in the seventh and I thought she was going to do it then,” Tanner said. “But when she came back up again, I knew she was going to do it. That’s why one at-bat matters. She sat back on the ball and she rewarded (Brenli) Solano. She was the hometown hero.”
A half-inning earlier, Solano, who pitched all nine innings, escaped a bases-loaded jam to preserve the Panthers’ life.
“Brenli has always brought calmness for us,” Tanner said. “She kept her composure in the top of the ninth when they got the bases loaded. Her team seeing her composed allowed them to play free. We played very well in that game.”
In a rematch with Allen the next day, Neosho County plated all six of its runs in the bottom of the second.
Bancroft and Paige Hutsell combined for three doubles while Kamri Naff pitched six innings in a winning decision.
“It shifted momentum onto our side,” Tanner said. “We kept putting the ball in play and putting pressure on Allen. In that second inning, we just passed the bat along. It worked out in our favor. It’s easier to play when you have a lead and you’re not pressed.”
In Friday’s season-ending loss to Kansas City Kansas, the Panthers tied the game on two occasions but never held a lead.
Favy Najar had two hits as the Panthers were limited to five in the game.
Solano was charged with the loss while Naff pitched in relief.
“We were a little timid and a little nervous,” Tanner said. “We knew we had to win that game and we felt the pressure. KCK is a great team that can hit and they have a dominant pitcher. Going back-and-forth with them, we knew it was going to be a dogfight. KCK earned it.”
Kansas City Kansas advanced to the championship round of the tournament after beating the Panthers, where it fell to Johnson County.
Had Neosho County advanced to the championship round, the Panthers were on track to earn at least an at-large bid to the national tournament.
Neosho County ends a whirlwind 2025 campaign with a 34-15 overall record and a second- place finish in the KJCCC — all while juggling head coach Kim Alexander’s cancer diagnosis that occurred with less than two weeks before the start of the season.
“At the beginning of the season, when Kim got diagnosed, everything was up in the air,” Tanner said. “Nobody would’ve blamed us if we opted out and just folded. But that’s not what this team’s about. We call Kim our fearless leader. She instilled us with fight and resilience. This season was a success. It’s not how we wanted it to end. We wanted to go to Alabama. But that’s not how it worked out. We got thrown to the wolves and kept fighting. Everytime we were punched, we punched harder.”
Neosho County has to replace nearly every major contributor with Aysha Houk, Emma West, Solano, Annsleigh Morris, Bancroft, Audrey Dewey, Naff, Eleanor Rieck and Hutsell all graduating.
“I’ll be recruiting on the weekends to try and get us ready,” Tanner said. “We have a good class coming in. But we’re losing 11 sophomores that were crucial to our success. They’re passing everything down to the freshmen. They’ll have to continue to represent our culture and figure out how to rebuild this team.”
Alexander is expected to return next season and Tanner told the Tribune she intends to return as well.
“I’m not ready to stop learning under Kim,” Tanner said. “She’s been a great mentor. When she’s ready to come back, it’s hers. I’ll go back to being her assistant and continuing to learn from somebody I respect.”
