Monday night's scoring started and stopped with home run swings at the Blair Youth Sports Complex.
The Class B No. 3 Blair High School softball team registered both, earning an 8-0 Eastern Midlands Conference win against Elkhorn North across five innings. Claire Anderson belted a third-inning solo shot first before Abby Leggott's three-run bomb ended the game by run-rule during the fifth frame.
“I heard it,” Anderson said of her home run ball, which bounced off of the yellow plastic atop the right field fence and over it for a 1-0 Bears lead. “I didn't see it.”
The junior felt the Wolves' pitch, though, too.
“I didn't know for sure if it was going to be a home run ball, but it felt really good off of the bat,” she said.
Four runs later, Leggott — who also had two homers during the junior varsity game — stepped into the batter's box during the bottom of the fifth inning.
“It was just clearing my head and swinging how I know how to swing,” she said of her strategy.
The end result was Blair's second homer, which scored Taylor Munger, Hannah Heuton and the slugger.
Four more Bears added an RBI apiece against Elkhorn North, too. Brooke Janning, Jacy Schueth, Mia McClain and Heuton built their squad's lead from one run to five before Leggott's game-ending swing.
Janning, notably, earned the shutout from the pitching circle, too. The senior struck out 11 Wolves.
Altogether, Blair improved to 19-5 with the straightforward, comfortable victory.
“We just keep focused,” Anderson said. “Nobody ever loses it. We're always focused on the on-deck circle and not every team sees that.”
The Bears were consistent Monday, too.
“We did a really good job tonight getting runners on and getting them home,” Leggott said. “Not leaving anybody out, just producing hits when we needed it and continuing to push forward.”
BHS was scheduled to play both Gretna East and Hastings on Thursday during a home triangular. It'll next compete Saturday, however, during the Lincoln Southeast Invitational at Doris Bair Softball Complex.
BHS SOFTBALL LINE SCORE
Monday
No. 3 Blair 8, Elkhorn North 0, 5 inn.
EN (13-8) 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
BHS (19-5) 0 0 3 1 4 — 8
