Friday, March 23, 2012

WNCC softball team opens Spring Break with win over Gateway on March 14


                PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The Western Nebraska Community College softball team found plenty of success in the first day of their Spring Break trip, sweeping a doubleheader from GateWay Community College Wednesday.
                In the opener, Bianca Duran scattered nine hits, but struck out three in leading the Cougars a 7-3 win. The second game saw Amanda Jones toss a complete game and the Cougars scored six in the final two innings to scurry past Gateway 7-4.
                In the opener, the GateWay was up 3-2 after three innings, but that was when the Cougar bats came alive, scoring twice in the fourth and sixth innings and a single run in the fifth.
                WNCC scored twice in the fourth as a Jones hit and error scored Mariah Shepherd and then Danielle Hearn scored on a single by Gabi Palacios for the 4-3 lead.
                The Cougars added a single run in the three singles followed by a Kasey Cash sacrifice fly that scored Jocelyn Stubbs. WNCC added two insurance runs in the sixth on four hits, including run-scoring singles by Palacios and Stubbs and a double by Duran.
                The Cougars pounded out 13 hits in the contest as Duran went 4-for-4 with a run scored and a double. Palacios also was perfect from the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Shepherd was the only other Cougar with multiple hits with two singles.
                Duran went seven innings by giving up nine hits, three runs and striking out three.
                GateWay jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead and stymied the Cougars with just two hits, a second-third-inning double by Bree Bitton and a single by Mariah Faifer in the third. WNCC finally cracked the scoreboard with a run in the third. They opened up the game in the sixth and seventh, scoring six runs on eight hits.
                In the sixth, Shepherd started things with a double followed by a single by Duran. Stubbs then ripped a run-scoring single. Duran scored the second run to trail 4-3 heading to the seventh.
                That was when the Cougars exploded as Hearn led off with a double followed by Sarah Hawryluk singling. Aria Agle then reached on an error that scored pinch-runner Shalese Connary. The Cougars then used their speed as both Haryluk and Agle scored on a Shepherd single. Shepherd scored the final run on a Brandi Percival single.
                Jones went seven innings and scattered nine hits while striking out two to get the win.
                Offensively, the Cougars pounded out 10 hits. Hawryluk, Shepherd and Bitton all had two hits. Shepherd had a double, two runs scored and three RBIs, while Bitton had a double.
                The Cougars will be back in action Thursday with three games with games at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. against Central Arizona College and Clackamas Community College out of Oregon City, Oregon.

First Game
WNCC                   101 212 0 -- 7 13 1
GateWay             201 000 0 -- 3 9 6
WP -- Biance Duran; 2B -- Duran.

Second Game
WNCC                   001 002 4 -- 7 10 2
GateWay             120 100 0 -- 4 9 3
WP -- Amanda Jones; 2B -- Mariah Shepherd, Bree Bitton, Danielle Hearn.

No comments: