Friday, May 03, 2013

Softball team opens regional tournament with 9-0 win over Lamar


          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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