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SMH Cardinals Check Out Of Tournament Early

Last week it was the St. Mary's boys turn to try to prove th...

O’Neill Green Machine Qualifies For Nationals


THE O'Neill Green Machine took third at the Class B State Tourney in Lexington last weekend. Pictured are front row (l-r): Jamie Laetsch, Alex Atkins, Jacie Laetsch, Mackenzie Wecker, Erin Boyle, Jessi Simons and coach Connie Krotter. Second row (l-r): coach Gordy Givens, Rylie Pistulka, Kaylee Harvey, Krissy Krotter, Alejandra Vergara, Tracy Chvala and Emily Pongratz.


This last weekend, the O'Neill Green Machine competed in the Class B 16U State Tournament held in Lexingtion. The team kicked off the tournament Friday night by taking on the Clatonia Ice.  The game was over in quick fashion with the Green Machine only bating twice, scoring five in the first and twelve in the second. They held Clatonia to two runs in the third inning, for a final score of 17-2.  

Next up was the Hickman Titans, a team the Green Machine had beaten earlier in the season. The Green Machine started out strong with very timely and consistent hitting and was victorious by an 11-1 count.

The Green Machine next advanced to play the Grand Island Illusion, the eventual state champion.  The Illusion scored seven runs on six straight hits in the second inning, five of them bunt singles, to give the Illusion a 7-0 lead. The Green Machine fought back with two runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the seventh inning, leaving the tying run on second base to end the game. The game was hard fought by the Green Machine but ended in a 7-5 loss and sent them to the loser's bracket.

The Green Machine started play early Sunday and took on Arlington.  Sound pitching and good defense by both teams made for a very close battle, but the Green Machine came out on top 3-2, by scoring the go ahead run in the top of the seventh and shutting down Arlington in the bottom half of the final inning for the win.  

Next up was the Tekamah Herman Tigers, a team the Green Machine and O'Neill Shamrocks finished behind two years ago in the 14U state championship. The Green Machine put together a nice game offensively and defensively, along with a great pitching effort by Jamie Laetsch, for a 6-1 victory, guaranteeing the team at least a third place finish.  

The O'Neill Green Machine then took on the Fairbury Fusion who had just been defeated in the winner's bracket by an 8-7 count.  The Fusion loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs, but the Green Machine survived with some great defensive plays, only giving up one run. The Green Machine scored one run in the second inning on a RBI double and the game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh inning when Fairbury scored the winning run on a two outs, walk-off single, for a 2-1 loss. Jessi Simons pitched a great game, but offense was hard to come by in this game for the Green Machine.

The Green Machine finished the tournament 4-2 and earned the third place trophy and medals in their first year of 16U competition.  Their state tournament finish qualified them for Nationals later this summer in Columbus, WI, on July 31- Aug. 4 and also elevates them to Class A status for next year's softball season.

The Green Machine consists of twelve players: Jacie Laetsch, Alex Atkins, Jamie Laetsch, Krissy Krotter, Jessi Simons, Mackenzie Wecker, Rylie Pistulka, Alejandra Vergara, Emily Pongratz, Tracy Chvala, Kaylee Harvey and Erin Boyle. Connie Krotter and Gordy Givens are the coaches of the Green Machine.



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