Beatrice stays alive in district play
SEWARD — As the lights dimmed rather quickly at Plum Creek Park on Thursday, Beatrice softball coach Dennis Dodge looked a little bewildered after his fifth-ranked Lady Orange staved off elimination against No. 6 Waverly in District B-4 play.
Beatrice, which defeated the Vikings 6-0, will try for its 12th straight Class B state tournament berth Friday.
But the Lady Orange will need to win three straight games to advance. Beatrice first will face Norris in an elimination game. The Titans, who staved off elimination with a 2-1 win against Fairbury, defeated Beatrice 3-2 in extra innings in the opening round.
“We’re still in good shape,” Dodge said. “We still have an outside chance at the wild card.
“Norris is a good team and we knew that. They put the ball in play when they had to.”
The Lady Orange had six errors in the game. Norris pitcher Kelsey Huenink struck out 10 Lady Orange batters.
Before facing the Vikings, Beatrice recorded a 2-1 win against Crete, finishing with 10 hits.
Against Waverly, Beatrice took a 1-0 lead and stretched it to 4-0 after four innings.
Beatrice added two insurance runs in the fifth inning. With one out, McKayla Randel singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Junior Daleigh Fossler, playing softball this year for the first time after switching from volleyball, then doubled in Randel.
With one out and two on, Jina Hamm hit a sacrifice to score Fossler.
Waverly opened with a 1-0, nine-inning win against Fairbury, then lost to No. 2 Seward 1-0.
“We had our three worst offensive games of the year today,” Waverly coach Brook Ruhter said. “We just had no run support. It’s tough to come in a district like this with so many tough teams and not have the run support.
“We’re a very young team and still have a great future ahead of us. It says a lot (about the district) to be up there in the wild-card standings and still not make it to state.”
In its win against Waverly, Seward’s Tatum Peery singled in the sixth inning to score Kaitlin Wright with the game’s only run. Brittany Telecky pitched a one-hitter, striking out 13.
Seward, which had a first-round bye, will face No. 7 Lincoln Pius X in the winners’ bracket game Friday at 1 p.m.
Pius X advanced with a 4-0 win against Crete before defeating Norris 6-5.
“We’ve played a really tough schedule this year and all of those games have been close,” Pius X coach Stefanie Novotny said. “I think that helped and prepared us.
“We were out to prove ourselves and to prove that we can play with the best teams in the state.”
Steph Webb was 4-for-6 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored on the day for Pius X.
Reach Lori Griffin at 473-7174 or lgriffin@journalstar.com.
Beatrice, which defeated the Vikings 6-0, will try for its 12th straight Class B state tournament berth Friday.
But the Lady Orange will need to win three straight games to advance. Beatrice first will face Norris in an elimination game. The Titans, who staved off elimination with a 2-1 win against Fairbury, defeated Beatrice 3-2 in extra innings in the opening round.
“We’re still in good shape,” Dodge said. “We still have an outside chance at the wild card.
“Norris is a good team and we knew that. They put the ball in play when they had to.”
The Lady Orange had six errors in the game. Norris pitcher Kelsey Huenink struck out 10 Lady Orange batters.
Before facing the Vikings, Beatrice recorded a 2-1 win against Crete, finishing with 10 hits.
Against Waverly, Beatrice took a 1-0 lead and stretched it to 4-0 after four innings.
Beatrice added two insurance runs in the fifth inning. With one out, McKayla Randel singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. Junior Daleigh Fossler, playing softball this year for the first time after switching from volleyball, then doubled in Randel.
With one out and two on, Jina Hamm hit a sacrifice to score Fossler.
Waverly opened with a 1-0, nine-inning win against Fairbury, then lost to No. 2 Seward 1-0.
“We had our three worst offensive games of the year today,” Waverly coach Brook Ruhter said. “We just had no run support. It’s tough to come in a district like this with so many tough teams and not have the run support.
“We’re a very young team and still have a great future ahead of us. It says a lot (about the district) to be up there in the wild-card standings and still not make it to state.”
In its win against Waverly, Seward’s Tatum Peery singled in the sixth inning to score Kaitlin Wright with the game’s only run. Brittany Telecky pitched a one-hitter, striking out 13.
Seward, which had a first-round bye, will face No. 7 Lincoln Pius X in the winners’ bracket game Friday at 1 p.m.
Pius X advanced with a 4-0 win against Crete before defeating Norris 6-5.
“We’ve played a really tough schedule this year and all of those games have been close,” Pius X coach Stefanie Novotny said. “I think that helped and prepared us.
“We were out to prove ourselves and to prove that we can play with the best teams in the state.”
Steph Webb was 4-for-6 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored on the day for Pius X.
Reach Lori Griffin at 473-7174 or lgriffin@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2009 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.