The way the Salina South Cougars are playing, punching their ticket to a seventh straight state tournament was a mere formality.
The Cougars backed two sterling pitching performances by scoring in every inning on the way to a pair of run-rule shutouts Tuesday in their Class 5A softball regional at the South diamonds.
After Brittanie Gardner tossed a four-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 first-round victory over Salina Central, Sarah Wedel held Hutchinson to three hits over five innings in the championship game as the Cougars prevailed, 10-0.