No matter how a team is ranked, district softball is one-and-done for everybody.

That is what Centralia found out the hard way last year with a 3-2 first-round loss to Macon. The Lady Panthers, who earned the No. 1 seed in Class 3 District 4 and is the outright No. 1 team in the state, won their first-round game early by defeating Boonville 10-0 in six innings on Wednesday at Southern Boone in Ashland.

Head coach Liz Bostick said Centralia (25-3) is honored to have the top rank in the state as proof of its hard work. However, that has high expectations attached to it, and the Lady Panthers wanted to avoid succumbing to those expectations in another first-round exit.

“After last year, losing in the first round, I feel like the kids think they have a lot to lose,” Bostick said. “That’s the sad thing about the rankings. It puts a little pressure on them. It’s an honor, but at the same token, it can be a curse. They know their potential, I know their potential, the fans know their potential and the community knows their potential. We’ve just got to play to our potential.”

After a “tight” beginning to Wednesday’s game, Centralia and Boonville (10-16) were locked in a scoreless tie through two innings. Sub-1.00 ERA pitcher Jaylynn Brown posted yet another shutout performance for Centralia with 13 strikeouts in six innings, but Boonville’s Lillian Newham was hanging in there for a while.

Newham wasn’t the pitcher Centralia faced in the Lady Panthers’ previous 15-0 three-inning victory over Boonville. Centralia faced some speed by Bowling Green’s Sydney Charlton in the regular season finale on Monday, which was a 1-0 pitcher’s duel won by Brown.

“We came off of Bowling Green, who was throwing to mid-60s, and now we’re seeing 45-50,” Bostick said. “It takes some adjustment. Sometimes, you are anticipating getting a hit so we’re all out in front. I told them to just stay back. The longer we load, the better we can hit.”

Bostick is confident in her hitters this season, and the Centralia offense showed exactly why starting in the third inning. Claire Page tapped an infield single in front of home plate before stealing second base to set a run-scoring opportunity. Madi Johnson, who has been the team’s leadoff hitter all season, grabbed the team RBI total at 38 RBI after two RBI doubles on Wednesday.

The first RBI double drove in Page in the third inning and preceded a RBI double by Ealynne Bostick. The Lady Panthers’ Nos. 1 and 2 hitters went back-to-back with RBI doubles in the fifth inning to double Centralia’s lead to 4-0 and begin a five-run fifth for a 7-0 lead.

“Madi is the most disciplined hitter you will ever see,” coach Bostick said. “I have been in Centralia high school softball for 20 years — longer than she’s been alive. She’s probably the most consistent hitter I have seen in our program. She does not strike out, she knows how to walk, she’s multi-faceted and has a lot of speed. There’s a lot of bonuses to her.”

“I look at Ealynne, and she’s that kid that doesn’t strike out a lot,” Bostick said. “She puts the ball in play. I can tell her to put the ball on the ground and move somebody and she’ll do it for me. She’s that kind of, ‘Now we can get somebody in position where Cora (King) can score them as a No. 3 hitter. That works at the top of the order, and when we get to the bottom, it’s like a flip-around and we just keep going.”

Johnson said she had some experience hitting leadoff prior to this season but only for travel ball. This season was the junior’s debut at the leadoff spot in her high school career. She owns an on-base percentage over .600, a batting average over .500 and an OPS over 1.600 to lead the team in all categories along with a team-high 20 steals.

After flying out in the first inning, Johnson had a runner at second base her next three times up. For the first-year leadoff hitter, it felt like Johnson was hitting lower in the order so she focused on making good contact to score the runners. Both of her RBI doubles were bullets into the gap.

“It’s making the small adjustments like staying through the ball,” Johnson said. “It’s what is a big deal for us. Getting it started and keeping it going was huge.”

As a freshman, Ealynne Bostick owns an OPS over .900. She also has only struck out eight times after Wednesday despite having the most at-bats at 86. Centralia’s other top of the lineup hitters, Johnson and Cora King, had struck out five and seven times, respectively, in the 78 and 82 at-bats.

“Staying relaxed in a high-pressure game since we hadn’t scored, we really stayed out of our heads and tried to hit the ball,” Ealynne Bostick said.

King went 3-for-4 with three RBI to round out Centralia’s top of the order. Brown supported herself with two RBI, including the RBI single to walk off Boonville with two outs in the sixth inning. 

For Centralia this season, Brown gave her team the same old performance, which rather than bland, is astonishing. Boonville only had one hit and one walk against the sophomore in her district debut.

“I’ll take the same old all day,” coach Bostick said with a grin. “She has a ton of strikeouts right now. If she can stay healthy and stay focused, the kid has grit and determination. There’s very few pitchers like her that can come out and she doesn’t get rattled and she doesn’t get upset. She is that calm presence and anchors us.”

Ealynne Bostick has caught more than half of the innings this season for Centralia and has plenty of time with Brown this season. Though, Bostick had plenty of time behind the plate with Brown before this season since they played 10u together.

“We’ve gotten really good together, and I think is so much fun catching her rise ball,” Bostick said. “Her staying in the moment and not worrying if she threw a ball at the backstop or made any mistakes, she overcame that.”

Centralia faces North Callaway (21-12) at 11 a.m. Saturday.