The Nebraska State Softball Tournament ended in Omaha on Monday. It started in Hastings on Thursday.
There was rain, there was wind, there was dirt flying — you know, the usual state softball tournament at the Smith Complex in Hastings. It saw turf, large crowds and, for the first time ever, television coverage of the championship games on Nebraska Public Media.
There was plenty of discussion on social media and in the stands during and after the games on Monday about playing in front of large crowds, the new winner-take-all all championship game format, the parking, the larger dimensions for the field… if you listened at all, you heard an opinion.
I have my opinion as well: the one thing that cannot be debated is that moving the state tournament to Omaha for the championship games was a smashing success.
There was a buzz from 12 until 9 p.m. at Omaha’s Connie Claussen Field. Maybe not everyone in attendance realized quickly the move to Omaha was the right one, but everyone I talked to did and the numbers prove it.
“I didn’t know it could get any better than Hastings last year,” Grand Island Northwest coach Mitch Sadd said. “They (fans) still followed us here; we had a ton of fans follow us all the way from Grand Island here. I’m not so sure this complex is big enough for this but it is a great atmosphere and I tell you I loved it.”
Rather than a mid-afternoon championship game on a Friday in Hastings in front of a less-than-ideal crowd, you had a set time for each of the three classes’ championship games. That change alone was the reason Nebraska Public Media was able to televise the state championship games for the first time in the state’s history.
“I love that it is televised,” Ashland-Greenwood coach Morgan Zahnow said. “I think all softball teams deserve to have the state championship televised.”
By the Numbers
Attendance shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all reason to keep the format and location for the title games, but it certainly goes a long way in the decision-makers’ mind.
The last five years’ total paid attendance in Hastings for the entire tournament are as follows: 5,324 tickets sold in 2018, 6,316 in 2019, 6,663 in 2020, 6,347 in 2021 and 6,884 in 2022.
The one-day total of 4,425 tickets sold for the three games in Omaha is 64% of the entire three-day tournament in Hastings a year ago. That is a staggering total in favor of keeping the format and championship games in Omaha.
More Numbers
The total number of home runs in Hastings with the temporary short breakaway fences that are supposed to be measured at 200 feet long was 111 in 39 games this year. On average, that is 2.8 per game with Class A the highest per game at 3.4. Class B averaged three per game and C two. On Monday, there was a total of five home runs in the three games.
Papillion-La Vista coach Todd Petersen has led the Monarchs to 11 state title games in his time as the head coach. Monday’s 10-3 win over Millard North was his sixth Class A state title.
Grand Island Northwest had the longest trip to Omaha of the six schools that played in the finals. The Vikings won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh on a Kyra Ray infield single. It was the second straight state championship for the Vikings after winning 3-1 in 2022 over Elkhorn.
With the 2-0 win over Wahoo Neumann in the Class C title game, Ashland-Greenwood won the school’s first state championship in school history. Wahoo Neumann appeared in the school’s third straight state championship game after winning in 2021 and finishing third in 2022 and runner-up 2023.
