By Terry Douglass – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The Nebraska state softball championships return to Omaha’s Connie Claussen Field on Monday was another successful day as Gretna (Class A), Beatrice (Class B) and Bishop Neumann (Class C) took home state championship trophies.
It was Gretna’s first Class A state championship. Beatrice – in walk-off fashion – won their first Class B title since 2003 after being in the finals six times since. Bishop Neumann added to a strong recent history adding to 2017 and 2021 Class C titles.
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CLASS A: Jensen powers Gretna to unbeaten season
Top-seeded Gretna completed just the third undefeated season in Class A softball history in dominant fashion, beating No. 3 seed Millard North 8-0 in Monday night’s NSAA state championship game at Omaha’s Connie Claussen Field.
Nebraska commit Alexis Jensen blasted a three-run homer over the left-center field wall, ending the game in the bottom of the sixth inning due to the eight-run rule. The dramatic round-tripper gave Jensen the distinction of belting a home run in both the first and last at-bats of her high school career.
“She has a knack for moments,” Gretna coach Bill Heard said of Jensen. “She could sense it. I’m not shocked that it happened.”
Jensen’s home run — Gretna’s third of the game — touched off a frantic celebration by her teammates at home plate as the senior rounded the bases.
“It feels amazing, especially with this great group that just celebrates everything you do,” Jensen said. “To get that walk-off, it just felt amazing to have those girls come out and celebrate it.”
Jensen’s walk-off homer was arguably her second-most impressive feat of the night. In the circle, the left-hander struck out 15 and walked none, allowing just two singles in six scoreless innings.
“You can’t quantify the effect a kid like Alexis has,” Heard said. “She’s probably the best player I’ve ever coached and every will coach, but the thing that probably gets lost is the teammate piece and the competitive piece. She elevated others.”
Gretna (38-0) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Carlie Muhlbach, who finished 2 for 3 at the plate, drew a leadoff walk and Emerson Johnson reached on a two-base error with one out, putting runners at second and third with one out when a wild pitch scored courtesy runner Carly Huttmann.
The Dragons made it 2-0 in the third when Brylee Rupiper’s two-out double down the left-field line scored courtesy runner Madeline Kurrus. No. 9 batter Lily Rowe increased Gretna’s lead to 4-0 in the fourth, driving a two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Megan Marshall, who drew a leadoff walk.
Muhlbach got into the act in the fifth, launching a solo home run to center field. It marked the senior catcher’s fourth homer of the state tournament and her 21st of the season and the Dragons were well on their way to the school’s second state softball title after taking Class B in 2015.
Gretna is just the second program to go undefeated in Class A. Papillion-La Vista accomplished the feat twice, finishing 36-0 in both 2019 and 2020.
“With this group, it doesn’t even feel like we were undefeated,” Jensen said. “It feels like we got together, picked up a ball and decided, let’s go be us. If we’re us, nobody is going to beat us.”
Jayda Juarez and Carley Stych both had singles for Millard North (31-7).
Gretna bounced back to win the title after failing to reach the final last season despite high preseason expectations. The Dragons finished as the Class A state runner-up in 2022.
“Just like our coach said to us earlier, every setback is an opportunity to grow from” Jensen said. “I think we grew more as a family, which helped us in the long run. If we separated after last year, we wouldn’t even be in this position.”
Heard said he was proud of the way his team responded this season.
“Last year, we faced some adversity and didn’t play very well at the end of it,” Heard said. “The kids kind of had a choice to either dig in or cut and run and boy, they dug in. They have been about the right things all year long.”
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CLASS B
Tempelmeyer walk-off hit lifts Beatrice past Hastings
Tatum Tempelmeyer capped a blazing-hot state tournament performance with a two-out walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting the No. 3-seeded Lady Orange to a 1-0 victory over No. 4 seed Hastings Monday in the Class B championship at Connie Claussen Field.
With the international tiebreaker in play after seven scoreless innings, Beatrice courtesy runner McKenna Loomis was placed on second base to start the bottom of the eighth and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kassidy Henrichs. Following a strikeout, Tempelmeyer drove the first pitch up the middle for the game-winner.
“I’m going to be honest, any of our nine girls, I would’ve had no problem with them in that position,” Beatrice coach Gary Lytle said. “But having Tatum in that situation, I was definitely comfortable there.”
As Beatrice’s leadoff batter, Tempelmeyer hit .440 and had 11 RBIs during her team’s 31 regular-season games. In four state-tournament contests, the sophomore outfielder drove in 13 runs to help give the Lady Orange its fourth state title — and the first since 2003.
“It’s crazy that I’ve had that many (RBIs) in the postseason,” Tempelmeyer said. “Leading off, it’s hard sometimes to get RBIs — you have to be in the right spot in the lineup and everything — but it has just been putting the ball in play at the right time.”
Tempelmeyer’s approach for her final at-bat?
“I was just really trying to slow the game down, keep the game in front of me and put the ball in play like I know that I can,” Tempelmeyer said. “It wasn’t trying to do anything special — just drive a run in.”
The walk-off hit ended a classic pitcher’s duel. Beatrice junior Layla Boyko tossed an eight-inning shutout, allowing five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts to get the win, while Hastings freshman Ella Tinsman permitted just three hits, struck out 15 and walked none in 7 2/3 innings.
“It was exactly what we expected: A pitcher’s duel with two good pitchers who came out, threw a lot of strikes and gave their defenses chances to get it done,” said Lytle, whose team had split two meetings with Hastings earlier this season. “We got into the extra innings, got the runner in scoring position and Tatum just put it in play and made it happen. I’m really happy for the girls — an exciting time.”
Beatrice set itself up for the victory when third baseman Tana Antons started a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the top of the eighth with no runs scored by the Tigers.
