SUMNER — West Marshall softball hopes its final game of the 2024 season is the first chapter in a promising journey.

Sumner-Fredericksburg-Tripoli turned back the Trojans, 3-1, in a Class 3A Region 5 final at Sumner-Fredericksburg High School on Tuesday evening.

West Marshall’s season ends at 25-9.

“The biggest thing we ask of the girls is to compete,” West Marshall head coach Jake Randall said. “And we did that tonight from the first at-bat to the last at-bat, they just made a couple of hits at the right time and you have to tip your hat to them. It was a really good softball game, and that’s what we wanted our girls to play tonight.”

The teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when S-F-T loaded the bases with one out — West Marshall was able to get a second out with a force at home on a bunt attempt by Jana Meyer but Aubree Land roped a two-RBI single in the next at-bat.

Aubree Greenwood got a strikeout to limit the damage. In the next half-inning, Lillian Fischer bashed her fifth home run of the season for West Marshall, a solo shot with one out, to cut the deficit in half.

The Cougars limited the Trojans the rest of the way, however, allowing only a single base to Riley Randall after she was hit by a pitch with two outs in the seventh inning. S-F-T pitcher Addi Murray got a flyout on the next at-bat to end the game.

West Marshall mustered five hits and, aside from the Fischer home run, did not advance a runner to third and left five runners on base.

“They mixed their pitches and changed speeds on us to keep us off-balance at the plate,” Randall said.

The Trojan defense stepped up consistently to stay in range on Tuesday.

With a lineup led off by 3A’s top hitter, Isabel Bernard, S-F-T immediately put pressure on West Marshall by getting runners to 2nd and third with no outs.

The Trojans retired the next three batters in order to end the threat.

In the third, Bernard reached again using her quickness on a bunt but got doubled up when Fischer reeled in a catch in left and fired to Josie deNeui at first for the 7-3 double play.

West Marshall nearly turned two again in the pivotal fifth inning when Jillian Karsjen leaped to snag a line drive at shortstop, but her throw was just off target to double up the runner. Karsjen made another web gem for the first out in the sixth inning.

“Karsjen is a phenomenal shortstop,” Randall said. “She’s got a great attitude, gives tremendous effort and goes after the ball every single play. She put on a show tonight along with our girls defensively.”

Greenwood pitched six innings for the Trojans in the circle with three strikeouts and three earned runs allowed on nine hits with zero walks.

“She kept them off-balance when she needed to and when they hit the ball hard a couple times our girls were there to make plays behind her,” Randall said.

The Trojans had two seniors on the roster, starting first baseman Josie deNeui and Brooke Hilleman.

Randall said deNeui’s varsity leadership will be tough to replace as the Trojans prepare to make a pivotal move in the next stage of their program.

“Our goal was to be in this game to give us the chance to go out and win one game,” West Marshall head coach Jake Randall said. “We got where we wanted to be, but in the end, there’s always a team that comes out on top feeling great and the other feeling not so great. We’ll have the experience next year of what it feels like to be in this game, and hopefully we can use that and continue to build on what we want to do as a program. I’m super proud of our kids.”