Hastings is one win away from a trip to Omaha

HASTINGS – Hastings is right where it wants to be after the first day of the state tournament.

"Now we're in the driver's seat where they got to beat us twice and you're at least going to make it to Friday," Hastings softball coach Blake Marquardt said. "That's important to know that we're in the driver's seat and we can have an extra game here if we need it."

Hastings is onto the semifinals of the Class B state tournament. It started the day at 9 a.m. with the wind blowing and a 6-5 win against Scottsbluff. There was some time before the Tigers second game of the day against Lincoln Pius X who upset defending back-to-back state champ Northwest.

The Tigers won that one too, by a score of 14-4 in five innings.

Senior Hallie Schultz got the scoring started for Hastings in the second inning with a two-run home run. It was the first home run of her career.

"I was so excited for her. I mean off the bat you knew that it was kind of a no-doubter and I think I was celebrating just as much as she was," Marquardt said. "For four years she's never had one and the biggest stage she puts one out, so pretty cool."

Freshman Ella Tinsman knocked off a big milestone for herself and broke the school record for strikeouts in a season. She came on in relief against Scottsbluff and had seven strikeouts and then added eight more against Lincoln Pius X.

She sits at 202 on the season.

"I looked at it this morning and I just knew that I needed to not focus on that, I just needed to focus on coming together as a team and we needed to get the runs we needed to," Tinsman said.

The deep ball continued to be a factor for the Tigers who hit four on the day. Madison Wenzl hit a solo shot in the third inning, Tinsman hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and MaKenzie Nollette put the nail in the coffin with a three-run home run in the fifth inning.

"We kind of had an idea of how (Pius X pitcher Jerzey Wiechman) was going to pitch us," Marquardt said. "Once we committed to that approach where we knew what was coming or laid off on it I felt like the bats really could come alive."

Hastings had the hometown crowd behind it in full force. The crowd may have been bundled up in jackets and winter clothes, but it was loud.

"I love that it's in Hastings. It's so fun because everybody can come out and be our support system, which is important, and it's just fun," Haydn Laux said.

The Tigers used its speed on the bases to create runs as the Thunderbolts were forced to make decisions and be precise with their throws.

Lincoln Pius X finished the game with five errors.

"We scored a couple, they made some bad throws at first base and that was that speed and pressure," Marquardt said. "When you play fast and that's what Scottsbluff did to us earlier, they played fast and they kind of threw us off our game."

Laux had three hits and three RBIs against the Thunderbolts and was a key part of the Tigers offense.

"I struggled in our first game a little bit but in our break I just cleaned my head and said I was going to go up there, and if it's there just drive it," Laux said.

Hastings is one win away from a trip to the state championship and a trip to Omaha. The Tigers will play Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the Bill Smith Softball Complex.

Hastings 6, Scottsbluff 5

SB;005;000;0-5;4;4

HAST;041;001;X-6;8;2

WP-Tinsman. LP-Schneider. 2B-HAST: Oschner, Schultz.

Hastings 14, Lincoln Pius X 4

LPX;001;03-4;7;5

HAST;031;46-14;12;2

WP-Tinsman. LP-Wiechman. HR-LPX: Heimes, Mennenga. HR-HAST: Tinsman, Schultz, Nollette, Wenzl.