State softball · Recap · Class C
Tidwell's 13-strikeout shutout sends Kearney Catholic to final
Kearney Catholic beat Yutan/Mead 6-0 behind a three-hitter to reach Monday's Class C final.
HASTINGS, Neb. — P. Tidwell threw a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts, and top-seeded Kearney Catholic beat No. 8 Yutan/Mead 6-0 in Class C Game 11 on Saturday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex. The unbeaten Stars, who entered the tournament 22-3, play Bishop Neumann for the state title in Game 15 at noon Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. Yutan/Mead, the lowest seed left in any class, needed two wins and is eliminated.
How it went: Kearney Catholic scored a run in each of the second, third and fourth innings for a 3-0 lead. It added three more in the sixth, all of them unearned. Yutan/Mead had three singles and one walk all game.
In the circle: Tidwell went the distance on 112 pitches, 75 of them strikes. She faced 24 batters and struck out more than half of them. A. Jones and J. Long struck out three times each, and K. Woster and J. Siske twice each. Tidwell also pitched the complete game in Friday's 12-4 win over Hastings St. Cecilia.
At the plate: A. Cast went 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a walk. K. Ruyle went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, a run and a stolen base. A. Green homered, walked, stole a base and scored twice. M. O'Connor drove in a run, P. Adkisson singled and J. DeVall walked, scored and stole a base. Courtesy runner A. Mostek stole two bases and scored. Kearney Catholic stole six bases, drew five walks and left nine runners on base.
Yutan/Mead: L. Thompson pitched 5 1/3 innings and took the loss. She allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts, on 92 pitches, and gave up Green's home run. Siske finished the game, allowing three unearned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. The Patriots made three errors.
A. Werner, Thompson and A. Anderson had Yutan/Mead's hits. H. Schake drew the Patriots' only walk. Yutan/Mead left three runners on base and did not get an extra-base hit.
Kearney Catholic also beat Yutan/Mead 10-0 in five innings on Wednesday, then beat defending champion Hastings St. Cecilia 12-4 in six on Friday. The Stars have outscored their three state opponents 28-4. Yutan/Mead reached Saturday by beating DC West 2-1 and Ashland-Greenwood 16-10 in elimination games.
NSAA's Class C finals history, which starts in 2001, shows one earlier final for Kearney Catholic, a 12-0 loss to Guardian Angels Central Catholic in 2020.
Line score
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Yutan/Mead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 Kearney Cath. 0 1 1 1 0 3 X 6 8 0
Sources: NSAA official box scores, Class C, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 (via NSAA Softball Championships HQ); NSAA Class C 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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