State softball · Preview · Class B
Class B softball: Saturday's path to Bowlin
{nm} state softball Saturday preview: Games 11-14 matchups, times, fields and the path to Monday's final.
HASTINGS, Neb. — Four Class B teams are left at the Bill Smith Softball Complex, and Saturday decides which two play for the state title. Gretna East and Gretna are unbeaten and need one win. Hastings and Northwest have one loss and must win twice.
Game 11: No. 1 Gretna East vs. No. 2 Hastings, 3:00 p.m., Field #4
Gretna East entered the tournament 25-4. It beat Beatrice 18-9 in six innings on Wednesday and Northwest 9-3 on Friday. A. Weis hit two home runs and drove in four against Northwest, R. Hayduk also homered, and B. Beyer struck out eight in a complete game.
Hastings entered 26-4. It beat Wahoo 9-1 in six innings, lost 2-1 in eight innings to Gretna, then beat Crete 2-0. E. Tinsman is the story. She struck out 15 in the eight-inning loss and no-hit Crete with 15 more strikeouts. That gives her 30 strikeouts and no earned runs in 15 innings Friday, on 197 pitches. B. Rutt and G. Ostrander hit the solo homers that beat Crete.
If Hastings wins, the teams play again in Game 12 right after Game 11 on Field #4.
Game 13: No. 3 Gretna vs. No. 4 Northwest, 3:00 p.m., Field #1
Gretna entered 22-5. It beat Skutt Catholic 11-6 and Hastings 2-1 in eight innings, scoring both runs against Hastings in the eighth. T. Rupiper went the distance against Hastings, allowing three hits with 11 strikeouts on 127 pitches.
Northwest entered 22-3. It beat Crete 8-7, lost 9-3 to Gretna East, then eliminated Wahoo 12-0 in three innings after an 11-run first. B. Dinkelman homered and doubled, A. Dinkelman doubled twice, and G. Simmons tripled and pitched a one-hitter. Simmons threw 152 pitches over two games Friday.
If Northwest wins, the teams play again in Game 14 right after Game 13 on Field #1.
Monday: The two survivors meet for the Class B championship in Game 15 on Monday, Oct. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. NSAA posts any weather changes on nsaahome.org and its social media.
Sources: NSAA Class B bracket sheet, retrieved Oct. 16, 2026, 9:48 p.m. CT; NSAA official box scores, Oct. 16, 2026; NSAA Softball Championships HQ.
Follow every score on the NEB Preps softball state tournament hub.
