HASTINGS — For the third time this season, Tori Kniesche threw a no-hitter against Seward, throwing a 12-strikeout gem and adding a solo homer to lead Wayne to an 8-0 win in the second round of the Class B State Softball Championships at Smith Softball Complex.
Wayne’s second win of the day, following a 4-0 shutout of Hastings, puts them in Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. semifinals against Beatrice, with the winner advancing to Friday’s championship in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.
Wayne wasted no time getting on the board, as Kendall Dorey took the first pitch of the game the other way for a solo homer to right field, igniting a four-run opening frame that put Seward in a 4-0 hole before they could get a shot at Kniesche, who threw back-to-back no-hitters against Seward in last week’s subdistrict tournament.
Wayne added three more runs on an RBI single by Hope O’Reilly, an RBI double by Brooklyn Kruse and an RBI groundout by Taytum Sweetland, then got a three-run homer from O’Reilly in the second to make it 7-0.
It was all Kniesche would need, as she mowed down the Bluejays with 12 strikeouts in the five-inning affair, allowing a walk, a hit batter and a long fly ball to center that was caught at the fence by Dorey to save a run.
The Blue Devils improved to 32-3 with the win.
