Jillian Bryant plays first base

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LINCOLN -- Putting some of the best recently graduated seniors in the state on the mound was bound to give batters a hard time.

That's what the hitters got before a crowd of 876 at Haymarket Park on Wednesday for the Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star Games.

The Red team, led by Beatrice's Tara Oltman, earned a 2-0 win in the first game.

The Red Team was coached by McCook High School's Dale Lortz. Jillian Bryant, a McCook graduate who will play basketball at Dana College, played first base for the Red Team in the first game. She was a four-year starter at shortstop for the Bison.

Bryant went 1-for-3 and drove in the team's second run. She stole a base and nearly beat out an infield chopper for a second hit, said Lortz.

Defensively, Bryant made a great catch of a foul ball while leaning into the dugout and took part in a double play.

"Jillian played very well," said Lortz, who coached five NCAA Division I recruits. The Blue Team had four D-1 recruits. "She held her own. This is one of the highlights of my coaching career."

In the second game, the Blue team came back behind the arm of University of Nebraska at Omaha recruit Lindsey Slocum to record a 1-0 victory.

Oltman, who will pitch for Creighton, threw five innings of nearly perfect ball, striking out five of the first eight batters she faced. She also finished her portion of the game without giving up a hit.

In the all-star format, the teams are required to change pitchers for the final two innings.

Norfolk's Aly Bowers pitched the final two innings, giving up just one hit.

"When you have four of the best pitchers in the state, you're going to have a bunch of quick at-bats," Blue coach Mark Watt of Lincoln Southwest said.

"That's pretty common. But they were two well-played ball games."

For the Blue team, Melissa Negrete of Millard South and Kelly Sladek of Fillmore Central/Exeter-Milligan combined to give up seven hits.

"I think the girls put on a good show," Lortz said. "There were great defensive plays for both teams.

The Reds opened the third with a single by Creighton recruit Jessica Stigge. Stigge stole second when Michelle Graner, another Creighton recruit, flied out.

Ralston graduate Shannon Pivovar then singled, scoring Stigge from second.

Columbus Lakeview's Jacey Gadeken added an insurance run in the seventh.

"Shannon Pivovar's base hit was a key, but there were a couple of other kids who came through for us," Lortz said. "People all the way down played well tonight."

In the nightcap, Slocum escaped a first-inning, bases-loaded jam to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Stigge opened with a single, followed by one by Graner, moving Stigge to second.

With an out and two on, Millard South graduate Kristi Meneely, another Creighton recruit, walked. A fielder's choice and a fly out ended the inning.

"We were lucky to escape that (jam)," Watt said. "But these are experienced ball players. ... I'm only working with them for two days."

The lone run came in the fifth when Sladek scored on an errant throw by Bowers.

The game, in just its second year, has seen splits both seasons.