Western Nebraska Community College’s Natasha Dypchey and Kelsey Garner put together a couple of pitching gems and the Cougar defense was in prime form Friday afternoon at Volunteer Field against Lamar Community College.
WNCC definitely needed that kind of defensive performance as offensive runs were at a premium as the Cougars pushed their winning streak to 23 games with two 1-0 wins over the Runnin’ Lopes, the second in nine innings.
“Defense today was key for sure,” WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said. “I thought in the circle we had great outings from Natasha [Dypchey] and Kelsey [Garner]. We had great defensive plays all day long, so I don’t have any complaints what-so-ever from the defensive side.”
The job that Dypchey and Garner did in the circle was eye-popping. Dypchey picked up the win in game one, scattering four hits and striking out five. Dypchey faced just 27 batters in the win and never allowed a Lamar runner past second base.
“She is very fortunate that every time we play Lamar, she has had good outings,” Winn-Ratliff said. “We tried to flip our lineup around a little bit to give her some confidence and she came out and threw really, really well. We even had her warmed up in the second game during the late innings in case we needed to go back to her.”
In the second game, Garner dazzled from the circle, registering her 17th win of the season against one defeat. Garner threw all nine innings, striking out 12 while throwing a 2-hitter. In fact, at one time, Garner put down 17 straight Lamar batters.
“It is good for us to have that kind of pitching performance from Kelsey because she has been struggling a little bit,” Winn-Ratliff said. “But, she is still picking up wins, despite giving up some hits and more hits then we would like. It was nice for her to go out and have a good outing and pick up another conference win for us.”
Dypchey and Garner weren’t the only ones responsible for the shut-out wins. The defense also played sensational and Dypchey said they deserve plenty of credit.
“Our defense played very well behind us, and KG and I came out ready to pitch,” the sophomore right-handed pitcher from South Surrey, British Colombia said. “Lamar is always a tough game for us, and we just wanted to get two more conference wins.”
The last time the two squads played, back in February, WNCC registered a 7-6 nine-inning game. Winn-Ratliff said that this team just finds ways to pull out victories.
“We just keep finding ways to win. That is the unique thing about this team in that they don’t want to give up and they want to prove to everybody that they are good,” the coach said. “We just keep telling them that no one knows who Western Nebraska is and you have to prove day in and day out that you are as good as what you tell people. I was a little bit disappointed offensively, but I thought their pitchers did a great job. The last time we played them at their place in a snowball fest, there was quite a bit of runs scored. To scrap out with two 1-0 games, a lot of teams don’t hold us to one run and our pitchers don’t get out with a lot of shutouts, so I am definitely happy with the shutouts, but we need to put more runs on the board.”
WNCC definitely put suspense into the games. In the opener, both teams managed just four hits. The contest came down to just one hit -- a fourth-inning solo home run by Amanda Torimaru. That actually was all they needed as the Cougars defense shut down the Lopes offense to get the win.
The second game was a pitcher’s duel between Garner and Lamar’s Brittany Bourque. WNCC had plenty of opportunities to score in regulation as they left five runners in scoring position. Lamar, however, had just one prime scoring chance in the first inning as they left runners at second and third.
After that, Garner baffled the Lamar hitters, allowing just two runners in the final eight innings. At one time, Garner retired 17 straight batters before allowing a ninth-inning single.
The Cougars, on the other hand, scattered seven hits in the game but couldn’t get the clutch hit to plate a run until the ninth inning. In fact, the best change for WNCC to score a run early came in the third inning when Mandy Pounds reached safely on a bunt single followed by Lauren Mills reaching base on an error. WNCC left both runners stranded in scoring position.
WNCC almost won the game in the eighth inning. Mills led off with a single and then took second, catching the Lamar defense loafing. After a sacrifice bunt moved Mills to third, Amanda Hensley lofted a shallow fly to left-field for an out. Mills tagged on the catch, but was thrown out at the plate to force another inning.
The Cougars took care of business in the ninth. Lauren Bourdon reached base by being plunked by a pitch. Amanda Torimaru then sacrificed Bourdon to second. Kara Ryman then singled to left field to score Bourdon with the winning run.
Mills paced the Cougars offensively with a 2-for-3 game, including a triple. Ryman finished with a 2-for-4 performance.
WNCC, 32-4, will next be in action Tuesday when they travel to face the University of Northern Colorado, before coming back home for three home dates Thursday against North Platte Community College, Saturday against Trinidad State Junior College and Sunday against Otero Junior College.
“We are going to go down and play UNC at Greeley Tuesday. They are a team that is up and coming,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I would say on paper we are overly matched, but if we play like we did today defensively, we can be in any ball game as long as we score runs.”
First Game
Lamar 000 000 0 -- 0 4 1
WNCC 000 100 x -- 1 4 0
WP -- Dypchey, LP Emily Huhta; HR -- Torimaru.
Second Game
Lamar 000 000 000 -- 0 2 0
WNCC (32-4) 000 000 001 -- 1 7 1
WP -- Garner, LP Bourque; 3B -- Mills.
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