State softball · Recap · Class B
Gretna walks off Northwest to reach Class B final
Gretna beat defending champion Northwest 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
HASTINGS, Neb. — No. 3 Gretna scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to beat No. 4 Northwest 4-3 in Class B Game 13 on Saturday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex. The unbeaten Dragons, who entered the tournament 22-5, play Gretna East for the state title in Game 15 at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. Northwest, the defending Class B champion, needed two wins and is eliminated.
How it went: Gretna scored three runs in the bottom of the first. Northwest got one back in the second and tied it 3-3 with two runs in the fifth. Neither team scored in the sixth or in the top of the seventh. Gretna then pushed across the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
At the plate: N. Boozikee hit a home run and drove in three runs, and S. Rohrs drove in the other. E. Porter went 2-for-3 with a triple. E. Burrell went 2-for-2 with a walk, a sacrifice and a run scored. M. Kurrus walked three times and scored twice. Gretna drew six walks, stole five bases and left six runners on base. Porter was caught stealing twice.
In the circle: T. Rupiper pitched a complete game for the win. She allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts, on 112 pitches (68 strikes). The only extra-base hits she gave up were a home run by B. Dinkelman and a double by L. Ross. Rupiper also went all eight innings in Friday's 2-1 win over Hastings.
Northwest: G. Simmons pitched 6 2/3 innings and took the loss. She allowed four runs on eight hits with six walks and three strikeouts, on 121 pitches. B. Dinkelman homered and drove in a run. A. Dinkelman singled, walked and drove in a run. Ross doubled and scored, and A. Burbach and H. Wissing also had hits. The Vikings made no errors and left four runners on base.
Simmons has carried a heavy load for Northwest. She pitched both of the Vikings' games Friday, a 9-3 loss to Gretna East and a 12-0 one-hitter against Wahoo in three innings, for 152 pitches. Northwest opened the tournament with an 8-7 win over Crete.
Gretna has won all three of its state games by a combined 17-10. It beat Skutt Catholic 11-6 on Wednesday and Hastings 2-1 in eight innings on Friday, scoring both of its runs in the eighth. Northwest won last year's Class B title 4-3 over Beatrice, according to NSAA's finals history.
Line score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Northwest 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 5 0 Gretna 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 8 1
Sources: NSAA official box scores, Class B, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 (via NSAA Softball Championships HQ); NSAA Class B bracket sheet (bracket sheets retrieved Oct. 17, 2026, 9:37 p.m. CT); NSAA softball state finals history. Innings are noted only where NSAA's results data marks them.
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