Sweet Thunder 12U Earns State Tournament Win in Hays
June 19, 2026
The Colby Sweet Thunder 12U softball team fought hard through tough competition at the Western Kansas State Softball Tournament in Hays on June 19-20, finishing the weekend with a 1-2 record while competing against some of the region's top teams.
Despite the record, Sweet Thunder was in each of their three games, highlighted by a dominating win over rival Goodland and a tight matchup against Hays Thunder to end their weekend.
Colby opened tournament play Friday against Great Bend Quicksilver. Colby struck first in the first inning when Brixlyn Bugbee drove in Opea Koerperich with a single to give Sweet Thunder an early 1-0 advantage.
After Great Bend answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, followed by another run in the second, Sweet Thunder battled back in the third. Berkley Brzon scored on a groundout by Brooklyn Hills before Madi Wolf delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.
Great Bend responded with four runs in the bottom of the third and added two more in the fourth to pull away for a 9-3 victory.
Wolf and Bugbee each collected a hit and an RBI in the opener. Koerperich worked all four innings in the circle, recording two strikeouts.
Sweet Thunder followed that game and bounced back in impressive fashion Saturday morning against the Goodland Cowgirls.
Colby's bats were hot early, scoring four runs in the first inning. Koerperich opened with an RBI single, Hadley Surmeier followed with an RBI hit, and Laikynn Maupin drove in a run with a triple before Norah Boller finished the inning with an RBI groundout.
The offense kept rolling in the second inning, adding six more runs to build a commanding 10-0 lead. Koerperich doubled home a run while Boller added an RBI single during the rally.
Sweet Thunder extended the lead to 11-1 in the third and cruised to an 11-3 victory over Goodland.
Koerperich led the offense with 2 hits, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, while Boller added 2 RBIs. Aspen Lindberg delivered a strong performance in the circle, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four over three innings.
The win advanced Sweet Thunder into a Saturday afternoon matchup with Hays Thunder.
Colby once again grabbed the early lead when Wolf drove home Bugbee in the first inning. Hays responded with two runs in the second and gradually stretched its advantage to 6-2 entering the bottom of the sixth.
Sweet Thunder mounted one final rally. Koerperich singled home Bugbee before later scoring on a sacrifice fly by Surmeier, but the comeback fell short as Hays secured a 6-4 victory.
Koerperich paced the offense with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI, while Wolf added 2 hits and 1 RBI. Baylor McLemore turned in a solid effort in the circle, pitching 5.1 innings while allowing six hits, five earned runs and striking out three.
Although their state tournament run came to an end, Sweet Thunder showed resilience throughout the weekend, responding from an opening-round loss with a dominant victory and battling until the final out against Hays. The experience provided another valuable step in the development of a young Colby squad competing on one of the biggest stages in western Kansas youth softball.