For the fourth time in 11 days, Wayne defeated Seward in a postseason softball matchup.
The beating was a little different this time, though, as Seward actually touched Blue Devil senior pitcher Tori Kniesce for three hits, but they made no difference as the Blue Devils beat the Bluejays for the fourth time in the postseason with a 9-1 win in Friday’s action at the Class B State Softball Championships in Hastings.
The Bluejays actually scored first in the elimination matchup at the Smith Softball Complex, parlaying a hit batter and a throwing error into a quick 1-0 lead.
That lead stayed until the fourth, when Wayne took advantage of two errors and a two-run triple by Aliah Schulz to make it 4-1, and the Bluejays would not be heard from again.
Wayne added three more in the fifth on RBI singles by Brooklyn Kruse and Taytum Sweetland, along with a Seward error, and the game ended in the sixth on Kniesche’s 10th homer of the year, a two-run blast to center field, to move the 33-4 Blue Devils into a 2 p.m. championship game against Beatrice.
Kniesche and Schulz each had two hits and Kruse and Hailey Schroeder each scored two runs for Wayne. They face a must-win game at 2 p.m., with a second game to follow if Wayne wins the first.
