Centralia was hoping to get a four-peat on Saturday but instead got a three-peat.

The Class 3 No. 3 Lady Panthers weren’t able to play for their fourth straight Centralia Invitational championship because a wet secondary field forced its cancellation, but they did secure their third straight 20-win season. They swept Eldon (13-8) at home on the playable field, winning 3-0 and 11-0 in five innings to move to 20-6.

Head coach Liz Bostick said it was disappointing to the girls, especially the seniors, that the tournament had to be canceled. Centralia primarily wanted to play some games on Saturday since its most recent game was the 15-4 loss four days prior at home to Class 3 No. 1 and district foe Chillicothe. While Bostick said she didn’t use her best lineup in that game with districts so close, the girls wanted some confidence after the result.

Centralia vs Eldon Game 2 Photo Gallery

“Eldon was gracious enough to come up here and play, so we were grateful for them coming to at least get two games in,” Bostick said. “We needed to play today. That was the big thing. Just getting out and getting them back in the field in a game situation.”

Jaylynn Brown over seven innings in the first game and Brooklyn Hardin over five innings in the second game combined to allow only one hit and three walks. Brown pitched a no-hitter while striking out 18 to fall one short of her seven-inning school record, and Hardin struck out seven to go with her one hit and on walk. 

Bostick said Brown has pitched a lot of high quality innings over the past three years, so she is a big part of it. Everyone else around her has also helped Centralia consistently sit high in the state rankings. In her 17 years of coaching high school, she said “this team has been one of her favorites.” 

“I owe a lot to these kids that come out and work every day for me,” Bostick said. “They love the game of softball, and they come with a smile on their faces. My expectations are super high. I owe that to these kids because they want to rise to the expectations that I have.”

Bostick remembers having seniors like Raleigh Dutton Sadie Bohlmeyer and Havyn Henry since they were little, and the other seniors have returned to the program every year with the intention of making it better. 

Brown is in her senior season with her name already attached to many Centralia pitching records. She came close to her seven-inning record in the first game and struck out 21 over eight innings this year when Centralia defeated Class 1 No. 2 St. Elizabeth. Bostick believes Brown can make it to 1,000 strikeouts, an accomplishment that belongs to 15 Missouri kids so far, and she could even catch the Clarence Cannon Conference record of 1,030 set by Palmyra’s Taylor Baxter over 15 years ago.

“That kid needs goals,” Bostick said. “She needs something to look for and set for herself. What do you want to accomplish? What memory or legacy do you want to leave in Centralia before you move on? I’m looking to do that for her without wearing her out and making sure we are ready for districts.”

Blakely VanDyke and Avery Bruns had RBI singles in Game 1. In Game 2, Ealynne Bostick was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, Claire Page went 2-for-3 with one RBI, VanDyke finished 2-for-3 with three runs, Raleigh Dutton had one RBI, and Hardin went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. 

Hardin pitched over five innings against Chillicothe while allowing nine earned runs on 10 hits. Her outing against Eldon, who came in averaging 5.7 runs per game, went the way she wanted.

“My changeup was hit-or-miss, but once I think about it and figure out my mechanics, it’s a good changeup and is hard to hit,” Hardin said. 

Hardin was at the center of the moment when the Lady Panthers broke the second game open in the third inning. She picked up a hit with the bases loaded while Centralia was ahead 2-0. That doubled the lead, but she and another runner would score on the same play because of two Eldon errors, giving Hardin a Little League home run despite sliding head first into third base. 

“I was looking at coach Bostick at second, and she said, ‘Keep going, keep going,’” Hardin said. “I slid into third, and she said, ‘Get up and go!’ I had to pop up and go home.”

Centralia has done well when it has had to play multiple games in one day this year. It swept Class 3 state-ranked Doniphan this year and has gone 6-3 in its tournaments in Kansas City and Warrensburg.

Bostick said the whole roster is needed to win when games are packed in a smaller time span. Having someone like Hardin stepping up is a good example of that and is a good sign for the junior before she’s the team’s No. 1 pitcher next year.

“That’s a testament to Brooklyn today,” Bostick said. “After Chillicothe, she was down. That kid picked herself up and dusted herself off, and she pitched very well today. Eldon is a good hitting team. We played them this summer in our team camp, and they smoked the ball. When you put that kid in the right mindset, she does great things.”