Nebraska state softball tournament preview

Two softball teams with a whole lot of star power, tradition and championship history will more than likely battle for a championship trophy at the Nebraska state softball tournament at Hastings' Bill Smith Softball Complex, Oct. 15-17.

Although the six other contenders that make up Nebraska's large school field of eight are more than capable of winning it all, look for three-time defending champion Millard South and 13-time Class A state champion Papillion-LaVista to duke it out for softball supremacy.

The No. 2 Monarchs won 10 straight state titles from 1995-2004, back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, and added another championship in 2010 before the top-ranked Patriots took over, winning titles from 2011-2013. Millard South also won it all in 2005.

The Patriots took home runner-up finishes in 1994, 1996 and 2010, while the Monarchs placed second in 2005, 2008 and 2013.

The only other schools to win Class A state titles since the Nebraska School Activities Association started putting on the championships in 1993 are Millard North, Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln Southwest.

2014 NSAA State Brackets

Millard South has to be the favorite here, not only because it has won three straight crowns, but because of all the talent returning. Look for this one to go all 15 games in the double-elimination tournament. The Patriots took the regular season three-game series between these two softball giants, 2-1.

Millard South's lineup includes returning Omaha World Herald first team All-Nebraska players Jordan Johnson, Vicky Kinney, Emily Hove and Rylie Unzicker. Second-team Super-State player Camille Fowler returns as well.

Returning first team All-Nebraska pitcher Julia Andersen will go to work for Todd Petersen from the mound and at the plate, while second-teamer Amanda Butera returns for the Monarchs as well.

Millard West's tournament run will be led by Emily Klosterman and Kris Van Hoosen, returning first and second-team Super-Staters respectively, while Lincoln North Star's Sydney Nieveen, Omaha Marian's Gabbie Jonas and Lincoln Southwest's Zierra Flodman, all second-team All-Nebraska players a year ago, hope to lead their teams through the bracket and into the championship match.

MaxPreps No. 8 Grand Island was the highest ranked team to miss the Class A tournament, bowing out to Papillion-LaVista South, 9-1, in the A-5 district championship.

Elkhorn, York, Ralston, Blair, Elkhorn South and Beatrice, the top six teams in that order according to MaxPreps all made the Class B field of eight. Twelfth-ranked Gretna and No. 20 McCook round out the field, while defending champion and No. 7 Omaha Skutt Catholic fell victim to top-ranked Elkhorn in District B-3 action and fell short in wildcard points. Beatrice knocked off No. 8 Crete in a District B-1 battle to send the Cardinals packing.

Only the top three Class C teams going into district action qualified for the state softball tournament. Top-ranked Wymore Southern, No. 2 Wayne and third-ranked Raymond Central are still playing. Other pre-district Top 10 teams to make it into this wide-open field of eight are No. 9 Guardian Angels Central Catholic and tenth-ranked Gothenburg.

Arlington, the No. 5 team in MaxPreps' pre-district rankings, didn't make the field of eight, bowing out to Wahoo 12-10 in the second championship game of C-3 district action, while Tekamah-Herman, the No. 4 team in the NSAA's wildcard point standings, lost a 3-1 C-4 district decision to Wayne.

First-round rematches from the regular season

Class A
Millard South vs. Millard North (9-1)
Millard West vs. Papillion-LaVista South (2-0, 14-9, 6-2)
Omaha Marian vs. Lincoln North Star (3-1)
Papillion-LaVista vs. Lincoln Southwest (10-1)

Class C
Wymore Southern vs. Ashland-Greenwood (7-0)

Here is how we see the tournament playing out for all three classifications:

