State softball · Roundup · Classes A, B, C
State softball Saturday: All three defending champions go out
All seven Saturday state softball results in Classes A, B and C, and Monday's three championship games.
HASTINGS, Neb. — Seven games on Saturday at the Bill Smith Softball Complex set up Monday's three state championship games, and none of last year's champions will be there. Lincoln Southwest (Class A), Northwest (Class B) and Hastings St. Cecilia (Class C) all lost elimination games Saturday, so each class will crown a new champion.
Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln: Class C, Kearney Catholic vs. Bishop Neumann, noon. Class B, Gretna vs. Gretna East, 3:30 p.m. Class A, Millard North vs. Elkhorn South, 7:00 p.m. Each title is decided in one game, Game 15.
Class A: Top-seeded Millard North beat Lincoln Southwest 12-3 in five innings, hitting four home runs. T. Kampbell drove in five. Elkhorn South beat Millard West 10-6 behind I. Jackson's two doubles and four RBIs and a complete game from O. Songster. Both winners were unbeaten, so Games 12 and 14 weren't needed.
Class B: Hastings beat top-seeded Gretna East 5-3 in Game 11, with G. Ostrander's home run and three RBIs. That forced Game 12, and Gretna East won it 5-3 as K. Hinerman homered for the second straight game and A. Bachman homered and drove in three. Gretna beat Northwest 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the seventh, and T. Rupiper struck out eight in a complete game.
B. Beyer of Gretna East and E. Tinsman of Hastings each pitched both Game 11 and Game 12. Beyer threw 197 pitches on the day, and Tinsman threw 204.
Class C: Kearney Catholic beat Yutan/Mead 6-0 as P. Tidwell threw a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Bishop Neumann beat Hastings St. Cecilia 10-2 in five innings after falling behind 2-0 in the first. A. Furasek drove in four runs, and I. Stuhr allowed four hits. Both winners were unbeaten, so Games 12 and 14 weren't needed.
By the numbers: Three of the four unbeaten teams in Classes A and C have won big. Millard North has outscored its state opponents 37-5, Kearney Catholic 28-4 and Bishop Neumann 27-8. Elkhorn South's margin is closer at 22-15, and Gretna, the only unbeaten team left in Class B, has won its three games by a combined 17-10.
Eliminated Saturday: Lincoln Southwest and Millard West (Class A), Hastings and Northwest (Class B), and Yutan/Mead and Hastings St. Cecilia (Class C).
NSAA's finals history shows Millard North lost in the Class A final in each of the last three years. It lists Class C titles for Bishop Neumann in 2017, 2021 and 2024, and Class B and Class A titles for Gretna in 2015 and 2024.
Sources: NSAA official box scores, Classes A, B, C, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 (via NSAA Softball Championships HQ); NSAA Class A bracket sheet; NSAA Class B bracket sheet; 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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