MCCOOK
– The Western Nebraska Community College softball team started its quest for a
fourth straight Region IX championship in fine fashion as Bianca Duran and
RaVae Herrera combined on a 2-hitter in blanking Lamar Community College 9-0 in
action at the Region IX Tournament in McCook.
The
Cougars, 53-8 and winners 13-straight, will face the winner of the McCook or
Lamar game Friday at 1 p.m. in the championship of their side of the bracket.
Lamar beat McCook in the second game of the tournament 6-5.
In action
on in the other bracket, Trinidad State Junior College defeated Northeastern
Junior College 11-2 before falling 3-2 to Otero Junior College. The winner of
the two brackets will meet in a 2-out-of-3 series Sunday at the site of the
higher seed. Games times on Sunday have been set for 5 and 7 p.m. with an
if-necessary game slated for Monday.
WNCC
coach Maria Winn-Ratliff thought her team played well both defensively and
offensively in the win.
“I
thought for the most part we played very well,” she said. “Both Bianca and
RaVae pitched well and we got some timely hits. They were fun to watch today.
We are going to enjoy this win for a couple hours and then get refocused for
tomorrow (Friday).”
The
Cougars’ pitching was definitely on in the opener. Duran, who earned the NJCAA
Pitcher of the Week honor on Wednesday, tossed four innings, allowing just one
hit while facing just 13 batters. She also struck out one and walked one.
Herrera also was dominating, tossing one inning in allowing one hit and striking
out two.
Offensively,
the Cougars did their usual pounding of the ball. WNCC finished with 10 hits in
the contest with five going for extra bases.
WNCC
opened the scoring in the second inning as Lindsey Shiels-Brophy had a
run-scoring double to put the Cougars up 1-0.
WNCC
opened up the contest in the third with seven runs on six hits. Kasey Cash led
off the inning with her 22nd home run of the season. After an Angle
Council single, Jennifer Cottle, who fought off six foul balls, smashed a 2-run
shot over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead.
The
Cougars weren’t finished. Mariah Shepherd reached on an error followed by a
single by Shelby McGraw and Shiels-Brophy loading the bases on a walk. Duran
followed with a 2-run double, followed by Cash getting a run-scoring single.
Cottle then earned a walk to force in the seventh run of the inning and an 8-0
lead.
WNCC’s
final run came in the fourth as Kayla Romey singled to score McGraw.
The
Cougars’ defense was a big reason for the win as they maintained the shut out
by getting the third and game-ending out in the fifth after a single to
centerfield and Cottle tagged out the final out at the plate.
Duran,
Cash, and Cottle each had two hits. Cottle was 2-for-2 with a double, home run,
three RBIs and a run scored, while Cash went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs
and a run scored. Duran had a double and a single for her two hits, along with
two RBIs and a run scored.
Lamar 000
00 – 0 2 3
WNCC 017
1x – 9 10 1
WP – Bianca Duran; 2B – Duran, Jennifer Cottle, Lindsey
Shiels-Brophy; HR – Cottle, Kasey Cash.
Thursday’s Results
Trinidad 11, NE Colorado 2
Lamar 6, McCook 5
Otero 3, Trinidad 2
WNCC 9, Lamar 0
Friday’s Schedule
11 a.m. – Trinidad vs. NJC and Lamar vs. McCook (losers
eliminated)
1 p.m. – Otero vs. winner Trinidad/NJC and WNCC vs.
winner Lamar/McCook
3 p.m. – if-necessary games of the two 1 p.m. games.
Otherwise, the winners advance to the championship series on Sunday at the home
of the higher seed at 5 and 7 p.m.
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