*Story provided by Dave Brandt
Lincoln, NE – The Kearney Bearcat varsity softball team played in the Heartland Athletic Conference tournament, at Doris Bair Softball Complex in Lincoln, Nebraska, Saturday, September 30. After going 2-1 on the day, the team finished in 9th place.
Game 1 was a repeat of a matchup from Wednesday this week pairing the Bearcats against the Islanders from Grand Island. Kearney held the lead for the majority of the contest, until Grand Island scored in the 4th and 5th to get the 4-2 win.
Lauren Schmeits spread 7 hits over 5 innings, striking out 7 in the loss. Schmiets led the team with 2 of the 4 hits in the game. Kami Kaskie hit a home run in the bottom of the first scoring the 2 runs for the Bearcats.
In game 2, Kearney was matched up with Lincoln High for a 17-0 win. Avery Longshore and Joselyn Strickland had a combined no hitter facing just 12 batters over 3 innings. The bearcats scored 17 on just three hits. One each by Oliva Wright, Shay Ellis and Anna Brandt. Wright led the team with 4 RBI.
The final game for the Bearcats was against Lincoln Northeast. Kearney took the lead and never looked back, winning 11-2. Avery Longshore pitched 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on three hits. Kaskie, Ava Magnani and Wright each had 2 hits. Magnani led the team with 7 RBI on her 2 home runs that game. Kaskie added another home run for her 2nd on the day.
The win against Northeast put the Bearcats into 9th place for the tournament. They entered as the 8th seed. Lincoln Southwest entered as the 3rd seed and upset Fremont, the 2nd seed, in the semi’s and took down the top seed, Lincoln East 8-0 in the finals.
Saturday ended the regular season for all high school softball in Nebraska. Subdistrict play begins Monday, October 2, for classes B and C. Class A will begin district tournament play Wednesday. Locations and times for those games will be released by the NSAA on Monday
