WNCC goes 0-2 at nationals.

                 ST. GEORGE, UTAH – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team saw their outstanding season come to an end at the NJCAA national softball tournament falling to Salt Lake Community College and Lake Land Community College Thursday in St. George, Utah.

                No. 2 Salt Lake pounded out 17 hits and won its 33 game in the last 34 games in controlling the Cougars with a 20-1 win. WNCC then fell victim to No. 10 Lake Land 10-1 as the Lady Lakers pounded out 14 hits.

                The Cougars finish the season at 46-26. This was the Cougars third straight trip to the national tournament.

                Sophomore Jocelyn Stubbs said the team had a great season and they just weren’t on the top of their game today.

                “Up until this point we had a pretty good season,” Stubbs said. “We had a 16-game winnings streak [coming into the tournament} and there is now better way to end the season like that. But, here at nationals, we might have come in not expecting what we saw. I think we might have got a little bit too comfortable with our winning streak and not coming out with the aggression that we needed.”

                Stubbs said a big part of the Cougars offensive woes and defensive miscues might have been the Cougars entered the contest with the wrong mentality.

                “The other teams were just coming out swinging and we had a couple of errors that were crucial,” she said. “We also were not swinging the bats to rebound.”

                Despite the lop-sided scores, the Cougars avoided being shut out. They also had opportunities to get out of innings but couldn’t cash in on the breaks. With all the negatives on the day, Stubbs said this team came together at the right times to have a good season.

                “I think overall, we overcome a lot,” Stubbs said. “I think we worked hard and we came together when we needed to. Unfortunately, it didn’t come out in our favor at nationals.”

                Nationals was not to be for the Cougars in their two games. In the opener, Salt Lake controlled the contest as sophomore Ariel Zimmerman allowed just one hit in her four innings of work. Offensively, the Bruins plated five runs on four hits in the opening inning for a quick 5-0 lead.

                WNCC shut down the Bruins in the second inning, but in the third Salt Lake plated five more runs on five hits for a 10-0 lead.

                WNCC avoided the shutout by scoring a run in the fourth. Bianca Duran reached base on a 2-out error and came around to score on a Stubbs single to centerfield.

                Any hope of a comeback was short-lived as Salt Lake 10 runs on eight hits in the fourth, including a 3-run home run by Tanisha Anderson for the 20-1 win.

                Duran took the loss going just 2 1/3 innings in allowing 10 runs and nine hits. Amanda Jones finished the contest by going 1 2/3 innings in allowing 10 runs on eight hits.

                The second contest against Lake Land started out better for the Cougars as the defense sparkled early, turning a second inning double play. WNCC, however, couldn’t capitalize on the early defensive success as the Cougars got runners on in the first five innings, but could only manage just one run.

                Lake Land went up 5-0 with three runs on four hits and an error in the third, followed by single runs in the fourth and fifth.

                Sarah Hawryluk started the rally by earning a 2-out walk. She then stole second and scored on a Danielle Hearn single that landed just inside the right field outfield line.

                The Lady Lakers stopped any attempted momentum with five runs in the sixth innings on six hits for the 10-1 lead. The big hit in the contest was a 2-run home run by Madison Murphy over the left field fence.

                WNCC finished the contest with just four hits, all singles by Hawryluk, Hearn, Stubs and Kasey Cash.

                Stubbs said despite the losses, they still had a great season. And, for Stubbs and the other five sophomores, they were the only group to play both their seasons at nationals.

                “Coming here two years in a row is really special for us,” she said. “It kind of is a bittersweet moment because we know this is our last games together for all six of us, but we are glad we made it and worked hard to get here.”

First Game

WNCC                   000 10 – 1 1 5

Salt Lake              505 (10)x – 20 17 2

LP – Bianca Duran

Second game

Lake Land            003 115 – 10 14 3

WNCC                   000 010 – 1 4 2

LP – Duran.