The Westside girls softball team played in districts on Oct. 8. & 9. at their home field as they hosted the A-5 tournament. Unfortunately they went 2-2 losing to Elkhorn south in the finals. Since the girls worked hard all season they still received the wildcard and went to Hastings for the state tournament.
The first game in districts went well as the girls won 13-1 against Lincoln southeast, and then took a gritty 3-2 win against Elkhorn South on Wednesday night. The first day went really well, but the second day did not. The girls played in the championship game at 4pm on Thursday, and Elkhorn South had to beat them twice to advance to the state tournament and they did just that.
Elkhorn South won the first game 9-2, and beat the warriors a second time in a shutout 3-0. The bats weren’t there that day, otherwise the outcome would be totally different. Coach Mike Leapley talks about what happened and what they needed to do for the scores to be different.
“I was shocked we could not get our bats going. That is not like us. We have hit well all year except the last week of the season. We were in our own heads and did not adjust quickly enough. When we did change it, it was too late. ” Leapley said.
Although the result of districts was disappointing, Coach Leapley is moving the future and leaving those losses in the past. The girls defense was also a little bit shakey, the girls had 8 errors in three games. That led to a lot of the runs against them being scored, which leads to losses. Coach Leapley was frustrated with the amount of errors, and explained how that led to the losses, and how they made changes to have a cleaner defense.
“Errors are part of the game. I make errors coaching. It’s going to happen. Let’s be real. The name of the game is to score more runs. The players know what needs to be done in the field. It comes down to your mindset. ” Leapley said.
Wrapping up districts with a loss isn’t always fun but the girls still got to take a trip to the state tournament in Hastings, Ne on Oct.15. & 16. The girls played at 9am Wednesday against Millard West. Westside took the #7 seed and MW was the #2 seed, being the lower seed nobody expected them to win.
“We played Millard West before, and I knew the team liked playing them and getting up for it. I wasn’t really worried about playing them and I wasn’t concerned once we won. ” Leapley said.
Coach Leapley talks about what was going through his head before the game and what he was telling the girls before the game.
“Let me start by saying. I knew in my head we could do it. The team was ready. I could feel their confidence. The team started great, then the rain. I got worried. Anytime you have a long break, you can start off hot. It can go two ways. Started back up ok. We were a little flat, then we got it going. THEN all of a sudden 8-8. Then shell-shocked. I looked at the team when it was 8-8. I knew we would be good if we could get one more at bat. 9-8 winner” Leapley said.
The girls had the momentum the whole game having a 8-2 lead, but it came down to the final inning as the Cats tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. The girls wanted the game and scored one run in the top of the eighth making the score 9-8, but since MW was the higher seed they still had a chance to score. It came down to the last pitch, there were 2 runners in scoring position but the girls knew it was their game to win, and they did. Finishing the game 9-8 winning their first round state tournament game for the first time since 2009.
Coach Leapley talks about how excited but stressed he was throughout the game until the end.
“Heart rate 140. I was just so happy for the team. They have worked so hard all year and they really deserved to win! ” Leapley said.
Unfortunately the next 2 games didn’t go as planned. They played another game in the winners bracket but took a tough loss against Lincoln Southwest 6-0, and lost in their final game of the season to Elkhorn South 10-2. This wasn’t the way the girls wanted to end their season, but they had a good run.
Coach Leapley talks about how he feels about the season as a whole.
“Unforgettable Dominant Resilient Historic Gritty Special Unified Breakthrough Electric Purposeful,” Leapley said.
Coach Leapley became a new coach 3 years ago and since then he has taken the girls to the state tournament 2 out of the 3. He talks about what it took to get there, including the bond of the team and especially the seniors.
“ALL of us from JV to V. Everyone stepped up in every way. So big for WHS softball. My gosh, the seniors. What can I say. They will be missed by every single one of us. They are all so great. They led this team from the start of last season after the district lost. Hadley. Really, never said much. I got a text that said, “Hey, coach, I want to start doing this?” I said go for it, and it showed,” Leapley said.
Overall the girls ended the season with a 21-10 record, and they should finish in the final rankings in the top 10. Coach Leapley talks about how proud he is, and what he will do to continue the success of the team.
“Sometimes the best teams are player-led. Someone will need to step up to lead,” Leapley said.
After another great year we see that the future is bright for the Westside Softball team. They will say goodbye to 7 amazing seniors, and welcome a brand new team in the fall of 2026.
“The seniors have set the bar for the next class. I’m so proud of them,” Leapley said.
