The Seward softball team entered the postseason on the heels of a third-place finish in the Central Conference tournament.
The Jays won the B7 subdistrict tournament Oct. 7 and will play Crete Friday, Oct. 11, starting at noon in a best-of-three series to determine the B7 district champion and state qualifier.
The Jays hosted the conference tournament Oct. 3 and opened with a 10-2 win over Highway 6, a co-op between Adams Central and Holdrege. SHS lost to Crete 9-3 in the semifinals, then defeated Aurora 6-5 for third place.
“We played well,” Coach Shawn Carr said. “We had one bad inning against Crete. Crete’s a good team, and we went toe to toe with them.”
The offense started sluggish against Highway 6. The bats got going in the fourth inning when the Jays scored five. SHS added four more in the fifth.
Lauren Frihauf was 3-4 with a double and two RBIs from her lead-off spot. Ella Policky and Bell Herring had two hits each.
In the semifinals, Seward held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the third. Crete put up nine runs in the frame, including two home runs by Ruby Van Horn. Seward cut into the lead with two runs in the fourth, but the hole was too deep.
Frihauf and Ava Stutzman had two hits each for the Jays, and Frihauf stole three bases.
The loss dropped Seward into the third-place game where they faced Aurora for the second time in the week. The first meeting saw Aurora dominate 11-1.
“They kicked our butt,” Carr said. “We were back and forth. We hit the ball hard but right at them. They got the breaks and were better in every area.”
The second meeting was different. Seward led 4-3 going into the top of the sixth, when the Huskies scored two to take the lead 5-4.
Policky singled to lead off the inning, and Kalliea Vest came in to run. Herring moved Vest to second on a bunt, and Vest stole third. Emma Frihauf laid down a bunt to the third baseman, and Vest scored to tie the score. Frihauf made it to first and then stole second. She advanced to third when Jolie Eber laid down a bunt.
Danielle Pallet stepped to the plate and singled to center to drive in Frihauf with the winning run.
The Jays started the week with a game at Waverly Sept. 30. The back-and-forth battle eventually went Waverly’s way 15-10. The teams combined for 25 hits.
Carr said the Jays had two plays that, if made, could have changed the outcome of the game.
Lauren Frihauf went 3-5 with two doubles and three RBIs for the Jays. Ava Stutzman was 3-4, and Karlee Baack and Herring had two hits each, with Herring driving in three runs.
The Bluejays (18-10) hosted the B7 subdistrict Oct. 7 and defeated Schuyler 12-0 in the first round. SHS then topped Blue River 12-2 in the subdistrict final. Sides was 3-3 with a home run and four RBIs and also struck out seven in four innings of work.
