The Blair Bears lined up, shoulder-to-shoulder for a team photo in the outfield as Grand Island Northwest received its second-straight NSAA Class B State Softball Championship trophy Monday evening.
Their faces red from seven innings of hard work and the tears that followed, the Bears waited for what must have felt like an eternity for the event photographer to finish up with the victorious Vikings at Connie Claussen Field. As he arrived, tears rolled down head coach Jennifer Fangmeier's cheek as assistant Krystal Macholan patted her on the back.
“I don't think I'm so sad about the end result,” Fangmeier said. “I'm just sad that it's over. This is such a fun group to coach, and I just didn't want it to end. I think that's how a lot of us feel.”
BHS played 38 games during the 2023 season, winning a school record 33.
Northwest (26-6 overall), however, pulled the Class B title from the Bears' grasp when junior Kyra Ray hit a walk-off infield single during the seventh inning of a tie game. Senior Blair shortstop Nessa McMillen lunged and got to the ball, but not in time as the Vikings celebrated in front of a packed crowd at the Omaha Mavericks' home stadium.
“Our girls didn't give up fighting,” Fangmeier said. “I mean, they kept pushing, pushing, pushing and (Northwest) pushed back.”
The Bears held leads of 2-0, 4-3, 7-6 and 8-7, but the champions answered each time.
“In the end, it just didn't end on our side,” Blair's coach said, crediting her team's opposition. “It was a good game. It was a great game.”
After Ashland-Greenwood eked out a 2-0 Class C title win on the same field, BHS scored a pair of runs during the top half of the first inning in the B bout. Leah Chance earned a one-out walk and McMillen knocked her in with an RBI double into left field.
From there, the Bears flew out and earned another walk before Bria Scott's own infield single pushed her squad's advantage to two runs.
Northwest answered right back, though, scoring three runs against Blair starting pitcher Kalli Ulven during the bottom half of the opening frame. The 3-2 Vikings lead held until the top of the third inning when McMillen and Ulven reached base for Scott. The senior wearing No. 18 delivered again, sending a two-run single into the outfielder for a 4-3 advantage.
Still, two innings later, the Bears found themselves trailing 6-4. Junior Brooke Janning had taken over in the pitching circle during the fifth frame, but McMillen and Ulven led off the top of the sixth with two more singles.
Next up, BHS senior Sophia Wrich hammered the ball again down the left field side to score both of her teammates. Standing at second base, she watched as Scott stepped into the batter's box with intentions of tallying her fourth RBI of the game. She did, giving the Bears a 7-6 advantage with just 2.5 innings to go.
“There was a lot of pressure on today's game and they did not waver at all,” Fangmeier said when asked about the efforts of Scott, McMillen and Wrich. “They stayed cool and composed, and I feel like most of the team did that, too.”
Northwest wouldn't go away, though. It scored its own run to even the score during the bottom half, sending the championship game into the sixth frame, 7-7.
After a leadoff lineout to start the next inning, Chance delivered another blow Blair supporters hoped would be the knockout. The senior infielder's homer — her third of the state tournament — sailed over the outfield fence in left-centerfield to again give the Bears a one-run advantage.
The relentless Vikings couldn't be put away, though. Junior Reyse Zobel blasted a line-drive solo homer during the bottom half of the sixth inning to tie the game for a fifth time.
The dueling homers set up a seventh frame for the state title. The Bears flew out, grounded out and popped out first before Northwest loaded the bases and, ultimately, scored the game-winning run on Ray's single. Janning struck out the second-to-last batter she faced, but broke into tears as Ulven, the senior she'd replaced in the circle, came to her in the aftermath.
“I'm so proud of you,” the elder pitcher said to the junior, embracing her.
“And that made her cry harder,” Fangmeier said.
After clearing out its dugout, BHS huddled once more several minutes later on the neighboring Tal Anderson Field turf as highlights of their loss played on the massive video board beyond the outfield fence. The Class B runner-up trophy sat alone several yards away as the Eastern Midlands Conference, subdistrict and district champions shared time together for the last time.
After, Fangmeier used one word to describe how proud she was of the Bears.
“Extremely.”
CLASS B CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Monday at Connie Claussen Field, Omaha
No. 2 GRAND ISLAND NORTHWEST 9, No. 1 BLAIR 8
BHS (33-5) 2 0 2 0 3 1 0 — 8
GINW (26-7) 3 0 3 0 1 1 1 — 9
