WNCC softball split games on Sunday

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team finished the Southern Nevada Tournament with a split of contests on Sunday.

The No. 10 Cougars earned their first win of the season by shutting out Palomar Community College out of California 4-0 before dropping a 14-9 contest to No. 5 Yavapai College.

WNCC’s Casey Simpson picked up the win against Palomar as the freshman from Nokomis, Saskatchewan, struck out four and allowed three hits in getting the Cougars first win of the season.

Offensively for WNCC, Kelsey Garner went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and Katie Groves went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Simpson helped herself out on the mound, offensively, by going 1-for-2 with a run scored and a double.

In the Yavapai contest, the two top 10 ranked teams put on an offensive show with the score tied after five innings. Groves got the Cougars on the scoreboard first with a second-inning, leadoff home run to slice the lead to 2-1.

WNCC tied the game at 7-7 in the fifth inning. Adena Hagen and Sofia Gomez each singled followed by a run-scoring double by Groves. Garner then blasted a 2-run home run to tied the score.

Yavapai came back and took a 14-7 lead heading into the bottom of seventh. WNCC put together a rally as Hagen and Gomez each scored. WNCC had the bases loaded when the final out was made.

Simpson picked up the loss in the circle in relief of Christy Degano and Steph Townsend.

The Cougars finished with just seven hits in the contest. Hagen went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, Groves went 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two runs scores and two RBIs, and Gomez was 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

WNCC, 1-5, will next be in action Feb. 13-14 when they travel to the Cowtown Classic in Dallas, where they will face Ranger College and Vernon College on Friday and bracket play on Saturday.