Wildcats' State Semifinal Run Caps a 27-Win Season

Millard West softball closed one of the finest seasons in program history Saturday, falling 10-6 to Elkhorn South in the NSAA Class A state semifinals at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings. The Wildcats finished 27-8, won the District A-4 championship, and ended the year ranked No. 4 in Class A by MaxPreps after scoring 270 runs and allowing just 122 across 35 games.

The State Run

The Wildcats opened state play Wednesday with a 5-4 win over Papillion-La Vista. Senior Violet Hanlon homered as part of a two-home-run day for the West offense, and junior pitcher London Garcia went the distance, throwing a complete game to earn the win.

Friday brought the toughest draw in the bracket. Millard North ended West's first game early, 9-1 in six innings — junior Callen Ahrens' solo home run in the fourth accounted for the Wildcats' only run, and junior Aubrey Burdorf finished with two hits, including a double. Facing elimination that evening, the Wildcats answered with a 5-3 win over Lincoln East to survive into Saturday's semifinals.

Saturday's semifinal against Elkhorn South nearly became the story of the tournament. The Storm scored two in the first and four in the second to build a 6-0 lead — then West erupted for five runs in the third inning to pull within 6-5. Six different Wildcats recorded a hit in the game, and freshman Logan Urban drove in two runs. Elkhorn South added two runs in both the fourth and fifth, and West's single run in the fifth was as close as the comeback got. Garcia pitched all six innings in the loss, allowing just three earned runs against a 14-hit Storm attack.

A District Title on the Way

The state berth was earned a week earlier at districts, where West swept three games — 4-0 over Bennington and 10-2 over Omaha Westside on October 7, then a 6-5 win over Westside in the October 8 final. Junior Olivia Wenz homered in the championship game, and Garcia threw complete-game wins in both the opener and the final.

The Numbers Behind 27-8

Senior Alexandra Finley led one of the state's most productive lineups, batting .566 with 64 hits and a Class A-best 47 runs scored. Freshman Logan Urban delivered a remarkable debut season — a .533 average, 48 hits, a team-high 45 RBI and a .621 on-base percentage. Ahrens hit .398 with 35 hits and 30 RBI, Burdorf hit .359, and Wenz hit .343 while driving in 38 runs, second on the team.

In the circle, Garcia anchored the staff all fall, finishing with 20 wins — the most in Class A. Defensively, Finley (.972), Ahrens (.963), Wenz (.962) and Garcia (.958) led a sure-handed unit.

Thank You, Seniors

The season also marked the final campaign for four Wildcat seniors: Caitlyn Kidd, Violet Hanlon, Alexandra Finley and Sophie Novak. Their careers end with a district championship, a state semifinal appearance, and a 27-win season — a standard the returning Wildcats will chase next fall.