WNCC softball splits with Otero Junior College on Saturday

                The Western Nebraska Community College softball team received a shutout performance from Amanda Jones as the Cougars earned a split of a Region IX doubleheader with Otero Junior College Saturday at Volunteer Field.

               Jones tossed a 5-hitter and struck out four in blanking the Otero Rattlers 4-0 in game two. In the opener, Otero scored six runs on six hits to capture a 6-1 win.

               Despite the split, WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff was pleased with the performance of the pitchers, Bianca Duran in game one and Jones in game two.

               "I thought our pictures did a great job today. Bianca misses on one pitch and the kid hits a home run. Other than that, they didn't have an earned run in the first game," she said. "We just couldn't play defense behind her. And Amanda did everything we needed her to do in the second game. She had a hiccup in one inning with the bases loaded with no outs. She found a way to fight and we played good defense behind her."

               Offensively, the Cougars managed just four hits in the first game and had several changes to score runs, but couldn't get the clutch base hit. The second game was a little better. WNCC pounded out eight hits and took advantage of three Otero errors.

               "Offensively I thought we swung the bats better than we did against [Thursday against] Trinidad," Winn-Ratliff said. "We still need to make some adjustments with the wind blowing in, we tried to lift a little too much and I think that hurt us a little bit in the first game. In the second game, Garcia threw the ball down and we hit more line drives. We stayed within ourselves, shortened up and put the ball in play. We ran the bases a lot better."

               What pleased Winn-Ratliff the most was how her team responded from the first-game defeat to earn a split of the conference games.

               "We got a split and I really hoped we would have swept them, but I have to be happy in getting the split and knowing the girls responded and understood what conference play is all about," she said. "We have to come out tomorrow and Lamar will be hungry. They will do everything they can to come in here and beat us."

               The second game was the contest to watch, especially with the performance that Jones, a sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., had a sparkling performance in the circle. What made Jones' pitching performance stand out is she never lost focus, especially in the sixth when Otero loaded the bases with no outs.

               All the sophomore right-hander did was induce a shallow fly out to right field, a grounder to first for a force out at home, and then a foul-out fly to catcher Jocelyn Stubbs to leave the base loaded.

               Offensively, the Cougars pounded out eight hits with Stubbs and Aria Agle each collecting two hits.

               WNCC opened the scoring in the fourth as Mariah Shepherd and Stubbs each recorded back-to-back 2-out singles. Shepherd came around to score on a single by Kasey Cash for the 1-0 lead.

               WNCC added two runs in the fifth. Mariah Faifer singled and scored on a single by Sarah Hawryluk. Hawryluk scored on the same play after an errand throw sailed to deep right field.

               The final run came in the sixth as Stubbs singled and then pinch runner Kayla Romey scored on a Agle double.

               In the opener, Otero scored single runs i the first and sixth, and two runs each in the third and the seventh. For the Cougars, their lone run came in the sixth as Shepherd doubled and scored on a Cash double.

               WNCC managed just two other hits in the contests, a third-inning double by Bree Bitton and a single by Hawryluk.

               Duran suffered the loss in the circle, going seven innings and allowing six hits and striking out six.

               WNCC, 20-14, will be back in action Sunday when they host Lamar Community College in a conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. at Volunteer Field.

Game One

Otero                   102 001 2 -- 6 6 1

WNCC                  000 001 0 -- 1 4 7

LP -- Bianca Duran; 2B -- Mariah Shepherd, Kasey Cash, Bree Bitton.

Game Two

Otero                   000 000 0 -- 0 5 3

WNCC                  000 121 x -- 4 8 0

WP -- Amanda Jones.

WNCC baseball splits with McCook on Saturday

               The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team stopped a seven-game slide by earning a split with McCook Community College Saturday afternoon at Cleveland Field.

               The Cougars scored six, sixth-inning runs to post a 6-3 win in the opener in stopping their losing skid. But, WNCC couldn't keep it up as they fell 5-2 in game two.

               WNCC coach Mike Jones said that Jeff Schmitt pitched well in the opener to give the Cougars the win. Schmitt went seven innings in scattering eight hits, including a seventh inning home run.

               "Schmitt pitched a good game," he said. "He kind of lost track on the inside fastball, but he pitched a really good ball game and we played good defense behind him. We were able to rally late in the game and take care of them."             

               WNCC trailed 2-0 through most of the game but finally put something together in the sixth when they plated six runs. The big hit was a 3-run double by pinch-hitter Oscar Familia to put WNCC ahead.

               Jones was pleased to see the Cougars mount that late rally.

               "That rally was really needed because we are lacking a little bit offensively," he said. "We needed to come up with some big hits in scoring opportunities. it was great to see Oscar Familia step up to take care of an opportunity with the bases loaded. McCook made some mistakes that gave us some opportunities that we were able to take advantage of."

               WNCC took a quick 2-0 lead in the second game after Josh Bride walked and scored on a sacrifice fly. Benly Ramos then came through with a 2-out home run for the quick lead.

               The Cougars bats, however, went silent after that. WNCC managed just two hits in the contest with the second coming in the seventh on a Familia single.

