PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s season came to an end Thursday evening after a pair of losses to Eupora in the MHSAA Class I South State semifinals at Burnside Park.

Eupora defeated Philadelphia 10-8 in a nine-inning thriller in Game 1, and the Lady Eagles earned a 10-0 run-rule-shortened victory in Game 2 to advance to Saturday’s state championship series.

Frank Hutton has been Philadelphia’s slow-pitch softball coach for just one season, but the bond he formed with his players this year was evident as he consoled them with hugs and encouragement following the Game 2 loss. 

“I’d do anything in the world for these girls,” Hutton said. “This has been the most unbelievable season I’ve ever been a part of. They’ve been some of the best athletes I’ve ever coached — definitely the most hard-working athletes I’ve ever been around, and it’s honestly been an honor and a privilege to be out here with these girls.”

In Game 1, Philadelphia’s (19-5) Kamryn Moore hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to score TK Cole and give the Lady Tornadoes a 1-0 advantage. 

Eupora turned five hits into five runs in the top of the second. Jameelah Marshall hit an RBI triple, Patience Bingham added an RBI single, Haley Farley swatted a two-RBI double and Kylie Richardson’s RBI single gave the Lady Eagles a 5-1 lead.

Philadelphia’s Nia Luckett hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth that scored Cole, Rudi Tanksley and herself to cut the Lady Tornadoes’ deficit to 5-4.

In the top of the seventh, Eupora’s Ally Reed blasted a three-run home run to extend the Lady Eagles’ lead to 8-4.

Philadelphia’s bats became energized in the bottom of the seventh.

With two outs in the bottom in the seventh, Emma Taylor, Martae Burks and Makayla Evans rattled off back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases. Cole blasted a grand slam to tie the score at eight and send the game into extra innings.

“That was an unbelievable moment,” Hutton said. “I held up our baserunner here at third because I knew TK was coming to the plate, and I didn’t want to take the game out of her hands. She’s one of our better hitters, and I knew she was going to put the ball in play hard somewhere and give us a chance.”

Richardson hit a two-RBI triple in the top of the ninth to seal the Eupora win.

In Game 2, Eupora’s Rylee Brooke Crowell hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to give the Lady Eagles an early 2-0 lead.

Farley added another two-run shot in the bottom of the third, and Addison Mason plated Marleigh Abbot with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to push Eupora ahead 5-0.

Richardson, Meleah Pogue, Abbott and Marshall contributed RBIs in the bottom of the fifth, and the Lady Eagles scored another run on a Philadelphia error. 

“Credit to the other team — they hit the ball really well, and they put the ball in play,” Hutton said. “We hit the ball hard, we just hit the ball right at people. When you barrel the ball up and hit it right at somebody, you can’t really do anything about that. You can be proud you put the ball in play, and be proud you hit the ball hard, but when you hit it right at somebody and they make a good play, tip your hat. That’s all you can do. The other team hit the ball really, really well. They came out ready to play both games. They didn’t let up on us at all.”