A young St. Mary’s Colgan softball team has made giant strides during the season.

“If you could have seen us where we started the first two weeks of practice to where we are now, it’s incredible,” coach Cassie Rhuems said. “I told them I’m so proud to be their coach. I’m proud of each and every one of them. I’m proud of them buying in, and I’m proud of them playing for the person standing next to them.”

The Panthers (25-3) have advanced to the Class 2-1A state tournament semifinal round. They play top-seeded Dexter/Cedar Vale (28-2) at 11 a.m. Thursday at the University of Kansas’ Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence.

The second semifinal has second-seeded Mission Valley (28-2) vs. sixth-seeded Uniontown (21-6) at 1 p.m.

Fifth-seeded Colgan, which does not have a senior on its roster, defeated fourth-seeded Inman 9-4 in the quarterfinal game on Monday afternoon in Emporia.

Callie Lundy’s two-out, two-run double to left-center field capped a four-run fifth inning that erased a 2-1 deficit, and Colgan added a run in the sixth and three in the seventh.

Winning pitcher Bella Ascanio struck out 11 batters and walked four. She has pitched every inning in every game this season.

Errors played a big role in the victory over Inman.

The Panthers played flawless defense. The only bobble came in the seventh inning when with a runner on first base, a popup spun out of second baseman Brooklyn Barrows’ glove. However, right fielder Addie Bettega was backing up the play, picked up the ball and threw to shortstop Kara Osborn for the 4-9-6 fielder’s choice forceout at second.

By contrast, the Teutons (24-3) committed four errors, and they led to five unearned runs.

“I have told the kids since Day 1 of practice that if you want to be a great team, you have to play defense,” Rhuems said. “I’m a huge believer that good teams have great defense. I told them if you go score three runs and play good defense, you’re going to win this game. That’s what happens.

“I think it helps ‘B’ (Ascanio) maintain her confidence and lets her relax a little bit. Defense will always carry you. Your offense can go quiet, but if you play consistent defense, you give yourself a chance to win.”

Colgan has won its last 11 games since suffering all three losses in one week in late April. They fell 4-0 to Fort Scott (a Class 4A semifinalist), 5-2 to East Newton (a district runner-up) and 15-0 to Bentonville (the Arkansas Class 6A state champion the last three years).

Dexter/Cedar Vale has won 12 straight since losing a doubleheader to Conway Springs 14-2 and 9-1.

Among the Spartans’ 28 victories, 20 have been by at least 10 runs. They rallied in the last three innings to defeat Central Heights 7-3 in their quarterfinal contest.