As it always seems to do, the state softball tournament provided some clarity for the final ratings. Only one top-ranked team, Millard South, stayed on top, but that's just further proof of how close so many teams were to each other this season.

How the chips fell last week in Hastings also helped shape a historic first in the final Top 10 list.

The past two seasons, four teams from Class B have finished among the state's 10 best teams, regardless of class.

Not only were five Class B schools represented this year, but the first three were ranked higher than any other non-Class A school in the 19-year history of the ratings.

Class B state champion Omaha Skutt is ranked No. 2, just behind Millard South. The highest a Class B champion had been listed before Tuesday's ratings was in 2009 when Blair was ranked No. 5.

That means that No. 3 Beatrice and No. 4 Ralston — and even Bennington at No. 5 — either surpassed or matched where the '09 Bears finished. Then add in Blair at No. 9, and Class B schools claimed half of the spots in the final ratings.

View it however you'd like, but these ratings aren't an indictment of Class A. They simply show that more schools, regardless of size, are playing softball at a much more competitive level. The same thing has been happening for years in Nebraska high school volleyball.

The state tournament again demonstrated that teams who play a solid regular season schedule are ready for the rigors of intense postseason play. This year's Exhibit A is Class C runner-up Ashland-Greenwood.

The Bluejays were 6-13 against a schedule filled with Class B and top-level Class C teams when district pairings were released. Ashland players and coaches never lost faith, roared through their district tournament and proved more than capable of defending their runner-up finish from 2010 when the season got down to its final three days.

More often than not the tough schedule concept has separated the contenders from the pretenders in Class A the past two decades, so it's good to see when it works for teams such as Ashland-Greenwood at the end of a tough season.

Reminder for coaches

One last thing. This is the final reminder to coaches that your All-Nebraska and All-State ballots that were emailed two weeks ago are due by the end of the day Thursday to be considered. Send them to alexsdad@mail.com or fax them to The World-Herald at (402) 444-1238.

Contact the writer:

402-618-4113, alexsdad@mail.com

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