Picking the Field

Class A
Game 1 – No. 1 Millard South (Omaha) (27-2) over No. 7 Millard North (Omaha) (16-11)
Game 2 – No. 4 Millard West (Omaha) (24-5) over No. 5 Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion) (23-7)
Game 3 – No. 3 Marian (Omaha) (23-4) over No. 6 North Star (Lincoln) (24-10)
Game 4 – No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (Papillion) (30-4) over No. 9 Lincoln Southwest (24-10)
Game 5 – No. 5 Papillion-LaVista South (23-8) over No.7 Millard North (16-12)
Game 6 – No. 6 Lincoln North Star (24-11) over No. No. 9 Lincoln Southwest (24-11)
Game 7 – No. 1 Millard South (28-2) over No. 4 Millard West (25-5)
Game 8 – No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (32-4) over No. 3 Omaha Marian (24-4)
Game 9 – No. 3 Omaha Marian (24-5) over No. 5 Papillion-LaVista South (24-8)
Game 10 – No. 4 Millard West (25-6) over No. 6 Lincoln North Star (25-11)
Game 11 – No. 1 Millard South (29-2) over No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (32-4)
Game 12 – No. 3 Omaha Marian (25-5) over No. 4 Millard West (26-6)
Game 13 – No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (32-5) over No. 3 Omaha Marian (26-5)
Game 14 – No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (33-5) over No. 1 Millard South (30-2)
Game 15 – No. 1 Millard South (30-3) over No. 2 Papillion-LaVista (34-5)

Class B
Game 1 – No. 1 Elkhorn (26-4) over No. 20 McCook (20-15)
Game 2 – No. 6 Beatrice (26-9) over No. 4 Blair (22-6)
Game 3 – No. 6 Ralston (23-5) over No. 5 Elkhorn South (24-7)
Game 4 – No. 2 York (27-2) over No. 12 Gretna (21-8)
Game 5 – No. 4 Blair (22-7) over No. 20 McCook (20-16)
Game 6 – No. 5 Elkhorn South (24-8) over No. 12 Gretna (21-9)
Game 7 –No. 1 Elkhorn (27-4) over No. 6 Beatrice (27-9)
Game 8 – No. 2 York (28-2) over No. 3 Ralston (24-5)
Game 9 – No. 4 Blair (23-7) over No. 3 Ralston (24-6)
Game 10 – No. 6 Beatrice (27-10) over No. 5 Elkhorn South (25-8)
Game 11 – No. 2 York (29-2) over No. 1 Elkhorn (28-4)
Game 12 – No. 4 Blair (24-7) over No. 6 Beatrice (28-10)
Game 13 – No. 1 Elkhorn (28-5) over No. 4 Blair (25-7)
Game 14 – No. 1 Elkhorn (29-5) over No. 2 York (30-2)
Game 15 – No. 2 York (30-3) over No. 1 Elkhorn (30-5)

Class C
Game 1 – No. 2 Wayne (27-6) over No. 24 Central City (15-14)
Game 2 – No. 3 Raymond Central (23-7) over No. 9 Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) (21-7)
Game 3 – No. 1 Southern (Wymore) (20-4) over No. 14 Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland) (17-12)
Game 4 – No. 13 Wahoo (19-14) over No. 10 Gothenburg (25-5)
Game 5 – No. 9 Guardian Angels CC (21-8) over No. 24 Central City (15-15)
Game 6 – No. 10 Gothenburg (25-6) over No. 14 Ashland-Greenwood (17-13)
Game 7 – No. 2 Wayne (28-6) over No. 3 Raymond Central (24-7)
Game 8 – No. 1 Wymore Southern (21-4) over No. 13 Wahoo (20-14)
Game 9 – No. 9 Guardian Angels CC (22-8) over No. 13 Wahoo (20-15)
Game 10 – No. 3 Raymond Central (24-8) over No. 10 Gothenburg (26-6)
Game 11 – No. 1 Wymore Southern (22-4) over No. 2 Wayne (29-6)
Game 12 – No. 3 Raymond Central (25-8) over No. 9 Guardian Angels CC (23-8)
Game 13 – No. 3 Raymond Central (26-8) over No. 2 Wayne (29-7)
Game 14 – No. 1 Wymore Southern (23-4) over No. 3 Raymond Central (27-8)

Here is a look at the Top10 statistical leaders competing in the state tournament by classification. The NSAA provided the numbers used in these lists.

