The Blair Bears are one win away from their school’s first NSAA state softball championship since 2010.
Coach Jennifer Fangmeier’s team will play for the Class B title in Omaha after Thursday’s 8-0 semifinals victory against Beatrice in Hastings. The Bears (33-4 overall) will face the winner of Friday’s all-or-nothing semifinal contest between Elkhorn North and Grand Island Northwest at 3:30 p.m. Monday on the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Connie Claussen Field.
So far, the top-seeded BHS squad is 3-0 during state tourney play, having outscored its opposition 31-2. It topped Beatrice in five innings Thursday after besting both Omaha Roncalli/Duchesne and Hastings on Wednesday.
The Bears scored four first-run innings during the semifinal game with RBIs coming from Kalli Ulven and Bria Scott. Nessa McMillen and Sophia Wrich also turned plate appearances into runs during the top of the first frame as their opposition made miscues in the field.
Later, during the third inning, McMillen added a two-run homer to push Blair’s lead to 6-0. The advantage reached eight runs during the fourth frame, too, when Brooke Janning and Leah Chance added their own RBIs.
Defensively, the Bears got out of a bases-loaded situation in the second inning and notched a key double play during the fourth. Ulven ultimately claimed the pitching win, finishing the shutout with six strikeouts.
In 2010, BHS bested Gretna, Omaha Skutt and Bennington twice to earn its third-straight state championship. On Monday, the Bears will need one more win against fellow Eastern Midlands Conference foe Elkhorn North — which it bested 15-0 on Aug. 28 — or Grand Island Northwest, the defending state champions who handed Blair one of its two state tournament losses in 2022.
The Class B final will be televised by Nebraska Public Media. State softball coverage starts at 1 p.m. Monday with the Class C championship game before the Blair’s game at 3:30 and the A final at 6.
Tickets to the game may be purchased online through a link posted at nsaahome.org/nsaa-softball-championships-hq/.
For the full story on this game and additional photos, check out Tuesday’s edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. Up-to-date coverage of Monday’s Class B championship game will be posted here at enterprisepub.com/sports after its conclusion. Full finals coverage will then appear in the Oct. 20 edition of the Washington County Enterprise.
