WAUSA – The Wausa Vikings’ 18s softball team recently had another busy week on the diamond.
Wausa defeated the Verdigre 18s 13-8 on May 28 and the Hartington 18s 4-0 on May 30, followed by a 1-2 showing on June 1 and a 1-1 showing on June 2 at the USA Softball of Nebraska’s 2024 Northeast Nebraska Invitational in Norfolk.
Tournament games scheduled for May 31 were postponed to June 1 due to rainy weather. Tournament games played on June 1 were poolplay contests to determine bracket positions for single-elimination games on June 2.
In its tournament games on June 1, Wausa beat a team called Velocity 8-3, followed a 9-7 loss to the Dannebrog Sentinels and an 8-2 loss to Titan Nation of Genoa-based Twin River. On June 2, Wausa defeated the Osmond Tigers 7-6 and lost 12-1 to the Seward Illusion.
Olivia Barta and Sienna West handled all of the pitching duties this past week for Wausa.
“Overall, I thought a lot of good came from our busy week,” Wausa head coach Shelbey West said. “The girls had a full slate of games, and while they were pretty wore down by Sunday, I thought they did a great job competing and battling through those tough moments when energy and effort can sometimes be hard to come by.”
The head coach noted Wausa played well in most of its wins during the past week.
“We had our moments,” Shelbey West said. “Against Hartington and in our two wins down at the Norfolk tournament, we played lights out. We competed on the mound, we had little to no errors and we were constantly the aggressor on the bases.
“In our losses, and honestly in the win at Verdigre, I think we walked away with a handful of positives, but we also had the feeling that it wasn’t anywhere near our best showings,” she said.
Assistant coach Capp Bengston noted Wausa’s players came away from the weekend feeling good about some of the progress they have made, but also unsatisfied.
“As a coach, you have to love that about them,” Bengston said. “When they want to grow as a team or individually and they aren’t satisfied with just winning or losing, that’s all you can ask for. And I didn’t get that feeling after our game Tuesday (May 28). I sensed some complacency, and as coaches, we wanted to see that change.
“After Sunday, I can definitely say that our mindset and our vision as a group is definitely where it needs to be,” he said. “They were locked in throughout the tournament and it didn’t matter whether we won or lost; it was about playing to a standard that we have for them. Yes, we suffered some losses. But in early June, it’s not about wins and losses; it’s about learning and growth.”
Wausa was 6-4 overall on the season going into a home contest against the Crofton 18s on June 4 and will be on the road to play the Ponca 18s on June 6, followed by the 2024 USA Softball of Nebraska District Tournament in Pierce June 7-9.
In addition to Wausa, the district tournament is set to feature teams from Battle Creek, Creighton, Crofton, Hartington, North Central Nebraska, Osmond, Pierce, Ponca, Verdigre and Wakefield.
