The Broken Bow Spirit 18U girls softball team opened play Friday at the USA Softball of Nebraska Class D fastpitch state tournament taking place at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings. The Spirit faced off against Ponca 18U on Friday to begin tournament play in the 16/18U division. The Spirit jumped out to a 6-0 lead early and led 10-3 going to the bottom of the fourth when Ponca put together a rally scoring five runs in the bottom of the fourth, but it would not be enough as the Spirit held on for a 10-8 win. Alexis Pflaster, Lily Thornton, Ida Bumgarner, and Anslee Campbell each collected two hits. Thornton and Campbell each drove in two runs and Pflaster finished with three runs scored to help lead the Spirit attack.
The win against Ponca advanced Broken Bow in the winner’s bracket where they faced Hebron 16/18U in the second round. Hebron edged Wausa 8-7 in round one. Hebron jumped out early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Spirit cut the lead in half with a run in the third but Hebron responded with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth. Broken Bow tried to put together a rally in the top of the sixth scoring two runs but Hebron held on for a 5-3 win. The Spirit offense was led by Carli Griffiths who was 3 for 3 at the plate with one RBI. Broken Bow will continue tournament play on Saturday.
In other area action from the tournament, Fearless – Holm 18U faced the Oakland Rockets in round one on Friday. Fearless is a combination of talent throughout areas of central Nebraska including representation from Ansley, Litchfield, and Sumner. Fearless was edged by Oakland 4-2 on Friday. They will next face the Arlington Eagles on Saturday morning.
