“It definitely shakes things up in the region,” WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said. “Hopefully now they understand that every game is important and region games are more important than any game. What we have done know is open the door for two or three other teams to win the region. We could have closed the door on a couple of teams If we would have came out and been victorious today.
“I said all year the region is wide open and whoever plays well in May will win it. It just proves that factor that you have to show up and willing to play day in and day out and today we weren’t. We didn’t win and we will bounce back on Wednesday and then we will face Otero and Lamar again.”
WNCC falls to 7-3 in conference play and is percentage points ahead of Lamar, who is in second at 5-3. Trinidad State and Otero are both 4-4 in the conference.
Wins Sunday by WNCC definitely would have changed the complexion of the conference. Lamar had different ideas as the Runnin’ Lopes pitcher Brittany Bourque held the Cougar runs in check.
“Lamar did everything they needed to do to come in and win. They came in this morning, driving all this way and I thought we came out a little flat,” Winn-Ratliff said. “Their pitcher [Bourque] did a very nice job on the mound containing us. It was 0-0 through five in game one and then we commit an error and they get a run. We then claw our way back into it going into the seventh inning. I tell the kids all the time we can’t wait until the seventh inning. It is great if you can score early, but you have to find a way to produce every inning and make things happen. We left way too many runners on base.”
Lamar scored once in the fifth inning and then added two more runs in the sixth on a 2-run home run by Katie Schoepf to take a 3-0 lead. WNCC finally plated a run in the bottom of the frame. Katie Groves tied the game with one swing of the bat, blasting a lead-off home run in the sixth inning. It was the freshman from Bluffdale, Utah’s, 1oth home run of the season.
Lamar came back and added an insurance run in the seventh as Samantha Lopez has a solo shot to center field.
The Cougars mounted a comeback in the in the seventh. With two outs, Adena Hagen and Kelsey Garner got on base. Both, however, were stranded as Bourque registered her seventh strike out of the game to earn the victory.
WNCC left five players in scoring position in the opening-game lose. The Cougars were also outhit 7-6. Hagen and Groves had the only extra base hits for the Cougars. Hagen had a double to lead off the first inning, and Groves was the home run in the sixth.
Garner took the loss in the circle, scattering seven hits while striking out five out five. Garner also walked two Lamar batters.
The second game turned into a pitcher’s duel early between WNCC’s Casey Simpson and Lamar’s Emily Huhta. WNCC finally cracked the 0-0 tie with two runs in the fourth inning. Lauryn Smith started things with a single followed by Kelly Pearson reaching base on an error. Both came around to score on Groves double to left field for the 2-0 lead.
Lamar sliced the lead in half in the fifth inning as Lopez scored on a 2-out single by Kayla Bruner.
The Cougars bounced right back in the bottom of the frame, plating two runs. Tonya Atencio led off with a single to right field. Hagen drove in Atencio with a one-out single for a 3-1 lead. Smith followed with a triple to right-center field to make the score 4-1.
The score stayed that way until Lamar put together a seventh-inning rally that saw the Lopes score five times on four hits. Alex Davis started things with a pinch-hit, one-out single. Lopez then walked followed by a single by Maddie Maestas, Bruner delivered a single to score two runs. Lamar added two more runs on a single by Schoepf for a 6-4 lead.
WNCC tried coming back in the seventh. Hagen started things by reaching base on an error. Then, with two outs, Pearson delivered a double to score Hagen for the final run.
Simpson took the loss allowing six runs on 10 hits, while striking out three and walking two and hitting one batter. Bourque picked up the win in relief, throwing 2 2/3 innings. The sophomore from Aurora, Colo., struck out one and allowed just one hit.
WNCC was outhit 10-6 in the contest. Smith went 2-for-4 with a triple, a RBI and a run scored, while Pearson went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a RBI.
WNCC will look to bounce back from Sunday’s losses as they entertain McCook Community College on Wednesday before hosting Otero Junior College on Saturday. WNCC’s Friday home contest with Lamar will now be played in Lamar on a date to be determined.
Game One
Lamar 000 012 1 – 4 7 2
WNCC 000 001 0 – 1 6 2
WP – Bourque, LP – Garner; 2B – WNCC (Hagen); HR – WNCC (Groves), Lamar (Lopez, Schoepf).
Game Two
Lamar (20-17) 000 010 5 – 6 10 1
WNCC (20-14) 000 220 1 – 5 6 1
WP – Bourque, LP – Simpson; 2B – WNCC (Pearson, Groves); 3B – WNCC (Smith).
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