The softball seniors pose with their coaches during Tuesday’s senior night recognition.
Reliable fielding, relentless baserunning, an ace pitcher and a dominant “bomb squad” of hitters are leading the softball team on a record-breaking season, with eyes on a deep postseason run.
The team has stormed out to a 19-1 start, placing the Cardinals as one of the top 4A teams in the state.
Senior Samantha Claire sets the tone for the Cardinals on the mound, setting the record for career strikeouts and holding some of the top teams in the state scoreless. On senior night Tuesday, she pitched a perfect game. Plus, Claire is backed by a strong defense that helps make big plays to get out of tough jams.
But the Cardinals don’t stop on defense. A daunting lineup of hitters awaits opposing pitchers. Senior Katie Courter usually leads off the Cardinals’ lineup and uses her speed to scurry around the bases and score runs. Then, the Cardinals’ “bomb squad” comes up, with seniors Jaiden Burris, Alexia Born and Reese Pattison mashing balls deep into the outfield and over the fence.
Two other seniors fill out the core of the Eudora lineup: Maddy Arnold and Kaylyn Carpenter.
On Tuesday night, the Cardinals took down Louisburg on senior night, winning the game like so many others — by run rule.
Arnold said she appreciated how the bond of the seniors has helped push the Cardinals to succeed.
“I don’t think we’d be the team we are today if we weren’t as close,” she said. “Having a team close knit and knowing that we can battle back from tough situations, and even starting out strong, is a big thing for us.”
Carpenter said it was exciting to see the future of her senior teammates, as they look ahead to college softball and other life plans.
“Watching everyone grow from freshman year has been really fun,” Carpenter said.
Five of the softball seniors have committed to play in college next year. Three will stay local, with Claire heading to KU, and Courter and Pattison going to Johnson County Community College. Born will play softball at the Air Force Academy and Burris is heading north to Iowa Western Community College.
Samantha Claire
Claire, the Cardinals’ ace pitcher, will head to KU to play softball next year, an opportunity she said would allow her to be “living out the dream.”
Growing up a Missouri Tigers fan, Claire said she never considered becoming a Jayhawk. But she realized how much she wanted to stay close to home and fell in love with KU.
“Once I committed, I went on campus and I was like, ‘I want to move in right now,’” Claire said.
She said she has tried to make as many games as possible this season and loves how the team is always smiling and building a strong culture.
“I’ve dreamed of playing college softball since I was little,” she said. “Finally getting to be on campus and getting to do that is really special.”
Katie Courter
Courter was originally set on moving far away. But after she started going on college visits, she realized she wanted to stay closer to home so her family could watch her play. After visiting Johnson County Community College, she knew she’d found the right place.
“The second I stepped on campus and met the coaches, it just really felt like home and like they actually cared about me as a person and not just like a player,” Courter said.
Courter said she was excited to make the transition with her teammate Pattison.
“I have a good support system, and I know that they’re also really good teammates, because I played with them for three years,” she said.
Courter is ready for the fresh start and embracing the challenge of establishing herself at the college level.
“I’m gonna have to reprove my worth, like, reprove that I belong,” she said. “I think that’s just gonna be really exciting.”
Reese Pattison
Pattison said although the recruiting process was stressful, she knew what she was looking for. She wanted to play for a team close to home that was ready to be competitive and push her to the next level. She found all of those qualities at Johnson County Community College.
“I just know that’s a really successful program, and they have really good coaching, and they take it very seriously,” she said.
Pattison said the culture and team bond enticed her to the school, saying it reminded her of the culture built in Eudora. That’s likely because there will be multiple Cardinals on the team next season. Graduate Kenzie Yoder plays for JCCC, and will be joined by Courter and Pattison next season.
Pattison said it was nice to know some teammates going in, and she and Courter plan to be roommates.
She is excited to keep playing the sport that has taught her so much in life.
“I know it’s gonna be a whole new level of competition and stuff like that,” she said. “And being on your own at the same time, it’s gonna be a little overwhelming at first. But, it’ll be good.”
Alexia Born
Born was originally planning to play softball at a college in Wisconsin. Then came an offer she couldn’t turn down: A spot at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
“The application process for a military academy is absolutely insane,” Born said. “It’s twice as hard as trying to get into anything else.”
Born said the recruitment and college decision process could be draining at times, but she maintained a primary goal of expanding her horizons and going somewhere away from Kansas. She said she was comforted during her decisions because she felt like instead of a Plan A and Plan B, she had two Plan As.
She said she was excited to get to explore new things and meet new people, all while balancing the challenge and rigor of an armed forces academy.
“I love going and doing new things,” she said. “I love exploring. It’s kind of been my thing since I was little.”
Jaiden Burris
After a long recruiting process, Burris committed to play softball at Iowa Western Community College, offering a new step for her softball journey.
Burris initially committed to Missouri Western, but realized the school wasn’t the right fit, leading to her decision to restart her college search.
Her ultimate choice, Iowa Western Community College, a junior college in Council Bluffs, Iowa, came down to team dynamics.
“Ultimately, I think it was just like the culture between how the coaches are towards the girls and how the girls are towards each other,” Burris said. “I’m gonna be spending the next two years with them, so that matters.”
Burris said she is looking forward to the independence that comes with her new opportunity.
She said, “Taking that step by myself and really seeing how I can be without my parents” is what excites her most about the transition.