Blair freshman softball player Leah Chance had a feeling her team would be in the position its in this October.
“I expected us to be this good because, right off the bat, our team was already clicking,” the second baseman said Tuesday evening at the Blair Youth Sports Complex. “We all trusted each other.”
The Bears (19-10 overall) swept through their Class B Subdistrict 2 Tournament with three wins in two days. They outscored their opponents 35-2, earning the tourney title with an 11-0 win against Omaha Mercy.
The rout leaves BHS just two wins from a NSAA State Championships berth. It hosts its district final round today against Elkhorn, though though game times in the best-of-3 series were unavailable as of press time.
On Tuesday, though, the opposition was the Monarchs and Chance played a big part in the Bears' 11-run victory. She hit two homers — one 2-run shot during the fifth inning and a 3-run bomb in the sixth.
While the freshman expected her team to be good this fall, the second baseman couldn't have foreseen her standout success in Blair's leadoff spot.
“I didn't think I was going to be hitting homers at districts,” Chance said. “But our team has been bonding and we all hype each other up. That helps a lot, that positivity.”
BHS led Mercy just 4-0 before its seven-run sixth. In addition to Chance's home run, Carmen Warrick added an RBI single, Jerzie Janning notched a 2-RBI hit and winning pitcher Kalli Ulven pushed across a run.
“I was nervous at first, but Carmen (Warrick) said, 'Find your pitch and drive it,'” Janning said of her sixth-inning at-bat. “So, I just found the one I liked and I just brought some runs in.”
Bears open postseason with wins
Before Tuesday's subdistrict final, BHS opened tournament play Monday with back-to-back run-rule victory against Platteview and Mercy.
The Bears first beat Platteview 12-2 in four innings. Nessa McMillen notched three RBIs during the win, while Ayden Dick had two. Both players notched two hits as did Julia Saylor.
Ally Lynch earned the pitching victory with a single strikeout. She allowed just four hits in four innings.
Ulven, meanwhile, struck out eight of the nine batters she face during a three-inning, 12-0 victory against Mercy in the subdistrict semifinals. The freshman also logged a solo homer, a single and a double as the Bears rolled.
“I was pretty focused,” she said. “We're doing really good.”
Ulven also complimented her catcher, Sophia Wrich, who filled in for Tessa Villotta during the win.
