SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – North Platte could not string hits together Friday afternoon in a 6-0 loss to Fatima in a Class 2 state semifinal at Killian Softball Complex.
Regan Nash twice found herself on second after a hit, but she ended up stranded first as the potential go-ahead run and then as the potential tying run. She reached in the first and sixth inning -- the only runners for the Panthers against Fatima pitcher Leah Kesel until Madison Still's two-out, pinch-hit single in the seventh.
Fatima took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second and piled on five insurance runs against Panthers starter Victoria Haugsness in the bottom of the sixth, which included a two-run home run for Christine Brunnert and a two-run double for Sammey Bunch.
North Platte drops to Friday night's third-place game vs. Portageville (23-7)
In the top of the first, Nash -- North Platte's senior speedster bound for Division I Missouri -- led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. She didn't advance from there and wound up stuck on second again in the sixth after her two-out double.
North Platte makes its second appearance in the Class 2 Missouri State Softball Championships after the Panthers tied for third place in the only other appearance (2005).