Lady Panthers advance in state

The Ray-Pec softball team won its quarterfinal state tournament contest against Springfield Kickapoo Monday 7-1 and have advanced, for the second straight year, to the Class 4 state semfinals.

The state semfinal game will be against Northwest High School, which is Cedar Hill in the St. Louis area. The game will be at 10 a.m. this Friday.

The other state semifinal contest is between Rock Bridge (27-6) and Blue Springs Souuth (18-6) also at 10 a.m. on a different field. The winners of the two semifinals will meet up at 10 a.m. on Saturday for  the  Class 4 state championship.

The losers of the two semifinals will also meet up at 10 a.m. on Saturday for the consolation championship game.

This is the 2nd consecutive year the Lady Panthers have reached the state semifinals. Last year, Ray-Pec lost in the semifinal before rebounding in the consolation championship game to finish 3rd  in the state tournament.