Park Hill South softball used a pair of shutout victories as they swept all three games that were completed at the 2026 Park Hill South Tournament, held Sept. 18-19.
The Panthers outscored opponents 25-2 across the three contests, grabbing three wins in the tournament for the first time since 2018.
South opened the weekend with a 15-0 run-rule triumph over William Chrisman in just two innings. The hosts opened the tournament with a 12-run first innings before securing the victory with a three-run second to enforce the run-rule.
The trio of junior Macie Booth, junior Harlo Nesheim-Ferguson and sophomore Gracelyn Austin tallied a combined seven runs batted in, with each producing multi-RBI games as Booth and Austin each drove in a run from a triple. Sophomore pitcher Elizabeth White earned the victory with a strikeout while giving up one hit and a walk on 20 pitches in two shutout innings.
Weather also played a factor, with Park Hill South’s second game on Sept. 18 being halted. The Panthers were tied 2-2 with Benton before the game was called in the second inning as conditions reached the wet-bulb temperature threshold.
Jolie Jones was the South’s star on Sept. 19, starting the Panthers off by getting a 4-0 victory over Harrisburg. Jones scored a pair of runs while also handling the pitching duties, keeping Harrisburg scoreless while facing 30 batters with three strikeouts, allowing seven hits and three walks.
Offensively, the Panthers used a two-run first inning and a two-run fourth inning to defeat Harrisburg. Macie Blake drove in South’s opening run with an RBI double before White hit a sacrifice fly, and with runners in scoring position in the fifth inning, Kinsey Haley hit a two-RBI double to right field.
Jolie Jones hit a grand slam in Park Hill South’s defeat of West Platte on Sept. 19 in the PHS Tournament.
Jones played another large role in South’s 6-2 victory over West Platte to conclude the tournament. The Panthers’ two-out rally in the second inning loaded the bases for Jones, who smashed a grand slam over the left-field fence for her fourth home run this season.
Park Hill South later added two more runs in the fourth inning as doubles from senior Layla Guhde and Blake each scored a run. Purl earned the win and after 4.1 innings, was relieved by Jones to close out the game.
Jones, a sophomore, leads South with 23 hits and is batting .548 on the season. She previously hit for the cycle in Park Hill South’s 15-0 win over North Kansas City on Sept. 8, driving in four runs while going 4-for-4 at the plate.
The Panthers return to conference play, currently sitting at 1-1, with matchups against Liberty (Sept. 21) and Oak Park (Sept. 22) before Senior Night against North Kansas City (Sept. 24).