Class A Saturday: Millard North, Elkhorn South set up final

HASTINGS, Neb. — Two Class A games on Saturday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex settled the final. Unbeaten Millard North and Elkhorn South both won, so neither if-necessary game was needed. They meet for the state title in Game 15 at 7:00 p.m. Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln.

Game 11: Top-seeded Millard North beat No. 2 Lincoln Southwest 12-3 in five innings. Southwest scored three unearned runs in the top of the third, and Millard North tied it in the bottom half before scoring six in the fourth and three in the fifth. The Mustangs hit four home runs, by T. Kampbell, M. Closman, A. Beard and J. Pokorny. Kampbell went 3-for-4 with five RBIs. A. Ballard pitched two hitless innings of relief for the win.

Game 13: No. 3 Elkhorn South beat No. 4 Millard West 10-6. The Storm led 6-0 after two innings, and Millard West answered with five runs in the third. Elkhorn South scored two in the fourth and two in the fifth to pull away. I. Jackson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs, and Elkhorn South had 14 hits. O. Songster pitched a complete game for the win, after also going the distance Friday against Lincoln Southwest.

Eliminated Saturday: Lincoln Southwest, the defending Class A champion, entered the tournament 24-6 and went 2-2 at state. Millard West entered 25-6 and also went 2-2. Both lost earlier in the tournament to one of Monday's finalists: Southwest 6-4 to Elkhorn South and Millard West 9-1 to Millard North.

The finalists: Millard North entered the tournament 30-4 and has outscored three state opponents 37-5, beating Elkhorn North 16-1, Millard West 9-1 and Lincoln Southwest 12-3. Elkhorn South entered 25-6 and has outscored its opponents 22-15. It beat Omaha Westview 6-5 in eight innings, Lincoln Southwest 6-4 and Millard West 10-6.

So both finalists have beaten Lincoln Southwest and Millard West in this tournament. Millard North's margins in those two games were bigger, but Elkhorn South has won two of its three state games by two runs or fewer.

History: NSAA's finals history shows Millard North reached the Class A final in each of the last three years and finished as runner-up each time, to Papillion-La Vista in 2023, Gretna in 2024 and Lincoln Southwest in 2025. Its only title came in 1993. The same history lists no Class A final for Elkhorn South. The Storm won the 2016 Class B title.

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); NSAA softball state finals history. Innings are noted only where NSAA's results data marks them.

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

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