The Broken Bow Spirit 14U girls softball team claimed the championship at the Nebraska USA softball Class D state championships at the softball complex in Hastings. Broken Bow went through the tournament undefeated. Bow defeated Hebron on Friday night 14-2 then collected wins over Denton (6-4) and Blue Springs (8-4) on Saturday to move through winner’s bracket and into the championship round on Sunday. Bow would face the Lincoln Sliders for the championship. Lincoln needed to defeat Broken Bow twice for the title while the Spirit needed just one win. Broken Bow would take care of business in game one winning 13-6. The game was closer than the final score may indicate. Lincoln led early 2-0 after one but Bow came back with five in the bottom of the second to take the lead. After Lincoln scored two runs in the third and Broken Bow scored a run in the fifth, the score was 6-4 Spirit entering what would be a wild sixth inning. Lincoln scored two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game but Broken Bow exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach and secure a 13-6 victory. The two teams combined for 35 hits in the game. The Spirit had 16 hits led by Laney Dahlberg who was 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Ruby Russell was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Also putting together multi hit games were Ida Bumgarner (2 for 4, 1 run scored, 2 RBI), Lily Thorton (2 for 3, 3 runs scored, 1 RBI), AJ Campbell (2 for 4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI).
Photos courtesy of Tom Griffith
