NORTH PLATTE -- The Western Nebraska Community College softball pounded out 28 hits annd scored 25 runs in claiming a doubleheader from North Platte Community College Thursday.
WNCC also hammered five home runs on the day, icluding two from Lauren Mills in the opener 15-7 win. The Cougars came back and had three home runs in game two as they needed late-inning magic in claiming the 10-5 win.
“We didn’t play like we usually do,” sophomore Lauren Mills said. “We made a lot of errors on defense. Offensively, we made a couple of errors and then we started to hit the ball. Still we didn’t play very good today and lucky to come out with a win.”
Still, the Cougars found a way to win and come ever-so-closer to hosting the Region IX tournament May 1. WNCC is now 20-1 in conference play with three conference games left. All they need to do is win one more game to lock up being the tournament host. WNCC’s next conference game is April 22 at Lamar Community College followed by a home date with North Platte on April 24.
Thursday’s games showed just how good of an offensive team they can be, and it was the long ball that sparked the team..
“We picked it up when we needed to,” Mills, who had two home runs, six runs scored and six RBIs on the day, said. “We came out dead in the first two innings [of game two] and then we picked it up. We new we had to get some runs. We kept hitting and the balls started falling in.”
The second game definitely was a testament to how well this Cougar team can play and win ball games. North Platte quickly took a 5-1 lead in the first inning on five hits. After that, sophomore pitcher shut down the Knights’ offense, while WNCC’s offense woke up.
Jessie McNabb quickly got the Cougars back in the game with a two-run home run that easily cleared center field to cut the lead to 5-3. WNCC sliced the lead to 5-4 with a single run in the fifth as Lauren Bourdon singled and scored on a Kara Ryman base hit.
WNCC finally took the lead in the sixth by plating three runs. Mills led off by drawing a walk. Amanda Hensley then slapped a home run over the right centerfield fence to put WNCC up 6-5. The Cougars weren’t threw as McNabb singled and later took advantage of a North Platte fielding error on a hit ball by Amada Torimaru for a 7-5 lead.
The Cougars offense continued to shine in the seventh inning as Allie Griffin led off with a solo home run down the left field line. WNCC added two more insurance runs as Mills and McNabb each scored with Ryman providing a huge double up the middle for the 10-5 win.
Patton picked up the win in the circle coming in relieve of Natasha Dypchey. Patton struck out four and scattered seven hits, while walking just one. Patton’s toughness came up big in a crucial fifth inning where North Platte loaded the bases with no outs. The sophomore from Utah then struck out two Knight batters, and the the final out on a line-out to first base to stop the scoring threat.
“AP came in and did a wonderful job,” Mills said. “She shut them down and made them pop up while scattering hits. We also backed her up on defense.”
Offensively, WNCC finished with 12 hits. Hensley paced the team with a 3-for-4 performance, including a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs. McNabb and Ryman also collected two hits each. McNabb went 2-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs, while Ryman went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
In the first game, the Coguars didn’t have to worry about a late-inning comeback as the Cougars led from start to finish. They did, however, had to fend off a North Platte comeback that sliced a 6-0 lead to 6-5 on one time.
WNCC held a 7-0 lead after 2 ½ innings and seemed in control. North Platte, however, had other ideals as they put up five runs in the third inning on five hits to cut the deficit to 7-5.
The Cougars did withstand the Knights’ charge with five runs in he fifth inning. The big hit was a 2-RBI triple by Bourdon. Bourdon then scored on a Ryman sacrifice fly for a 12-6 lead. The Cougars added three more runs in the sixth as Mills hit her second home run of the game to score Whittany Foster and Griffin for the final runs of the game.
Kelsey Garner picked up her 22nd win of the season. Garner striking out nine while scattering 14 hits.
WNCC pounded out 16 hits in the win, including a 4-for-5 game from Bourdon and 3-for-5 games from Mills and Hensley. Mills had two home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored in the win, while Bourdon had a triple and four RBIs., and Hensley had a double and two runs scored.
Mills said while the Cougars picked up two conference wins, they realize that they need to play better with the Region IX tournament just around the corner.
“It is totally a wake-up call,” she said. “We need to show up and play our game. No team will give us a win and we need to take it from them.”
WNCC, 38-6, will continue a four-day series of games Friday at Sterling College junior varsity followed by contests with Friends College junior varsity on Saturday and Hutchinson Community College on Sunday.
First Game
WNCC 421 053 -- 15 16 1
NPCC 005 101 -- 7 14 4
WP -- Garner; 2B -- Hensley, Torimaru; 3B -- Bourdon; HR -- Mills (2).
Second Game
WNCC 102 013 3 -- 10 12 0
NPCC 500 000 0 -- 5 11 5
WP -- Patton; 2B -- Ryman, Torimaru; HR -- McNabb, Hensley, Griffin.
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