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Bishop Kelly softball continues dominance with second consecutive district title

One of the Knights' rare low points was against this same Vallivue squad in 2018 in an elimination-round loss. The two-time Class 4A state champions won the District III title with a 6-1 win Thursday

NAMPA - Missy Nichols remembers the feeling of missing out on a state-tournament berth for the second time in three seasons in 2018.

It was something that was kind of unheard of for a Bishop Kelly softball program that had won 10 state banners previously.

But without that bad loss to Vallivue that guaranteed the Knights' low-point fate, they might not be back where they are today - back on top.

The Knights took down Vallivue, 6-1, on Thursday night at West Park for back-to-back Class 4A District III championships.

Bishop Kelly (21-4) is guaranteed the No. 1 seed at next week’s state tournament in Post Falls because of the MaxPreps ranking system that is now used to seed the tourney. It will just have to wait a few more days to see who its first opponent is in route to a possible third consecutive state title.

"Both my assistant and I have had a really strategic approach to marketing our product at Bishop Kelly and really encouraging kids to come to our camps in the summer and selling the great community and culture that we have," Nichols said. "And that spills into our softball program. It’s a place that kids want to come to school and it’s a place that girls want to play softball."

It was the latest achievement for the Knights, who have been nothing short of dominant since walking off that field on that cold day May 11 at Ridgevue High School with their heads hung low four years ago - an 18-6 loss to Vallivue that did not go the full seven innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Since then, they’ve won 81% of their games, including the last two state championships. Bishop Kelly has also gone 22-1 against league opponents over the past two seasons.

The Knights went undefeated against the 4A Southern Idaho Conference this season to extend their winning streak against them to 22 games. Bishop Kelly’s last loss to a conference foe was against Nampa on May 4, 2021.

Bishop Kelly’s only blemishes to Idaho teams this season were against 5A’s Mountain View and Skyview, which just lost its first game of the season at districts. The Knights haven’t tasted defeat since falling 7-6 to Geneseo (Illinois) in Orlando, Florida back on March 23. It’s a streak of 16 consecutive games - the longest in the state.

"It’s important to say that at any given moment, anything can happen and to not get ahead of ourselves and to really focus one game at a time, one pitch at a time," said senior ace pitcher Pilar Cook.

That’s been evident with the Knights’ last two games, which have been much closer than usual. Entering the district semifinals against Middleton on Tuesday, they had a run differential of plus-14. But Bishop Kelly had to grind out a 4-1 against the Vikings before doing the same again Thursday.

The Falcons (18-8) hung with the Knights for most of the game and even threatened them a bit in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI double by ninth grader Bella Magallon that cut the lead down to 3-1. Vallivue also had runners on base in the first, third and fifth innings.

However, the defense, led by Cook, was there to shut them down each and every time. Following Magallon’s hit, Cook proceeded to immediately strike Britney Henderson to end the inning. It was the last of her nine strikeouts on the day. Cook also allowed just three hits and walked two in the win in the circle.

"Personally, I really enjoy pitching in tight games," Cook said. "I think it just proves to myself that I can do it and I really gain a new level of trust in myself."

Offensively, Bishop Kelly was led by junior Harper Campanella, who went 3-for-4 from the plate with four RBIs. She ripped an RBI double down the third baseline in the third inning to double up the lead at 2-0. The infielder then nearly went yard with a shot off the centerfield wall for another RBI in the fifth before capping her day by driving in two more runs on a single in a 3-run sixth inning that really put the game away.

Sophomore Ava Armuth and senior Claire Cunningham also had multiple hit games. Armuth smacked a pair of doubles for an RBI, while Cunningham, who batted in the eight spot, belted two singles, including one in the second inning for the game’s first run.

According to Nichols, she has five players on her roster with at least seven home runs this season, including senior Kaysie Jolley with 14.

"All the way down through the roster, I have confidence in every single one of them that they can get on base," Campanella said. "So that really shows the (strength) of our team."

(Featured photo courtesy of Bishop Kelly athletics)