Spartan softball season ends in regional final loss

 CHARTER OAK -- After scoring a combined 18 runs and splitting its two-game regular-season series with Charter Oak-Ute, the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton softball team liked its chances going into last Monday’s Class 1-A regional final.
 But the rubber match was simply not meant to be for the Spartans.
 Doomed by seven fielding errors and just five hits at the plate, Exira-EHK kept the score close for three innings but was eventually outscored 15-2 by the Bobcats, who advanced to state with a 25-12 overall record.
 The Region 7 final in Charter Oak was suspended by rain in the bottom of the fifth - CO-U led 11-2 at the time - and completed on Tuesday.
 The Spartans, who have now lost in a regional final four of the last five seasons, finished 20-7 overall.