WAYNE – NSAA officials have finalized the Class B and C Softball District games as Wayne High officially earned the final wildcard in Class B by .1007 points and will make a second straight trip in the postseason to Grand Island this time against a different GI opponent.
Wayne High started Monday #10 in the wildcard point standings and after finishing with an 18-7 record and runner-up finish in B-6 Subdistrict Tournament, dropped two spots to #12.
After points were calculated mid-morning on Tuesday, Wayne High came out with the final wildcard spot just ahead of Blair (first team out).
Now officially, Northwest (Grand Island), Beatrice, Scottsbluff, Elkhorn, Norris and Wayne earned the six wildcard spots.
#12 Wayne High will make a return trip for the second straight year to Veteran’s Complex in Grand Island and this year face #5 Northwest who enters with a 25-7 record. The Vikings finished runner-up in the B-8 Subdistrict by defeating Adams Central, 6-1 but falling to Hastings, 12-1 in the finals. Northwest earned the first wildcard.
Last year, Wayne High earned a wildcard and lost twice to Grand Island Central Catholic (7-6 and 15-2 in five innings) during The B-6 District Final. WHS finished 2020 with a 20-9 record.
Northwest won the B-4 District Final games over Bennington last year (3-0 and 4-3) in Grand Island to close out their regular season at 25-10. The Vikings went 2-2 in the 2020 Class B State Tournament.
The 2020 appearance for Northwest (fifth in program history) snapped a four-year streak of missing the state tournament while Wayne High missed out on just their second tournament (17 total) which saw a 13-year streak come to an end of qualifying for the state tourney in either Class B or C.
Friday, October 8: #1 Omaha Skutt Catholic (27-0) vs. #16 O’Neill (17-10) at 2 p.m. from Omaha Skutt Catholic
Friday, October 8: #2 Hastings (30-4) vs. #15 Crete (16-14) at noon from the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings
Friday, October 8: #3 Bennington (23-4) vs. #14 Aurora (21-10) at noon from Bennington
Saturday, October 9: #4 Wahoo (25-3) vs. #13 Gering (24-9) at 10 a.m. from Hackberry Park, Field #1 in Wahoo
Friday, October 8: #5 Northwest (25-7) vs. #12 Wayne (18-7) at 11 a.m. from Veterans Complex in Grand Island
Friday, October 8: #6 Beatrice (18-7) vs. #11 Norris (15-13) at 1 p.m. from Beatrice
Saturday, October 9: #7 Scottsbluff (27-7) vs. #10 Omaha Gross Catholic (18-11) at 9 a.m. MT from Scottsbluff
Friday, October 8: #8 Waverly (16-11) vs. #9 Elkhorn (15-14) at 1 p.m. from Waverly
Class C District Finals:
Friday, October 8: #1 Bishop Neumann vs. #16 Polk County at 11 a.m. from Hackberry Park, Field #1 in Wahoo
Friday, October 8: #2 Hastings St. Cecilia vs. #15 Fairbury at noon from Bill Smith Softball Complex, Field #3 in Hastings
Friday, October 8: #3 Guardian Angels Central Catholic vs. #14 Raymond Central at 10:30 a.m. from Timmerman Field in West Point
Saturday, October 9: #4 Yutan/Mean vs. #13 Aquinas Catholic at 10 a.m. from Yutan
Friday, October 8: #5 Malcolm vs. #12 Arlington at 1 p.m. from Malcolm
Friday, October 8: #6 Kearney Catholic vs. #11 Highway 91 at 1 p.m. from Patriot Park in Kearney
Saturday, October 9: #7 Freeman vs. #10 Gothenburg at noon from Freeman
TBA: #8 Cozad vs. #9 Auburn at TBA
