The Class B No. 2 Blair High School softball team played two Eastern Midlands Conference opponents on Monday and Tuesday.
The Bears (24-7 overall) competed against 5-22 Lincoln Standing Bear first, winning by run-rule, before facing the Class A No. 1 Gretna Dragons on the road. The Dragons improved to 30-0 with a win, but the 4-0 victory was the fourth-closest of their season.
BHS pitcher Brooke Janning kept Gretna in check, throwing all six innings. The senior struck out five batters.
Though the Bears didn't score, Mia McClain, Janning, Regan Blattert and Jacy Schueth all reached base. McClain notched her team's lone hit, Janning walked and Blattert was hit by a Dragon pitch. Schueth, meanwhile, reached on an error.
A day earlier, coach Jennifer Fangmeier cleared her BHS bench during an 11-3 win against Standing Bear.
“It was great to get everybody in and to get opportunities,” junior Hannah Heuton said. “It's fun when everybody plays.”
Taytum Macholan started the game in the pitching circle, winning it with five strikeouts.
“My goal was probably just to win,” the right-hander said, laughing. “I just wanted to get pop-ups or grounders — stuff that our defense could handle — and I thought everyone did a good job.”
Through 2.5 innings, the game was tied at 1-1 with Janning having registered a first-inning RBI. The Bears' offense, though, produced six runs during the bottom half of the third frame for a big lead. Laynie Brown scored on a passed ball first before Emmi Hall, Taylor Munger, Blattert and Heuton all doubled back-to-back-to-back-to-back for a 6-1 advantage.
“It was really fun to see everybody's bats come alive,” Heuton said. “For everybody to get solid hits, it was really fun to see.”
Claire Anderson stepped to the plate next and hit into an error, scoring one more third-inning run, too.
From there, Blair's Kaitlynn O'Neil notched an RBI in the fourth before two more run-scoring errors in the sixth got the Bears to within a single run of ending the game early by run-rule.
McClain stepped up to the plate with a runner in scoring position.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure, but I think it helps when I can hear my teammates cheering for me,” she said. “It helps me gain confidence.”
The infielder produced and Blair won its 24th game of the fall. The Bears were scheduled to play Bennington on Thursday in their regular season finale and will next host a subdistrict tournament Monday. Class B postseason schedules were unavailable as of press time.
BHS SOFTBALL LINE SCORES
Tuesday
No. 1 Gretna 4, No. 2 Blair 0
BHS (24-7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 1
GHS (30-0) 0 1 0 2 1 0 X — 4 6 1
Monday
No. 2 Blair 11, Lincoln Standing Bear 3, 6 inn.
LSB (5-22) 1 0 0 0 1 1 — 3 7 4
BHS (24-6) 1 0 6 1 0 3 — 11 14 3
