Washington County’s representation at the NSAA State Softball Championships went 1-2 Wednesday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings.
The second-seeded Blair Bears went 1-1 in Class B, besting Seward but falling to Beatrice during second-round play.
Fort Calhoun, meanwhile, lost its first round Class C game to fifth-seeded Douglas County West.
Both teams will compete Thursday in Hastings. The Pioneers play David City Aquinas at 9 a.m. in an elimination game before the Bears play either Grand Island Northwest or Scottsbluff in another at 11:30 a.m.
Bears go 1-1
After 10-run victory against Seward, BHS (30-8 overall) lost to Beatrice, 5-3.
“That was a good swinging ballclub, for sure,” Bears coach Jennifer Fangmeier said. “They were aggressive. They adjusted after their first time through the lineup and they did what they needed to do.”
The Bears built a 2-0 lead against the Orange with a Laynie Brown solo homer and a Jacy Schueth sacrifice. Beatrice battled back with the home run ball, though, finishing its win with three total.
Schueth added a second RBI as the game went on, but Blair fell short even after loading the bases during the bottom of the seventh inning.
In its first game Wednesday, however, the Bears bested Seward by run-rule, 10-0, in four innings. Brooke Janning claimed the pitching win, while Hannah Heuton produced the game-ending RBI.
BHS started out ahead 1-0 through one inning, scoring on Kaitlynn O’Neil’s RBI single. From there, Taytum Macholan, Mia McClain and Janning notched RBIs during the second frame. O’Neil pushed across the Bears’ fifth run by hitting into an error, too.
Brown’s two-run homer pushed Blair’s lead to 8-0 in the third after Macholan’s RBI double scored Taylor Munger.
Munger tallied her own RBI during the fourth frame, too, before Heuton ended the game by run rule.
“Everyone was hitting the ball hard. Defense held up,” Brown said. “It was just a really good first win.”
FCHS starts state with loss
Fort Calhoun (25-6 overall) struggled in its first-ever state tournament game, falling 11-0 to Douglas County West on Wednesday.
The Pioneers trailed 2-0 after one inning and 6-0 after two.
While FCHS struggled defensively with multiple errors, coach Mandy Taylor’s squad also struggled to hit off of the Falcons’ Sydney Atkins. Madi Larrick had two hits, including a fifth-inning double, while Tacey Belina and Izzy Greenough had the other two.
For the full story from state softball in Hastings, check out Tuesday’s edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. Coverage will also appear online at enterprisepub.com/sports that same day.
