Centralia softball captures Class 3 state title
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Centralia softball team ended the 2026 season as the queens of Class 3.
On Saturday, the Panthers put on a masterclass in Springfield, as head coach Elizabeth Bostick and her girls beat Oak Grove 4-0 in the championship game.
"I mean, surreal, for sure," Bostick said. "I'm glad it's for Centralia, that's where I grew up. It's a community that I absolutely love and so that's what I'm proud of."
Centralia's win came on the back of a 13-strikeout shutout performance from Mizzou commit Jaylynn Brown in the circle. The senior pitcher ended her Panther career with more than 1,000 career strikeouts and quite a legacy in her hometown.
Brown said that getting to this point took a lot of hard work for a team that stuck together through everything, this season.
"A lot of hard work, practice. We were together almost six out of the seven days of the week, and we just we've had our ups and downs because we've been with each other so much," she said. "I think that's what means the most, because we're all family."
Brown helped keep things scoreless until the third inning, when her offense broke through.
Freshman Avery Bruns got the momentum going at the dish, with a leadoff double. After that, senior Anna Miller drove in the first run of the game with a down the first baseline to put her team up 1-0.
The Panthers added on some insurance to that lead in the fourth inning. With a runner on second, Karli Andersen knocked a ball to the Oak Grove first baseman, who ended up overthrowing the attempt to the get the base-runner out at home. Thanks to that miscue, Centralia held a two-run advantage in the title bout. And in that same inning, Brooklyn Hardin got another runner across home plate with a sacrifice grounder to first.
Coach Bostick's team put the cherry on top of its win in the sixth inning, when Andersen squeezed a shot through the right side to bring home Mayci Balsamo for a four-run lead.
The championship win marks the end of the road for Centralia's standout senior class: Brown, Miller, Claire Page, Hayden McSparren, Sadie Bohlmeyer and Hayvn Henry.
"I've coached for 17 years in high school and this has been one of my absolute favorite teams, and they have given me everything. They've given me everything I've ever wanted. They are coachable, they are great character kids, they are just wonderful human beings and they are going to be successful adults. I'm going to miss this team more than any team I've ever coached in 17 years," Bostick said.
Saturday's win marked the fifth state championship win in Centralia history and the first by Coach Bostick.
