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Class C softball: Kearney Catholic, St. Cecilia set for Day 2
Class C state softball preview: Day 1 results, Thursday pairings and the road to Monday's final at Bowlin Stadium.
HASTINGS, Neb. — Defending Class C champion Hastings St. Cecilia opened with a one-run win on Wednesday, and its reward is a winners-bracket date with the top seed. The No. 4 seed beat No. 5 DC West 2-1 and will face No. 1 Kearney Catholic on Thursday at the NSAA State Softball Championships (NSAA Class C bracket sheet, retrieved Oct. 15, 2026).
Kearney Catholic was dominant in its opener, beating No. 8 Yutan/Mead 10-0 in five innings. No. 3 Bishop Neumann also ended its game early, beating No. 6 Fort Calhoun 12-4 in five innings. No. 2 Ashland-Greenwood edged No. 7 CCV 8-7.
Those four unbeaten teams split into two Thursday games. Kearney Catholic and St. Cecilia meet in Game 5, and Bishop Neumann plays Ashland-Greenwood in Game 6. Both are set to start at 2:00 p.m. Yutan/Mead faces DC West and Fort Calhoun plays CCV in elimination games.
NSAA delayed Thursday's start after consulting the National Weather Service, and its bracket sheet now lists the first games at 2:00 p.m. (NSAA bracket sheet, retrieved Oct. 15, 2026, 12:10 p.m. CT). From there, games roll: each starts about 30 minutes after the previous one ends, with an abbreviated pregame of a 10-minute field warmup and a plate meeting. NSAA said any further changes will be posted on its social media and nsaahome.org (NSAA weather update, Oct. 14, 2026).
Defending Class C champion St. Cecilia won the 2025 title by beating Central City 5-4 on a walk-off in the final at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln on Oct. 20, 2025 (NSAA softball finals history; NSAA 2025 finals recap, both retrieved Oct. 12, 2026).
The tournament is double elimination, and the champion will be decided in Game 15 on Monday, Oct. 19, at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln, with Class C at noon, Class B at 3:30 p.m. and Class A at 7:00 p.m. (NSAA Softball Championships HQ, retrieved Oct. 14, 2026). NSAA HQ also lists brackets, GoFan tickets and NFHS Network webcasts.
Sources: NSAA Class C bracket sheet, retrieved Oct. 15, 2026; NSAA weather update, Oct. 14, 2026; NSAA softball finals history and NSAA 2025 finals recap, both retrieved Oct. 12, 2026; NSAA Softball Championships HQ, retrieved Oct. 14, 2026. Innings are noted only where NSAA's results data marks them.
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