Jackson drives in four as Elkhorn South reaches Class A final

HASTINGS, Neb. — No. 3 Elkhorn South beat No. 4 Millard West 10-6 in Class A Game 13 on Saturday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex and will play for the state title. The Storm, who entered the tournament 25-6, went 3-0 through their half of the bracket. They meet top-seeded Millard North in Game 15 at 7:00 p.m. Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. Millard West needed two wins Saturday and is eliminated.

How it went: Elkhorn South scored twice in the first and four times in the second for a 6-0 lead. Millard West answered with five runs in the top of the third to make it 6-5. The Storm scored twice in the fourth for an 8-5 lead. Millard West got one back in the top of the fifth, and Elkhorn South answered with two more in the bottom half. Neither team scored after the fifth.

At the plate: I. Jackson went 3-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. M. Schneider went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and three runs. A. Green had three singles in four at-bats and stole two bases. H. Vermeer drove in three runs, including one on a sacrifice fly. H. Peters had two hits, scored twice and stole a base, and S. Park scored twice. Elkhorn South had 14 hits, three of them doubles, and left eight runners on base.

In the circle: O. Songster pitched a complete game for the win. She allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts, on 106 pitches (68 strikes), and hit two batters. She also helped herself at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Songster also went the distance in Friday's 6-4 win over Lincoln Southwest, on 119 pitches.

Millard West: L. Garcia pitched all six innings and took the loss. She allowed 10 runs, four of them earned, on 14 hits with three walks and one strikeout, on 134 pitches (80 strikes). Millard West made three errors, two by L. Urban, and six of Elkhorn South's runs were unearned.

Urban drove in two runs, and C. Ahrens, A. Bergman, H. Wirth and B. Blackman drove in one each. The Wildcats had seven hits, all singles, from seven players: A. Finley, O. Wenz, V. Hanlon, A. Burdorf, Bergman, Wirth and Blackman. Courtesy runner M. Carson scored a run. Millard West left seven on base.

Elkhorn South reached Saturday with a 6-5 win over Omaha Westview in eight innings and the 6-4 win over Lincoln Southwest. It has scored 22 runs and allowed 15 in three state games. Millard West's tournament included a 5-4 win over Papillion-La Vista, a 9-1 loss to Millard North in six innings and a 5-3 elimination win over Lincoln East on Friday.

Line score

              1 2 3 4 5 6 7   R  H  E
Millard West  0 0 5 0 1 0 0   6  7  3
Elkhorn South 2 4 0 2 2 0 X  10 14  2

Sources: NSAA official box scores, Class A, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 (via NSAA Softball Championships HQ); NSAA Class A bracket sheet (bracket sheets retrieved Oct. 17, 2026, 9:37 p.m. CT). Innings are noted only where NSAA's results data marks them.

Follow every score on the NEB Preps softball state tournament hub.

Open this Game Center → · Official NSAA box score (PDF) →

All-class state scores and brackets → · Class A bracket →