Seward needed just two games in a best-of-three series to defeat Scottsbluff and win the district title. The championship sent the Jays to the Class B state softball tournament at Hastings Oct. 14-16.
The Jays swept their way through subdistricts Oct. 5 and 6, beating Blue River 10-0, Columbus Lakeview 10-0 and York 6-1 to advance to the final.
Coach Rich Eber said Seward played very well in the subdistrict. Lauryn Parra hit two home runs against Blue River, and Sydney Parra struck out eight in the circle.
In game two, Claire Geidel hit two more home runs and Hannah Benedict added one.
York, however, kept the Bluejay long-balls inside Plum Creek Park.
“We won without a home run,” Eber said.
Sydney Parra struck out seven Dukes and allowed just one unearned run.
The win tied the school record for wins in a season at 21, Eber said. Kate Mullally and Brittany Telecky each reached that plateau.
Parra surpassed it Oct. 9 with two wins over Scottsbluff.
Based on wild-card points, Seward got to host the best-of-three series and won the first two, topping the Bearcats 8-7 and 10-4.
“We played really well against a well-coached team,” Eber said.
Lauryn Parra and Grace Hamling each hit home runs in game one. Dalaney Anderson drove in three runs for Seward.
The Jays led 8-2 after six innings, but Scottsbluff scored five in the top of the seventh.
“Credit Scottsbluff. They took advantage of mistakes and made the game closer,” Eber said.
Scottsbluff rode that momentum into game two. Seward took a 2-0 lead on a first-inning home run by Hamling, but Scottsbluff responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Bluejay offense got rolling in the third inning, scoring three in that frame, one in the fourth and four in the fifth. Hamling hit another home run during that span.
The game ended with a strike out-throw out play. After Sydney Parra struck out the batter, catcher Jayden Fernau threw to second to try to stop a steal and got the out.
“Jayden has been throwing runners out all year. It was good to end districts that way,” Eber said.
The victory put the Jays in the Class B state tournament. Seward (24-8) is the fifth seed and will play Northwest at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14. This will be the third meeting between the teams this season.
“We started to hit them the second time we played,” Eber said. “We’re excited to get another chance at her.
“At state, anything can happen.”