“I’m a defensive guy in a lot of ways, (so) that play had me more excited than scoring the winning run in a lot of ways, honestly,” Lytle said of Beatrice’s eighth-inning double play. “Tana makes that play and it’s a close one — it’s a (bang-bang play) at first base — they don’t score the run and it’s a no-lose situation for us, going into the bottom half.”
Sadie Hereth, who was 2 for 3 with a double, led the Lady Orange (30-5) at the plate. MaKenzie Nollette had a double, while Pyper Witte, Grayce Beck, Madison Wenzl and Emily Kratzer all added singles for Hastings (31-8).
“If you’re asking for a (great) championship game, you guys got it,” Hastings coach Blake Marquardt said. “You’ve got extra innings, 0-0. I thought two pitchers battled it out. Two offensive teams struggled to find barrels tonight.
“(Beatrice) executed there at the end. Unfortunately, we fell short of the execution side of things.”
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CLASS C: Bishop Neumann returns to claim title
For Bishop Neumann, waiting was the hardest part.
One year after losing in the final to Ashland-Greenwood, the second-seeded Cavaliers returned to the Class C state championship and achieved their goal with a 4-0 victory over No. 5 seed DC West.
“We knew we had a chance to get back here and we had the team. It was just a long wait to get here,” Neumann coach David Brabec said. “Now, these girls have got their dream come true by finishing out their season with a championship.”
Pitcher Addison Sylliaasen pitched a shutout for the Cavaliers (33-2). The junior, who entered the day with a 27-2 record and a 2.02 ERA, scattered eight hits, while striking out five and walking one.
“She’s just a trooper — Addison is something else,” Brabec said. “She’s just such a competitor. She’s so stoic when she’s on the mound, but she’s got the heart of a champion and she got her championship.”
Timely hitting was the key for Neumann, which was outhit 8-4 by the Falcons. Aubree Millikan had a triple and a RBI, Jill Johnson had a double and a RBI and Adelyn Zwick and Grace Ryan both had singles for the Cavaliers.
Neumann took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Milliken led off with a triple to the gap in right-center field and scored on Ana Fisher’s one-out RBI squeeze bunt. Ryan then blooped a single into right field and Fisher came home on an outfield throwing error.
Neumann extended its lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth when Zwick led off with a line-drive single to left and scored on Johnson’s double to center. Another outfield error made it 4-0 when Bridget Whitney’s fly ball to left was dropped, plating Johnson.
Making its first state appearance, DC West (27-9) had several early scoring opportunities, but couldn’t break through. The Falcons left two runners on base each of the first two innings and stranded eight in the game.
DC West had another chance in the top of the third. Bailey Anderson led off with a double to left-center, but was later cut down at the plate by Fisher, the Neumann right fielder, after Avery Maline’s two-out single.
Izzabella Zach (2 for 4) and Anderson (2 for 3 with two doubles and a walk) led the Falcons. DC West pitcher Sydney Atkins recorded five 1-2-3 innings and struck out seven, but allowed four hits and three earned runs.
Falcons coach Ady Watts, whose team lost 8-0 to Neumann in a previous meeting on Sept. 26, said she was proud of the way her team competed.
“Compared to last time we played them, we did a great job,” Watts said. “We capitalized on leadoff (hitters) and being able to get people on the bases. That was exactly what we wanted and exactly what we talked about.”
The Class C state title was the third for the Cavaliers, who previously won in 2017 and 2021.
“This group of seniors is just amazing,” Brabec said. “We had our last practice and our sendoff the other day and it was hard, having that practice with them, but this was great just to finish the year with a championship.”
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State Championship Notebook
COMEBACK KIDS: Prior to beating DC West 4-0 in the Class C state title game, Bishop Neumann had trailed in each of its previous three state-tournament games played at Hastings — all victories. “That taught us a lot,” Cavaliers coach David Brabec said. “That taught us how to really be tough and work through some jams. It just feels good to come out on top today and get that early lead like we got.”
BLAZING A TRAIL: DC West coach Ady Watts said she hopes that a runner-up finish in Class C to Bishop Neumann will be the foundation for future success for Falcons softball. “This program has a lot to grow off of,” said Watts, whose team was making its first state-tournament appearance. “This is just the start of it for them. Our seniors did a great job of helping us be able to make history for our program and put DC West kind of on the map from where it has been in the past. They’ve left a really fantastic legacy of their own.”
TOUGH-LUCK LOSS: A hat tip goes to Hastings pitcher Ella Tinsman, who took the loss in a 1-0 setback against Beatrice in the Class B state championship game. The Tigers’ freshman tossed 7 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits, striking out 15 with zero walks in a 102-pitch outing. “She threw one of the best games I’ve seen all year,” Hastings coach Blake Marquardt said. “She wanted it. I don’t know what to say … she was awesome.”
THE END RESULT: Despite finishing 38-0 and registering the third undefeated season in Class A softball history, Gretna coach Bill Heard said he never talked to his team about perfection. “It was not a goal, but a byproduct of their character,” said Heard, whose team fell short of the state championship game last season. “We’ve worked really hard on that part. They’re closer and more connected than probably any other group I’ve had. I just think it’s because of the adversity we went through.”
OUTSTANDING SERVICE: During Championship Monday, the NSAA honored Jim Bewley and Ray Wall. Bewley is a state umpire for baseball & softball, as well as the UIC at the NSAA State Softball Championships. He was also honored as the NFHS Umpire of the Year in 2023. In addition, the Nebraska High School Officials Association & the NSAA presented an award to Ray Wall, who has reached 25 years of service as a high school softball umpire.
Terry Douglass is a freelance writer also based in Grand Island. He is the former sports editor for The Grand Island Independent.