The Cougars blasted three home runs in the e opener, including two solo shots from Katie Groves to earn a 5-0 win against the Broncbusters. WNCC wasn’t as fortunate in the second came, falling 7-4.
WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said they played well, but need to play well in both games.
“Game one of the Garden City game, I thought we played very well. We executed on offense and made no defensive mistakes,” she said. “Game two we lost focus and late in the game we tried to make a comeback.”
Kelsey Garner picked up her third win of the year in the opener, as the sophomore pre-season all-American struck out 11 and scattered seven hits in getting the win. Winn-Ratliff said it was nice to see Garner pitch well over the weekend.
“It was good to see Kelsey throw well and get some wins,” she said. “Offensively, we have to be able to execute at all times. But I saw some young ladies do some great things. Katie Groves and Sofia Gomez both did a great job at the plate for us this weekend.”
The Cougars quickly took charge in the opener as Kelly Pearson and Groves blasted back-to-back solo shots in the first inning. Sofia Gomez added to the hit parade in getting a double off the top of the fence for nearly a third straight home run.
Groves, a freshman from Bluffdale, Utah, added a solo shot in the third inning to put WNCC up 3-0. The Cougars added another run in the sixth inning. Alyssa Hickey led off with a single and scored on a double by Adena Hagen.
WNCC’s final run came in the seventh. Groves had a one-out double. Groves came around to score on a 2-out single by Garner for the final margin.
Groves paced the team with a 3-for-4 performance, including two home runs, a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Pearson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a run scored, while Adena Hagen went 2-for-3 with a single, double and a run scored.
WNCC started game two with the same offensive intensity as game one. Hagen, the starting centerfielder from Saskatchewan, Canada, led off the game with a home run. The Cougars and Garden City were tied at 2-2 after three innings before Garden City took a 7-2 lead.
WNCC tried some late inning heroics. Tiffany Lookabill started the inning with a single followed by Pearson reaching base on a fielder’s choice. Groves then walked to put two players on base. With two outs, Garner scored Pearson and Groves with a double to cut the lead to 7-4.
Hagen paced the team going 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk, while Tiffany Lookabill went 1-for-1. Garner went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Gomez finished the second game going 1-for-2 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Lauryn Smith had two stolen bases in the contest.
Casey Simpson took the loss in the circle, allowing three runs, nine hits and striking out one. Garner finished off the game allowing four runs, zero unearned, while striking out one and allowing two hits.
WNCC, 7-10, will be off for two weeks before facing Barton County on March 6 and then competing in the Cloud County Tournament in Concordia, Kan., March 7-8.
Game 1
WNCC 201 001 1 -- 5 12 0
Garden City 000 000 0 -- 0 7 0
WP -- Kelsey Garner; 2B -- Adena Hagen, Kelly Pearson, Katie Groves, Sofie Gomez, Lauryn Smith; HR -- Groves (2), Pearson.
Game 2
WNCC 101 000 2 -- 4 4 0
Garden City 101 014 -- 7 11 0
LP -- Casey Simpson; 2B – Garner; HR – Hagen.
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