There was plenty of offense to go around in Friday’s Class 4 softball state championship game at Killian Softball Complex. Kearney had a bit more offense than Helias, and provided plenty of power to go with it. The Lady Bulldogs hit four home runs, and two of them were hit by Elysia Hand, who drove in eight runs. Kearney captured its first state title since 2005 with a 14-9 victory against the Lady Crusaders.
The Helias Lady Crusaders will play for a state championship, taking advantage of breaks and coming up with outs when they needed them to win 5-1 in Thursday s Class 4 semifinal game against the Washington Blue Jays at Killian Softball Complex. Helias (28-6), ranked No. 2 in Class 4, will face eighth-ranked Kearney (25-8) for the state title at 10 a.m. Friday. Kearney defeated Warrenton 6-3 in Thursday s other semifinal game.
They all knew it. Earlier this month, the Helias Lady Crusaders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in a game against the Capital City Lady Cavaliers. Capital City then scored five unanswered runs to rally for a 5-4 victory. On Saturday, the Lady Crusaders led the Lady Cavaliers 4-0 after three innings in the Class 4 District 5 Tournament championship game at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex. Helias remembered what happened the last time. “Absolutely, no doubt,” Helias coach Kelly Fick said. Capital City remembered what happened the last time. “That’s exactly what we talked about,” Capital City coach Brett Skinner said.
The little things added up to a big win. “We preach that, you do the little things, try to put pressure on your opponent, and good things can happen,” Capital City coach Brett Skinner said after Monday night’s 5-4 win against the Helias Lady Crusaders at Capital City High School. “You execute, you can come out on the winning end. That’s something we need to remember the rest of the season.”
It was ace against ace. But some days, the hitters have their say. Kendyll Rackers hit a one-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday to send the Helias Lady Crusaders to a 6-5 victory against the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.