Columbia high schools make history in state softball tournament

SPRINGFIELD, Mo (KMIZ)

Two Columbia high schools made the most of the strangest season to hit softball by becoming state champions over Halloween weekend.

Rock Bridge and Tolton are the first two Columbia high schools to win a state championship in softball.

On Friday, the Bruins got it done over Lee's Summit North, 1-0, to capture the first-ever championship trophy for Columbia.

Then, on Saturday, the Tolton Trailblazers brought the second one home in a 4-1 win over the Penney Hornets.

Both the Bruins and the Trailblazers were led by senior pitchers having standout, and in some cases historic, seasons.

After breaking the state record for career strikeouts, Tolton's Paige Bedsworth helped her team claim one more spot in history. The senior finished the championship win with 16 strikeouts, bringing the record to beat to 1,131 career strikeouts.

“I like to think that I left a state champion and helped this team to become state champions, especially, to be the first Tolton team ever win one is just awesome and super exciting," Bedsworth said. "I wouldn’t have wanted to leave Tolton any other way.”

Meanwhile, Rock Bridge's Ella Schouten tossed a shutout in the Bruins' championship win, completing a perfect season.

“We knew we were the better team coming in, so we just focused on that and ended up coming out with the win," Schouten said.

Seniors on both sides said it was amazing to cap off a season this historic, with a win this historic for the Columbia community.

“My family has been playing Tolton softball for about eight years or so, so this is it, their youngest kid. Like I said I’m just glad we could finish it this way," Tolton senior Allie Widmer said.

Vienna also brought a trophy back to Mid-Missouri, as the Eagles claimed its first state championship win since 1984.