Class A Leaders

Batting Average (At least 50 at bats)
Emily Klosterman, Millard West .636
Samantha Dellinger, Papillion-LaVista .587
Victoria Kinney, Millard South .562
Emma Hoffart, Millard North .526
Gabrielle Jonas, Omaha Marian .507
Julia Andersen, Papillion-LaVista .495
Brittney Schmiedt, Papillion-LaVista South .494
Kristen Van Hoosen, Millard West .494
Emily Hove, Millard South .494
Rylie Unzicker, Millard South .493

Runs Scored
Victoria Kinney, Millard South 48
Emily Klosterman, Millard West 44
Samantha Dellinger, Papillion-LaVista 43
Elaina Mayer, Lincoln North Star 43
Caelyn Christiancy, Lincoln Southwest 40
Jessica Rogers, Lincoln Southwest 39
Rylie Unzicker, Millard South 39
Camille Fowler, Millard South 38
Hailey Bartz, Lincoln Southwest 37
Brittney Schmiedt, Papillion-LaVista South 36
Samantha Alm, Millard West 36

Runs Batted In
Samantha Dellinger, Papillion-LaVista 56
Emily Klosterman, Millard West 51
Victoria Kinney, Millard South 48
Kristen Van Hoosen, Millard West 46
Taylor Marshall, Lincoln Southwest 44
Jessica Rogers, Lincoln Southwest 43
Maja Ahmann, Lincoln North Star 41
Bobbi Singleton, Lincoln North Star 39
Madison Finley, Papillion-LaVista South
Amanda Butera, Papillion-LaVista 37

Home Runs
Samantha Dellinger, Papillion-LaVista 17
Victoria Kinney, Millard South 13
Sydney Nieveen, Lincoln North Star 11
Jordan Van Roy, Papillion-LaVista 9
Kristen Van Hoosen, Millard West 9
Rylie Unzicker, Millard South 9
Valerie Kinney, Millard South 9
Madison Finley, Papillion-LaVista South 8
Maja Ahmann, Lincoln North Star 8
Gabrielle Jonas, Omaha Marian 8
Lexie Linderman, Omaha Marian 8
Brook Linderman, Omaha Marian 8
Emily Klosterman, Millard West 8

Earned Run Average (At least one win)
Aly Freeman, Omaha Marian 0.933
Courtney Wallace, Papillion-LaVista 1.024
Ally Marcsisak, Millard South 1.068
Paige Gerdes, Millard South 1.119
Kellyn Daly, Omaha Marian 1.123
Nicole McNeil, Millard South 1.432
Samantha Dellinger, Papillion-LaVista 1.465
Jordan Johnson, Millard South 1.615
Lexie Linderman, Omaha Marian 1.983
Kristen Van Hoosen, Millard West 2.000

Wins
Logan Black, Millard West 23
Julia Andersen, Papillion-LaVista 22
Mattie Lentz, Lincoln Southwest 20
Sydney Nieveen, Lincoln North Star 18
Jacqueline Jaramillo, Papillion-LaVista South 17
Kellyn Daly, Omaha Marian 16
Jordan Johnson, Millard South 15
Jamie Fisher, Millard North 11
Alana Krieser, Lincoln North Star 6
Courtney Wallace, Papillion-LaVista 5
Madison Meacham, Millard North 5
Ally Marcsisak, Millard South 5

Class B Leaders

Batting Average (At least 50 at bats)
Marinda Bryant, Beatrice .562
Miranda Henry, Ralston .530
Kailey Siemonsma, Blair .529
Bailey Zarybnicky, Beatrice .500
Sierra Athow, Ralston .488
Jordyn Stearns, York .476
Allison Riley, York .464
Laura Roecker, Elkhorn .451
Kylie Allen, McCook .442
Hannah Clary, Blair .433

Runs Scored
Marinda Bryant, Beatrice 50
Bailey Zarybnicky, Beatrice 45
Lauren Riley, York 43
Kylie Allen, McCook 41
Madison Kment, Blair 40
Lauren Horras, York 40
Jordyn Stearns, York 39
Emma Grenfell, York 37
Chesney Schmidt, Beatrice 32
Alizabeth Rosenbaum, Blair 32

Runs Batted In
Marinda Bryant, Beatrice 46
Jordyn Stearns, York 45
Kailey Siemonsma, Blair 41
Miranda Henry, Ralston 37
Sierra Athow, Ralston 35
Tianna Hausman, Beatrice 33
Emily Jacobs, McCook 33
Alexis Burkhardt, Gretna 30
Adrienne Gocke, York 30
Karlee Seevers, York 30

