The top-seeded Class B No. 1 Blair softball team broke a school record and moved within a single win of reaching the NSAA State Championship finals Wednesday in Hastings.
The Bears (32-4 overall) beat both Omaha Roncalli/Duchesne and Hastings by run-rule during the the first two rounds of the B bracket, 15-2 and 8-0. Their 32 wins are a new school record after claiming 31 victories a year ago.
First Wednesday, BHS notched five homers in a three-inning, 13-run win against the No. 8 seed, Roncalli/Duchesne. Leah Chance, Sophia Wrich, Nessa McMillen, Brooke Janning and Bria Scott all cracked homers over the outfield fence.
Wrich finished 2-for-3 overall with four RBIs, while Ulven also tripled and finished with three RBIs. The latter Bear also earned the pitching win, striking out five Roncalli/Duchesne batters.
Against Hastings, a fellow member of the Eastern Midlands Conference, the Bears scored three first-inning runs and won by eight in five frames. Wrich and Scott notched first-inning RBIs, while Janning, Chance and McMillen pushed across three more runs in the second.
Then, in the third, Chance, a second baseman, hit her second homer of the tournament for an eight-run lead.
Janning eventually earned the pitching win, pushing the Bears into a 7 p.m. Thursday game against a to-be-determined opponent. Win it and the Bears will play for a Class B title 3:30 p.m. Monday at Connie Claussen Field in Omaha. Lose and the Bears will play an elimination game Friday.
For the full story and additional photos, check out Tuesday’s edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. Up-to-date coverage will continue during the state tournament at enterprisepub.com/sports.
