Softball On SI

Nebraska High School Softball Crowns 2025 State Champions After Intense Tournament Finale

Maren Angus-Coombs|
The Hastings St. Cecilia Bluehawks captured their first Class C softball title on Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln.
The Hastings St. Cecilia Bluehawks captured their first Class C softball title on Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. | Maren Angus-Coombs/Softball On SI

Three state champions were crowned on Monday at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., and each game delivered some incredible moments and some forgettable ones.

There were two walk-off victories and one upset to close out the 2025 season under the bright lights on the campus of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Battling the elements with the temperature dropping below 60 and the wind gusting out to right field, six teams delivered in the drama department.

Class C: Hastings St. Cecilia 5, Central City 4

The Bluehawks of Hastings St. Cecilia jump out to an early lead against the Central City Bison but the seventh inning was when most of the runs were scored.

Trailing 3-1 with two outs, the Bison rallied to cut the deficit in half and then Juno Ryan blasted a two-run shot through the wind and off the scoreboard in left field to give Central City a one-run lead.

Central City pitcher Payton Burbach was the story of Class C, throwing every pitch in the state tournament, and she tried her best to bring home the title but the Bluehawks didn't back down.

After loading the bases in the bottom half of the frame, Maddison Bauer roped a line drive past a diving left field to give the Bluehawks their first state title. She finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs batted in.

“I knew I had to hit it because I didn’t want to let down my team, because I love everyone so much,” the sophomore said after the game. “They’ve always been there for me, so I knew I had to get it done.”

Completing the comeback was no surprise to head coach Matt Rossow. His team trailed the Bison 9-3 earlier in the season before scoring five in the seventh to lose 9-8. It was the only game between the two this season prior to Monday.

“(Our players) have done this all year,” Rossow said. “So I knew there was a chance. They just kept working and working. They just refused to give up.”

Audrey Rossow earned the win in the circle for the Bluehawks, striking out six.

“It’s just so surreal right now,” said Audrey Rossow. “It definitely means a lot, and it means we made history. We’ll always be up there.”

Class B: Northwest 4, Beatrice 3

In a clash of Goliaths, the Northwest Vikings and Beatrice Lady Orange gave the crowd in Lincoln what might have been the best game of the day.

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, senior Libby Loman skied a fly ball that got caught in the wind and forced chaos. The ball dropped and scored senior Jolie O’Hara to give the Vikings their third title in four years.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Loman said. “Jolie, Laiken (Dorsey), and I have been playing softball together since we were eight years old. It’s just really awesome.”

Northwest's rising stars put the Vikings in a position to win the game. Freshman Abby Dinkelman homered in the third and then singled in the seventh to tie the game.

Sophomore pitcher Graclyn Simmons was incredible. Her curveball kept the Lady Orange guessing, and her rise ball got plenty of swings-and-misses, striking out 10.

“There was no doubt,” Viking coach Mitch Sadd said. “This is a team that has focused all year on playing long games. And, we stayed together. We stayed together as a team. Our dugout, they never stopped cheering.”

As for Beatrice, the defending state champions are not only saying goodbye to their seniors but head coach Gary Lytle is also stepping away from the program.

Battling tears, Lytle acknowledge how hard his team fought despite coming up short of completing their quest.

“I am sure there are a lot of things you can look at over the course of the game,” Beatrice coach Gary Lytle said. “There are probably a lot of things that we could change. We got two girls on base in the seventh, too. A lot of what ifs. But our girls battled all night and that is all you can ask for as a coach.”

Lytle will continue his coaching career at Southeast Community College in Beatrice.

Class A: Lincoln Southwest 4, Millard North 2

Maisey McCarty fanned the flaming hot bats of Millard North and Lincoln Southwest scored four runs in the third inning to secure its first state title since 2021.

The sophomore right-hander struck out 10 Mustangs, including Creighton commit Abby Beard to end the game.

“We’ve had our eyes on this game, especially since the last one,” said McCarty, a sophomore. “I’m just in shock.”

The loss marked the third consecutive runner-up season for the Mustangs.

“It seems like three years in a row, we get here and the (other) pitcher throws the greatest game they’ve thrown all year,” Millard North coach Travis Unzicker said.

Unzicker isn't wrong, the Mustangs had only scored fewer than three runs one other time this season and that was in August.

“Maisey pitched a heck of a game, said LSW head coach Mitch Ohnoutka,
"and we hit a couple rockets in the third inning. I’d like to know the exit velocity on those.

“And (Maisey), probably strikeout-wise, that’s the best she’s been all year. There’s no doubt.”

The title was bittersweet for the Silver Hawks. Their former head coach, Mark Watt, died from a battle with cancer in November. Ohnoutaka took over the program in 2022 after Watt became the volunteer assistant coach with the Huskers.

“This (stadium) is where he coached his last games when he was helping the university (of Nebraska) the year that he retired. And yeah, it was pretty emotional,” Ohnoutka said.

“I felt his presence last week, and I felt it again tonight.”

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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