LAMAR, Colo. – It was a battle between not only the top two teams in Region IX, but also two of the top pitchers in the league in the winner’s bracket of the Regon IX tournament in Lamar, Colo., on Saturday.
Western Nebraska Community College’s Ashton Hughes outshined Trinidad State Junior College’s Jordyn Randolph. Hughes tossed a four-hitter and struck out 11 as the Cougars moved into the championship game with the 1-0 win against the Trojans.
It was also the 20th-ranked Cougars 50th win of the season. WNCC is one win away from capturing its second straight regional title. The Cougars will play the winner of the Trinidad State and Lamar game at 1 p.m. in Lamar, Colo., with an if-necessary game slated for 3 p.m. Hughes, who battled tough, in collecting her second shut-out of the tournament, said that team had some hiccups, but in the end, found a way to get the job done.
“We had some lumps and some bumps, but we pulled through when it counted the most,” the sophomore from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada said. “We struggled defensively with the wind that was blowing in but we made sure we got outs when it counted.”
Both pitchers kept each other’s hits to a minimum. Trinidad State lost out on a prime scoring position in the first inning after loading the bases with just one out and failed to scratch across a run. After that, the Cougar defense was pretty solid. Trinidad had just one other runner in scoring position in the fourth inning. Randolph and the Trojan defense was also getting out of jams early on. The Cougars had five runners stranded in scoring position through five innings.
Things changed in the sixth as Jocelyn Stubbs hit a one-out triple to right field. Bree Bitton then walked to put two runners on. Aria Agle came through in the clutch, ripping a single through the leftside of the infield, scoring pinch-runner Chelsea Townsend with the only run of the game.
Hughes said Stubbs blast awaken the offensive bats.
“It was really important and it made everyone excited,” Hughes said. “It kind of lit the fire under us a little bit. We just feed off each other and that is what we did.”
Hughes faced just 27 batters in the game, scattering her four hits. She hit just one batter and allowed no walks to pick up her 29th win on the season.
Stubbs, Agle, Megan Bourdon and Sarah Hawryluk collected the hits for the Cougars.
Hughes said the Cougars want come out in the championship game and be ready to take care of business.
“We just need to go out there and play our hardest and leave it all on the field because that is the most important thing,” she said. “You just have to go out there and want to win it in one and go out and try to shut the other team down and play good defense and hit the ball well.”
In other scores from the regional tournament, Lamar dropped Dawson 6-0, Otero beat McCook 3-1, and Lamar defeated Otero.
Trinidad 000 000 0 – 0 4 0
WNCC (50-13) 000 001 x – 1 4 1
WP – Ashton Hughes; 3B – Jocelyn Stubbs.
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