Northeast Nodaway pulled off a 3-1 win over Platte Valley Thursday that surprised everyone but themselves and their most diehard fans. It was the first win for the Bluejays over Jefferson (which constitutes 1/2 of the Platte Valley franchise) in 26 years. Back in 1995, the Bluejays beat Jefferson 2-1. Nichole DeFreece was the pitcher, and Becky Giesken, Mindy Boswell, Rachelle Welch, Meranda and Manessa Adwell, Tiffany Canon, Natalie Busby, Amy Steins, Andrea Giesken, and Renee Wilmes were on that team. That was also the last Bluejay softball team to win conference.
The tradition stayed in the family as Hadley DeFreece was the winning pitcher of Thursday night's game. Jill Boswell had two of the three Bluejay RBI's, while Merideth Adwell made three catches in the outfield, including the final out of the game. Northeast held a 4-1 lead over Platte Valley earlier in the year, but Platte Valley teed off on Northeast in the last three innings. But despite having pitched three nights in a row, there was no fatigue for Hadley DeFreece this time as she either got strikeouts or weak popups all night long. Her velocity has greatly improved from the beginning of the year.
The Bluejays now have a chance to share the 275 title if they beat DeKalb at home later in the year. Northeast beat DeKalb 2-1 earlier in the year after they made a two run home run from Boswell in the first stand up. That win also ended a drought of many years for the Bluejays.
The win was made more surprising by the fact that the Bluejays had played three nights in a row. They beat South Holt 15-0 in three innings on the 21st before stumbling 6-2 to Pattonsburg on the 22nd, another team which was down in recent years that has caught fire this year.
The Junior Varsity also won 5-3. Makenzie Pride had a triple for the Bluejays. The Junior High lost 8-6.
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