Mean Green Bring Home State Championship

The 14U Mean Green softball team finished their season as the Nebraska ASA Class C state champion by going undefeated at the state tournament at Riverside Park in South Sioux City.  The Mean Green swept championship play this season by also winning their district and league titles.

The Green opened state competition with an experienced Holdredge Heat team and they came out a little tight, allowing seven runs in the top of the first inning. Shelby Heiser relieved Randi Pinkerman and was able to pitch the Green out of a based-loaded jam, with help from a key put-out by Riley Sibbel at shortstop. Holdredge pitched it well, as the Green were unable to get a runner past second base until the third inning. Trailing 8-0 with two outs in the fourth, Jordan Clement and Sarah Devall were both able to reach base.  They were followed by three consecutive hits from Paige Gaughenbaugh,  Paula Zak and Pinkerman.  That four-run two-out rally would prove to be a turning point in the game.  The Mean Green tightened up their defense.  Arianna Dugan made an excellent catch in right field to help shut down Holdredge in the fifth.  Down to their last three outs the Green started their last inning with Heiser reaching on a hard shot to shortstop. She was followed by four consecutive singles from Sibbel, Lichty, Clement and Devall.  Randi Pinkerman capped off the scoring and sealed the win with a triple to right center. The Mean Green had scored seven runs in the inning without Holdredge recording on out, winning the game 11-8.

After that comeback win, the Green moved on to play Exeter, who was coming off a big first round win.  Again, O’Neill faced an excellent pitcher, but did not put themselves in a big hole to start the game.  Their offense was in high gear, scoring runs in the second, third, fourth and sixth.  The battery of Pinkerman and catcher Libi Slack controlled the game, striking out 13 in six innings and Ariel Lichty scored three runs to push O’Neill to the 12-0 win.

On Saturday night, the Mean Green came up against the hard-hitting South Sioux City Extreme. Once again, they fell behind early, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first.  Trailing 3-0 in the second, Lichty and Clement drove back-to-back doubles to start the offense. O’Neill scored one in the third on the strength of a lead-off triple from Pinkerman, but South Sioux scored two of their own in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.  The inning would have been bigger for the Extreme, if not for a great running catch on a sinking line drive by center fielder Paula Zak.  Once again the Mean Green needed to rally in their last at-bat.  Zak led off the inning with a walk. She was followed by four consecutive base hits from Pinkerman, Slack, Shelby Heiser and Riley Sibbel.  The Extreme went quietly in the bottom of the inning, giving the Green a 9-5 win.

Sunday morning came and there were two undefeated teams left, the Mean Green and Spalding. Their matchup at 9:45 would prove to be one of the best of the tournament, with O’Neill recording another comeback win.  The game was tight throughout, with each team scoring early and the Green taking a 5-3 lead going into the final inning.  Spalding then scored four runs with two outs to take a 7-5 lead. Strong outfield play from Clement, Zak, Dugan and Bailey Daugherty was key to holding Spalding to single bases and limiting their runs. The Mean Green put the pressure on in the bottom half, with Pinkerman, Slack and Heiser loading the bases on singles.  Sibbel reached on an error to drive in a run and close the gap to 7-6.  Then, with two outs and two strikes, Jordan Clement drove a dramatic double to right-center driving in the tying and winning runs and secure the 8-7 victory.

Spalding then defeated a tough Wayne squad, to set up a rematch with the Mean Green in the championship game. This one was not as tense, as the Green scored single runs in the first, second and third innings and broke the game open with four in the fourth and four in the fifth on their way to a dominant 11-2 win. Riley Sibbel went 4-4 in the game with two singles, a double and a triple, as O’Neill recorded 15 hits.  

For the tournament, O’Neill hit .380 as a team. They pounded out 51 hits in five games with Pinkerman, Sibbel and Clement hitting .560 or better.  Defensively, the Mean Green committed only six errors in the tournament. Coach Bob Pinkerman said, “Three comeback wins are really hard on coaches, but our kids never gave up. They learned at districts that they can win with their backs against the wall  and they did it again here.  I couldn’t be more proud of our team.” 

Members of the Mean Green are: Randi Pinkerman, Libi Slack, Ariel Lichty, Sarah Devall, Riley Sibbel, Shelby Heiser, Jordan Clement, Paula Zakrzewski, Arianna Dugan, Bailey Dougherty, Hannah Zeeb, Paige Gaughenbaugh and Alexis Shafer. They are coached by Bob Pinkerman, Cris Slack and Chuck Price.

The Mean Green would like to congratulate the O’Neill Shamrocks 18U team on their state championship and the O’Neill Green Machine on their third place finish in Class B 16U.  We also would like to acknowledge all the help and support received from all of the great softball teams in O’Neill, our parents and fans and the City of O’Neill for providing such a great place to practice and play.  Success at all levels, such as we saw this summer, is not possible without a tremendous amount of energy and effort from everyone involved.