OMAHA — It was lucky number 13 for Tatum Templemeyer and Beatrice on Monday.
Templemeyer squeezed a ball past the Hastings infield at Connie Claussen Field for her 13th RBI of the state tournament and the No. 3 Lady Orange claimed the Class B Championship with a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Hastings in eight innings.
It is Beatrice's fourth overall championship and its first since 2003.
“I'm going to be honest. I didn't even see where it went,†Templemeyer said. “Turning around and seeing Mack (McKenna Loomis) went in (scored) and hearing the crowd explode, it was surreal. It was amazing. … I hope to be back here next year.â€
It may have taken the swing of Templemeyer's bat to end it, but the show belonged to starting Beatrice pitcher Layla Boyko and Hastings freshman Ella Tinsman.
The two hurlers combined for 23 strikeouts, scattering eight hits and just two walks.
Tinsman led the way with 15 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings, while Boyko punched out eight over eight innings.
The Beatrice pitcher did not allow a single run over her final 15 innings pitched across the state tournament and struck out 29 batters.
“It was exactly what we expected,†Beatrice head coach Gary Lytle said. “Pitchers' duel with two good pitchers that came out and threw a lot of strikes. (They) gave their defenses chances to get it done and we got into extra innings, got the runner in scoring position and Tatum just put it in play and made it happen. Really happy for the girls. … It's tough to see somebody lose a game like that.â€
Hastings — who finished runner-up for the third time in school history, each time since 2020 — did all it could Monday.
The Tigers outhit Beatrice 5-3, including a double from MaKenzie Nollette, but the Lady Orange seemed to always have an answer.
A double play by Beatrice in the top of the eighth inning turned the tide that left the Tigers off the scoreboard.
“At the end of the day, I'm just proud of what we've done,†Hastings head coach Blake Marquardt said. “(Tinsman) threw one of the best games I've seen all year. She wanted it, she was awesome and we were one hit away from doing this one more inning at least.
“We could have found ways to scratch a run somewhere else and it just wasn't our day.â€
Beatrice's Tana Antons fielded a ground ball at third and fired a strike to Brooke Gleason at second. Gleason finished off the momentum shifter with a strong throw to Kassidy Henrichs to end the inning and bring Beatrice to the plate.
It was one of the many great plays the Beatrice infield made.
“Honestly, it's just a huge thing,†Boyko said of her defense. “I always trust my batting and our defense. Our defense is pretty, pretty solid.â€
And when Templemeyer's hit came through it was a different feeling for Boyko.
“My stomach just dropped and tears came rushing down my face,†the Beatrice hurler said. “I just knew. This is it and we've worked hard just for this moment and all this weight came off my shoulders.â€
Photos: Sights from Day 2 of the Nebraska high school softball tournament — Oct. 17