Home Runs
Tianna Hausman, Beatrice 10
Jordyn Stearns, York 8
Miranda Henry, Ralston 6
Madison Deane, Elkhorn South 6
Miranda Bryant, Beatrice 6
Madison Kment, Blair 6
Alexis Burkhardt, Gretna 5
Sierra Athow, Ralston 5
Taylor Sramek, Ralston 5
Bailey Zarybnicky, Beatrice 5
Kylie Allen, McCook 5

Earned Run Average (At least one win)
Tayte Hansen, York 0.000
Taylor Knight, Elkhorn South 0.000
Shayne Coleman, McCook 0.000
Alexis Burkhardt, Gretna 0.88
Nicole Schaefer, Elkhorn South 0.98
Karlee Seevers, York 1.100
Laura Roecker, Elkhorn 1.127
Brittney Banks, Elkhorn 1.183
Faith Hansen, McCook 1.400
Mikayla Kuhl, Gretna 1.610

Wins
Karlee Seevers, York 23
Lauren Shymkewicz, Ralston 23
Skylar Huls, Beatrice 22
Olivia Ferrell, Elkhorn South 20
Kailey Siemonsma, Blair 20
Mikayla Kuhl, Gretna 18
Laura Roecker, Elkhorn 17
Moriah Payton, McCook 9
Hayley Werkmeister, McCook 9
Brittney Banks, Elkhorn 6

Class C Leaders

Batting Average (At least 50 at bats)
Rebecca Riley, Gothenburg .595
Courtney Potter, Raymond Central .560
Joselyn Schakenberg, Wahoo .500
Lauren Taylor, Raymond Central .490
Brittany Vech, Wahoo .472
Abbie Hix, Wayne .462
Elise McIlhaney, Wahoo .455
Cassandra Vasa, Raymond Central .453
Jade Long, Wymore Southern .447
Kyra MaGuire, Wymore Southern .432

Runs Scored
Courtney Potter, Raymond Central 45
Kasey Wellmann, Gothenburg 44
Danica Schaefer, Wayne 42
Abbie Hix, Wayne 42
Cassandra Vasa, Raymond Central 38
Kiara Hochstein, Wayne 38
Jade Long, Wymore Southern 35
Katelyn Brown, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 35
Kaitlyn Aden, Gothenburg 34
Kennedy Maly, Wayne 34

Runs Batted In
Rebecca Riley, Gothenburg 45
Abbie Hix, Wayne 45
Lauren Taylor, Raymond Central 40
Joselyn Schnakenberg, Wahoo 36
Cassandra Vasa, Raymond Central 34
Danica Schaefer, Wayne 31
Kortney Keller, Wayne 31
Katelyn Brown, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 30
Kennedy Maly, Wayne 30
Mariah Hunke, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 27
Abbie Hillmer, Central City 27

Home Runs
Joselyn Schnakenberg, Wahoo 8
Madison Partridge, Wahoo 5
Lauren Wobken, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 5
Rebecca Riley, Gothenburg 4
Cassandra Vasa, Raymond Central 4
Danica Schaefer, Wayne 4
Kendra Barnts, Wymore Southern 3
Ashten Gibson, Wayne 3
Kortney Keller, Wayne 3
Makeda Russ, Wahoo 2
Katlin Harm, Gothenburg 2
Lauren Taylor, Raymond Central 2
Katelyn Brown, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 2
Abbie Hix, Wayne 2

Earned Run Average (At least one win)
Emily Franzluebbers, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 1.270
Morgan Cardenas, Gothenburg 1.400
Hannah Belt, Wayne 1.440
Ellie Edmond, Wymore Southern 1.470
Kyra MaGuire, Wymore Southern 1.520
Madeline Moser, Central City 2.020
Caitlyn Johnson, Raymond Central 2.129
Ashten Gibson, Wayne 2.420
Karleigh Kleinknecht, Gothenburg 2.700
Kennedy Garner, Ashland-Greenwood 2.740

Wins
Caitlyn Johnson, Raymond Central 23
Karleigh Kleinknecht, Gothenburg 21
Hannah Belt, Wayne 20
Kennedy Garner, Ashland-Greenwood 17
Ellie Edmond, Wymore Southern 16
Maci Hunke, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 14
Joselyn Schnakenberg, Wahoo 12
Madeline Moser, Central City 10
Madison Partridge, Wahoo 7
Emily Franzluebbers, Guardian Angels Central Catholic 7
Ashten Gibson, Wayne 7