(photo courtesy of Alex Helmbrecht, Chadron State Sports Information).Ever since the Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened up the fall season with a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Chadron State College Saturday in the WNCC Fall Classic, the Cougar women have quietly been gelling together as a team.
WNCC finished the Fall Classic with a 3-1 record topping North Platte Community College 3-1 on Saturday, then picking up two wins on Sunday as they defeated McCook Community College 4-3 and North Platte 5-0. Chadron State finished the tournament going 4-1, winning two games on Sunday. The Eagles had a come-from-behind win against North Platte, and then blanked the University of Wyoming as Cassie Humphrey and Katie Bolin each had first-inning 2-run home runs.
Wednesday, Chadron State and WNCC hooked up in a 12-inning scrimmage and WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff liked the improvement she saw from her players.
“We cut our strike outs down at the plate and I felt that our pitchers were more comfortable in the circle,” she said. “We still have a long way to go but we looked more like our team today.”
Two players that stood out in the Chadron State scrimmage were freshman pitcher Ashton Hughes and freshman infielder Michelle Glaze.
“Michelle did a nice job at the plate where she went 2-for-2 with two walks,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I felt like Ashton really threw well today, facing nine batters in three innings of work and getting five strikeouts.”
Glaze also had a strong weekend from the plate. In Sunday’s action, Glaze, and Jordan Schoepflin had excellent games. Schoepflin scattered nine hits, seven in the final two innings to get the win against McCook. Schoepflin, a freshman from Arvada, Colo., struck out 11 batters, including the first two in the seventh inning to get the win.
Offensively, Schoepflin was also hot as was Glaze. Glaze, from Brighton, Colo., went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI, while Schoepflin was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Katie Hill, another freshman from Broomfield, Colo., also had two hits, going 2-for-2 with two singles and a walk.
WNCC finished off the tournament as freshman hurler Taylor Anderson of Riverton, Utah, threw a complete game, scattering five hits and striking out five. She walked just one batter. The Cougars struck for five runs, all from the fourth inning on. WNCC scored three runs in the fourth, and then added two insurance runs in the sixth. Sophomore Adena Hagen led off with a triple and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Katie Groves. Redshirt freshman Chara Horsley then hit a solo home run that hit the top of the scoreboard. Chadron State will be back in action this weekend at the North Platte tournament, while WNCC will travel to Ft. Collins, Colo., on Sunday for a doubleheader against Colorado State University.
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