PAPILLION, Neb. — Papillion-LaVista clinched the gold medal and tournament title at the second annual NFCA Kaiti Williams Memorial Leadoff Classic hosted by Papillion-LaVista South and Millard North High Schools at the Papillion Landing Softball Complex over the weekend.
The (8-3) Monarchs beat defending champion Gretna 7-5 in Saturday’s final. It was the first loss of the season for the (12-1) Dragons, who are the second-ranked team in the most recent NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches poll.
Papillion-LaVista scored a perfect 5-0 at the event, beating Colorado’s Legend 3-1 and Gretna East 10-0 on Friday before beating hosts Papillion-LaVista South 7-3 and Missouri’s Rock Bridge 10-0 . 7 and Gretna on Saturday. The Dragons were 4-0 before going down in the final. On Friday, they defeated Silver Division champions Silo 5-3 and Lincoln Northeast 10-0 before beating Missouri long-time favorites Blue Springs South 4-3 in the gold medal semifinals.
Oklahoma’s Silo (16-7) picked up four straight wins after losing to Gretna, beating Lincoln Northeast 13-6, Elkhorn South 4-3 in eight innings, Millard South 9-1 and Millard West on Friday, 5: 1, on the last day. Meanwhile, Lincoln secured Pius
This year’s event has expanded to 24 teams after successfully reimagining a tournament that ran for 16 years before joining NFCA. It honors the memory of Williams, who played at Papillion-LaVista South High and launched a record-breaking career at Wayne State College Division II before unexpectedly passing away in 2015 at the age of just 22 from an irregular heartbeat.
Money raised at the tournament benefited the Kaiti Williams Memorial Scholarship, which helps graduates of Papillion-LaVista South pursue higher education and college-level athletics.
On the first day, the teams each played two pool competitions to determine where they would compete on the second day. The top teams in each group were those competing for the tournament championship, while the second-placed teams vied for the silver division award and the third-placed teams played in the bronze division.
Other teams in the tournament included Blair, Grand Island, Helias Catholic (Mo.), Liberty (Mo.), Lincoln Southeast, Lincoln Southwest, Millard South, Millard West, Omaha Burke, Omaha Westview, Roncalli (Neb.), and Valor Christian ( Colorado).
