Greene County has been rated no lower than fifth, and either third or fourth for most of the 2015 high school softball season. That had never happened for a Jefferson-based softball team prior to this season. Back-to-back State Tournament berths are something else the Rams had not accomplished in softball, as is the two consecutive semifinal berths. After Tuesday’s 5-0 blanking of Crestwood (Cresco) in the quarterfinals,

Coach Tom Kennedy’s team finds itself in the same position as a season ago, when they dropped a 4-1 decision in the semifinals to eventual champion Clarke (Osceola). The Rams are hoping for a better outcome when they meet Benton Community (Van Horne) in Thursday’s 1 p.m. semifinal. The Bobcats are ranked second and the Rams fourth. The winner faces either top ranked Solon or number nine Center Point-Urbana in Friday’s 12:15 p.m. 3A title game while the losing teams in the semifinals play Friday for third place at 11:30 a.m. Greene County is the only one of the four in the semifinals not from the Wamac Conference. The Rams play in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference.

KG98 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com will have the Greene County vs. Benton semifinal Thursday at 1 p.m. with coverage starting at 12:30 p.m.