The spring 2026 softball season reached the end of its scheduled games last week, with the HHS Greyhound girls finishing the year with a .500 record. After posting several three-game winning streaks among the losses to many of the toughest teams in their division and others, the result was a 12-12 record as the curtain fell.
But even in the last games of the season the Greyhounds showed the speed, smarts and skills to keep the winners in doubt until the last out—and when the NCS division brackets were announced, Healdsburg was seeded high at No. 2 in Division 5.
The final season game at home took place May 11 against Montgomery, a team that beat Healdsburg handily 15-1 just three weeks earlier. The Vikings took an early lead with three runs in the first inning and two more in the third, taking advantage of Greyhound fielding errors.
That put Healdsburg down by two runs or more the rest of the game. But the girls weren’t ready to give up, and scored three heads-up runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-8, certainly within striking distance for the pumped home team.
For coach Brian Osborn, having the players feel good about being in the game is a primary goal, as well as being in a position to make a run in the division tournament that can do the school, and the team, proud.
“We stayed positive, even though we made a couple of errors early on,” said Osborn, who doubles as the school’s athletics director. “Even though we were behind on the scoreboard, we really had a chance. I mean, we’re going in the seventh inning down two, and we’ve been hitting well …”
Neither team scored in the seventh inning, and the next day brought the last game of the North Bay-Redwood season at Piner High. That one, between the league’s first-place team, Piner (league 12-0), against its fourth, Healdsburg (5-7), turned out to be a pitcher’s duel, not a batter’s battle.
The Prospectors got five hits over seven, and the Greyhounds only two, one a triple by Claire Berry. Ace Mia Halvorsen turned in a strong performance giving up the minimum number of hits to lose, 3-0. Piner ended up winning the NB-Redwood title against Montgomery in a game played in Healdsburg last Thursday.
Season Highs
Looking back, though, Osborn doesn’t see the disappointments. “This is the best hitting team I’ve ever coached, by far the best hitting team. I mean, look at our stats—and they’re legit stats, I don’t pad our stats. I think we have seven or eight kids hitting over 300. We got six kids hitting over .350 on base-percentage. That’s through the roof. We’re hitting really well, we hustle, and then it’s just tightening up that defense and we’ll be good.”
Those top batting averages include Izzy Osborn (.368 batting average), Lily Farrer (.361) and Claire Berry (.355). On-base percentage leaders are Izzy Osborne (.600), Izabella Johnstone (.560) and Hanna Jenkins (.557). Berry had a good season at the plate in her senior year, her slugging percentage of .582 leading the team with 23 RBIs, two doubles, three triples and two home runs—one of them a grand slam.
Sophomore infielder/pitcher Farrer had an impressive season on a number of fronts, including 18 stolen bases, getting 26 hits and scoring 39 runs. As a pitcher she led the team with an ERA of 3.2, accumulated a 5-2 record and pitched two no-hitters. Teammate Halvorsen, also a sophomore, had an ERA of 5.38 with a 7-8 record, but struck out 59 and also pitched two no-hitters. At the plate Halvorsen got 23 hits, scored 36 times and stole 15 bases.
Despite the Redwood season being over, coach Osborn spoke in the present tense because the North Coast Section Softball Championships brackets had yet to be announced. On Sunday they were posted, showing Healdsburg in the Division 6 schedule, coming up with a No. 2 seed—despite their 12-12 season record. That means they will have a bye on the first playoff game and play in the second round on Thursday, May 21, at HHS.
The NCS division playoffs are designed to pit teams of relative equal size and strength against one another. To follow the brackets, visit maxpreps.com/ca/healdsburg/healdsburg-greyhounds.
