Northwest Invite Sept. 20

Unless people send pictures, there won't be any photos of the games today, as the camera went on the fritz  during the first game!  However, here is the write-up in the Grand Island Independent.  It covers the Northwest/Central City game. Central City earlier defeated Southern Valley/Alma 10-2 and were defeated 3-0 by Gothenburg for a 4th place finish.
PREP SOFTBALLNorthwest wins invite title
Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2014 10:54 pm | Updated: 10:56 pm, Sat Sep 20, 2014.

By Dale Miller dale.miller@theindependent.com

Northwest extended its run of winning its home tournament Saturday, but this time the Vikings did it in especially impressive fashion.

Class B No. 8-rated Northwest shut out Chase County, Central City and Adams Central while allowing a total of five hits over 16 innings to claim another trophy at the Veteran’s Field Softball Complex.

"Defensively, I cannot complain there at all," Viking coach Dave Prokesh said. "We played well. I thought our pitchers threw extremely well and our defense responded with big plays behind them. We made the consistent play – the routine play – and that’s the sign of a good team.

"We really took care of ourselves well. We just got done telling them in the postgame that in games like this, that’s the way it has to be. Until the offense breaks through, the defense has to keep you in it. That’s exactly what they did. Regardless of what the offense did, they always kept us in position to win."

Northwest (13-2) rolled past Chase County 14-0 in four innings in the first round, then used a three-run second inning to top Central City 6-0 in the semifinals.

Adams Central (11-5) provided the toughest test of the day, but the Patriots only managed a pair of infield singles in the first inning of a 3-0 loss to Northwest. The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to the time limit.

"When we don’t get a hit, we don’t score," Adams Central coach Chelsey Jacobitz said. "It doesn’t matter how many the other team scores. We were undisciplined at the plate. It’s just uncharacteristic of us to go hitless. That was disappointing."

The Patriots’ offense was rolling earlier in the day. They bombed Boone Central 19-7 in the first round then avenged an earlier-season loss to Class C No. 2-rated Gothenburg 4-1.

But Alyssa Vanosdall recorded her second shutout of the tournament while striking out four and walking one.

Northwest got the one run it needed in the bottom of the first inning.

Mikaela Keene reached on an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on an overthrow before scoring on a wild pitch.

Keene also scored the second run in the fourth after walking, stealing second and then trotting home on Avery Wood’s triple.

"We’ve said it a dozen times – (Keene’s) a catalyst and makes us go," Prokesh said. "We had some baserunning errors that took us out of the possibility of some bigger innings, but these are things we’ll learn from.

"We still have some young kids playing, and things that happen in games like that will just allow us to be a better team in the future."

Josie Bumgardner took the loss. She gave up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and six walks.

"Josie keeps us in games. She pitches well," Jacobitz said. "She gets big outs when we need them. She produces groundballs and flyballs when we need them.

"(Northwest) is a great team that never gives us and just keeps pushing. They scored here and there. I was proud of our defense that they didn’t let it turn into more runs though. There were a couple of innings where it could have went the other way. They could have broke it open, and we stuck with it, made some plays and got out of tough innings."

Prokesh said it is always special for the Vikings to win their home tournament.

"They take pride in that," he said. "It’s been four or five years in a row now, and I think it’s in the back of their mind. Regardless of the streak, I know there’s going to be a pretty good turnout.

"They want to play well in front of the home fans. It’s one of the bigger followings they’ll get all year. I’m happy for them that they stepped up and performed well."

Central City finished fourth, Aurora sixth and Boone Central seventh.

For the second straight year, Northwest and Adams Central will have an immediate rematch after playing for the Northwest Tournament title. They’ll meet up again Tuesday in Hastings.

Northwest (11-2) 540 5—14 8 0

Chase County (3-13) 000 0—0 1 8

WP—Heckathorn. LP—Peterson.

Central City (8-7) 000 000 0—0 2 1

Northwest (12-2) 031 002 x—6 6 1

WP—Vanosdall. LP—Hillmer. 2B—NW, Teutsch, Pedersen.

Adams Central (11-5) 000 000—0 2 2

Northwest (13-2) 100 110—3 8 2

WP—Vanosdall. LP—Bumgardner. 3B—NW, Wood.