The Class B No. 3 Blair softball team swept a three-game slate of Class A opposition Saturday at a Lincoln Southeast tournament.
The Bears won their pool title, improving to 23-4 with wins against Lincoln Northeast, Kearney and Lincoln North Star at the Doris Bair Complex. Coach Jennifer Fangmeier's team is 7-2 against Class A schools this fall.
BHS opened against Lincoln Northeast, winning 8-3 after scoring the game's first six runs during the top of the third inning. Senior Cailey Anderson hit a lead-off triple ahead of RBI swings by Leah Chance, Brooke Janning and Tessa Villotta.
The Bears' Bria Scott added a sacrifice before Claire Mann's two-run homer capped the decisive frame.
Still ahead 6-1 in the fourth inning, Chance doubled to set up Villotta's own two-run homer.
Blair then produced its second six-run inning of the day against Kearney. The six-run first — highlighted by two-RBI hits by both Nessa McMillen and Anderson — led to a 12-2 victory. Shelby Wolff, Janning and Josie Ulrich capped the 10-run win with RBI at-bats in the fifth.
Finally, for the first time during the one-day tournament, the Bears played from behind against North Star in their finale. The Gators led 5-2 after 2.5 innings, but BHS won 8-5.
Mann notched the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth frame before Joslyn Policky pushed Blair's 6-5 lead to the final score with a single. Mann also hit a two-RBI double during the first inning before RBI swings by McMillen and Kalli Ulven in the third.
Coach Fangmeier's team was scheduled to play Wahoo Neumann on Monday and next competes at Bennington on Thursday in its regular season finale.
The Bears are just four wins shy of tying the school record for victories in a season. The 2006 and 2009 teams each won 27.
