The Oskaloosa softball team saw its magical run in the postseason come to a close Friday evening in the Class 3A State Championship game in Manhattan, as the Lady Bears fell to Silver Lake by a final of 8-2. 

The Lady Bears got to the state title game with a win over Haven in the semifinals Friday morning, as Oskaloosa had to hold on for a 10-9 victory. 

The Lady Bears started strong scoring two runs in the first inning, before breaking the game wide open with five runs in the second inning capped off by a 3-run home run off the bat of Paige Lowe. 

That’s when Haven tried to start a comeback scoring two runs in the third and one in the fourth, but Oskaloosa tacked on one more run to lead 8-3 after four. 

The Lady Bears scored their final two runs in the fifth, and although Haven made a furious rally and pulled within one that’s as close as they would get. 

In the championship game neither team found the scoreboard early on as the score remained tied at zero after three innings of play. 

Silver Lake opened up the scoring with a run in the fourth, but in the sixth Oskaloosa was able to scrape across a run to tie the game. 

The Lady Eagles came right back and broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring 7 runs on 9 hits to take an 8-1 lead which ended up being the final. 

Oskaloosa ends the year with a record of 22-4, and finishes runner-up of the 2018 Class 3A State Championship.