On to the district championship!

STAMFORD - With a pair of victories Monday at the Subdistrict C-10 Tournament, the Southern Valley/Alma softball team captured the subdistrict championship at Bill Dunkhas Memorial Park in Stamford.

The No. 12 seed Saints have advanced to the C-5 District Championship, which is a best-of-three series against No. 5 Kearney Catholic. That series is set for Friday at 3 p.m. at Patriot Park in Kearney.

Monday, the Saints, the subdistrict’s top seed, rolled to a 10-0 win over No. 4 Chase County in the opener.

SVA scored four in the first, four in the second and two more in the third to complete the run-ruled contest.

Emma Joppa tossed a complete game of four innings, allowing three hits and no walks to go with five strikeouts.

Kaylee Baker had a great game from the leadoff spot, going two for three with a double, triple, two runs scored and two runs driven in. Kynlee Marquez also had a double and scored twice while Natasha Hock and Carlyn Stephen each drove in a run.

After second-seeded Cozad defeated third-seeded Gothenburg 8-0, the Haymakers and Saints squared off in the championship game that night.

In a tied game in the bottom of the sixth, the Saints struck for three runs before Marquez slammed the door in the seventh for a 5-2 victory.

Walks to Baker and Marquez led off the sixth inning for the Saints before Joppa bunted each into scoring position with a sacrifice.

Abbi Fox then drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single. After the Haymakers threw Marquez out at the plate on a fielder’s choice, Carlyn Stephen’s groundball got through the Cozad firstbaseman, scoring both Fox and Natasha Hock for a 5-2 lead.

SVA’s other offense came in the bottom of the first when, trailing 1-0, Marquez launched a two-run homer. Cozad knotted the score in the second and neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth.

Marquez tossed a compete game with 11 strikeouts, allowing five hits and a walk.