Building off its success on the basketball court, the Wellington Lady Tiger softball team is likewise making back-to-back trips to the MSHSAA Championships in that sport after winning a state quarterfinal-round playoff game 9-0 at home against Sweet Springs yesterday.

Scoring three times in the first, twice in the second and three more in the third, the I-70 Conference champions built an 8-0 lead. The winners banged out 12 hits.

Ayden Shannon provided three singles, scored a run and drove in one. Bree Shannon doubled, tripled, scored three times and added an RBI. Freshman Brilyn (Brill-in) Zykan (Zy-kann) chipped in with two singles, scored once and drove home three, and Sam Buckallew doubled, tripled, scored once and had an RBI. The Lady Tigers had six extra-base hits.

Ayden Shannon was Wellington’s winning pitcher, scattering five hits, striking out 13 and walking none. Sweet Springs never got a runner past second base until the final three innings when the Lady Hounds missed out on three opportunities to at least score.

In the fifth, the Lady Hounds had runners on second and third with two outs but came up empty. In the sixth inning they lined into a double play, wasting a lead-off double. They also loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but two strike outs ended the contest.

Nicole Hedgepeth had a pair of singles and Jaelyn (Jay-lynn) Winfrey and Teagan Connor both doubled, pacing the Sweet Springs offense. Sophomore Lauren Shahan pitched a full six innings, giving up nine runs on 12 hits. She fanned nine and walked three.

Sweet Springs made four errors and stranded eight base runners. Wellington committed five miscues and left seven runners on base.

Having won its fifth district title over the past six seasons, Sweet Springs ends the year at 7-10.

The victory is the ninth in a row for the three-time district champion Lady Tigers, who are 18-2. They hope to improve on the third-place finish they enjoyed at state last season.