North Star headed to District A-3 title game

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BY LORI GRIFFIN / Lincoln Journal Star

Playing Omaha Burke in the winners’ bracket of the District A-3 softball tournament at Doris Bair Complex may have been a little shocking for Lincoln North Star on Wednesday.

But the Class A third-ranked Navigators didn’t let their lack of preparation for the Bulldogs spoil their attempt at the school’s first district championship.

North Star (31-5) earned a 6-0 win against Burke to advance to Friday’s championship game.

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“We kind of had our scouting report from Marian and then this (a game against Burke) came up,” North Star coach Todd LaVelle said. “But it was good.”

In its first-round game against Omaha Northwest, North Star scored all of its runs  in the first inning for a 14-0 win. The Gators tallied 11 hits in the inning.

Against Burke, North Star  took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Senior Stephanie Densberger homered to lead the Gators.

North Star then scored three more runs in the fourth to account for the final margin as Emily Weber hit a two-run double. 

Paige Policky earned the win in the second game, striking out 17 of the 20 batters she faced.

The Navigators will face either Omaha Burke or Omaha Marian in the championship game. Those two teams play in the losers’ bracket Friday.

“Whether it’s Burke or Marian that we see, they are going to be hungry,” LaVelle said. “We are just going to have to come out and play North Star’s game.

“We’re sitting in good shape with wild-card points right now, but we’ll just have to keep winning and hope to get (to state) that way.”

Reach Lori Griffin at 473-7174 or lgriffin@journalstar.com.