The Cougars, who managed six hits in the contest, will need to battle their way through the loser’s bracket and win five straight games to capture the regional title. WNCC will now face Dawson Community College, a 4-2 victim to Trinidad State Junior College earlier in the day, Saturday at noon.
WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said this team can come back, but they will need to play better over the next two days.
“It won't be easy but we can do it,” she said. “Nobody would step up. They were all waiting on their teammates to.”
WNCC did, however, play well at the beginning and that part impressed Winn-Ratliff. She said they just couldn’t get the hit they needed.
“Good game thru five innings,” she said. “We just didn't have it today. We left 13 on and seven were in scoring position. They [Otero] played well and their pitcher did what she needed to keep them in the game.”
The Cougars were definitely their worst enemies, leaving the bases loaded in three innings. And, that was after a strong start.
WNCC’s Kelsey Garner started the game on fire, sitting down the first three Otero batters. The Cougars followed with a strong first inning offensively.
Katie Groves started things with a single followed by Lauryn Smith reaching base after getting plunked by a pitch. Groves and Smith scored on a Sofia Gomez single for the early 2-0 lead.
WNCC couldn’t hold the lead, allowing Otero score eight times over the next five inning. Otero’s Ally Goniea started the Rattler comeback with a solo home run in the second inning. The Rattlers took the lead in the fourth inning with two runs on three singles for a 3-2 lead.
Otero opened up the game in the sixth inning, plating five runs on two home runs. The big blow was a 3-run shot by Kristy Partridge, followed by a 2-run blast by Kristen Gertner.
WNCC had plenty of opportunities to plate runs throughout the contest. WNCC left the bases loaded in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. In fact, the Cougars managed just six hits in the contest.
WNCC tried a comeback late. In the sixth, Stephanie Townsend and Kelsey Garner drew leadoff walks. Then, after two strike outs, Groves was walked to load the bases before a groundout ended the threat.
The Cougars tried a comeback in the seventh as well. Gomez and Kelly Pearson had back-to-back singles with one out. Alyssa Hickey was then walked before Jordann Hathorne fanned the final two Cougar batters. Hathorne struck out six Cougars on the day.
Garner picked up the loss, allowing eight runs on nine hits. Garner struck out five and walked four.
Groves and Gomez paced the Cougar hitting attack with two hits each. Groves was 2-for-4 with two singles, two walks, and a run scored, while Gomez was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk.
The Cougars could have three games Saturday as they battle their way back through the loser’s bracket. After the contest at noon, if they keep winning, they could play contests at 4 and 6 p.m. The championship game is slated for Sunday at noon, with an if-necessary game at 2 p.m.
The contests can be heard live on the Internet at http://sports.trinidadstate.
Otero 010 205 0 – 8 9 0
WNCC (40-17) 200 000 0 – 2 6 1
WP – Jordann Hathorne, LP – Kelsey Garner; 2B – WNCC (Garner); HR – Otero (Kristen Gertner, Ally Goniea, Kristy Partridge).
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