               McCook tied the game with single runs in the second and fourth, before taking the lead for good with two runs in the fifth. The Indians finished the contest with 11 hits.

               Jones said the big key for his team is getting its offensive mojo back.

               "RIght now we are struggling a little bit offensively," he said. "McNabb pitched a pretty good game [in the second one], we played pretty good defense, and McCook did a nice job of manufacturing runs. The big thing for us is finding a way to get more offensive production with a few guys in our lineup. Right now, we are not getting anything from three or four guys. We are going to work on getting better."

               WNCC will be back in action Sunday when they host McCook in another Empire Conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Cleveland Field.

               "Conference games are always important and we have Nick Hernandez in the first one and Gianfranco Bernal in the second," Jones said. "It will be important for us to play good defense behind the guys. We have to find more offensive production. Somehow, someway, we just need to do a little bit better offensively."

Game One

McCook               000 200 1 -- 3 8

WNCC                  000 006 x -- 6 4

WP -- Jeff Schmitt. 2B -- Oscar Familia.

Game Two

McCook               010 121 0 -- 5 11

WNCC                  200 000 0 -- 2 2

LP -- Terry McNabb; HR -- Benly Ramos

WNCC volleyball camps open for registration

Registration is now open for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball summer volleyball camps.

WNCC head coach Giovana Melo will have six camps throughout July. Assisting with the camp will be Cougar assistant coach Fatima Balza, who won three national championships, two at Penn State and one at WNCC.

The scheduled camps, dates, ages, and cost are:

*July 9-10, Little Cougars Camp, 4^th-6^th grades, $70.

*July 11-12, Individual Skills Camp I, 7^th and 8^th grades, $70

*July 16-17, Setter/Hitter Camp, 6^th-9^th grades, $100

*July 18-19, Individual Skills Camp II, 9^th-12^th grades, $70

*July 23-24, Setter/Hitter/Libero Camp, 10^th-12^th grades, $100

*July 27-28, Varsity, Junior Varsity Team Camp, $30 per camper

            Camp registration forms can be picked up at the Cougar Athletic office, downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu, or by contacting WNCC assistant coach Fatima Balza at balzafatima@gmail.com.

Sanders, Delgado named to the all-region teams

Two Western Nebraska Community College basketball players were named to the Region IX all-region team recently.

                WNCC sophomore Samantha Sanders finished her junior college career with the Cougar women with a steady performance this season in earning all-regional honors. Sanders helped lead the Cougars to a 21-9 season this season, averaging nine points and five assists a game. Sanders is a native of Denver, Colo.

                WNCC’s Raul Delgado earned the same all-region honor on the men’s side. Delgado was named a first team selection by the Region IX coaches. The sophomore sharpshooter was one of the top scorers in the region this season, averaging 19 points a game and connected on over 100 3-pointers. Delgado, who verbally committed to play basketball at BYU next season, is a graduate of Springville High in Utah.

Women’s Region IX All-Tournament Team
Jordan Giles, Western Wyoming Community College; Kayla Kiriau, Sheridan College; Christen Lopez, Miles Community College; Kenosha Wright, Gillette College; Ivana Grbic, Miles Community College; Brodie Bennett, Sheridan College; Shelby Garska, Casper College; Jacki Nicholson, Central Wyoming College; Bailey Holland, Casper College; Brynlie Nielsen, Central Wyoming College; Haisaane Lo'amanu, Otero Junior College; Taylor Rock, Otero Junior College; Hannah Pollart, Northeastern Junior College; Aubry Boehme, Otero Junior College; Odaugo Osulala, Northeastern Junior College.

Women’s Region IX All-Region Team
Aubry Boehme, Otero Junior College; Fallon Lewis, Sheridan College; Mayan Dodgo, Lamar Community College; Rosalie Cutri, Casper College; Sasha Carter, Northeastern Junior College; Laura Pelse, Sheridan College; Alicia Nichols, Northeastern Junior College; Alissa Willard, Western Wyoming Community College; Odaugo Osulala, Northeastern Junior College; Shelby Stewart, Casper College; Samantha Sanders, Western Nebraska Community College; Jacki Nicholson, Central Wyoming College; Hannah Pollart, Northeastern Junior College.

Region IX Women’s Coach of the Year
Dwight Gunnare, Casper College.

Men’s Region IX All-Region Team
First Team – Nick Tomsick, North Platte Community College; Lamont Prosser, Sheridan College; Adam Link, Otero Junior College; Raul Delgado, Western Nebraska Community College; Jerrold Brooks, Casper College; Tyree Anderson, Miles Community College.

Second Team – Matt Rosenbaum, Eastern Wyoming College; Jeremy Nicholas, Miles Community College; Chris Hanson, Northwest College; George Edwards,  Gillette College; Anthony Crenshaw, Northeastern Junior College; Cameron Adderly, Northeast Community College.

Third Team – Onyemi Utti, McCook Community College; Jeff Solarin, Northwest College; Wes McKenzie, Otero Junior College; James Johnson, Central Wyoming College; Phillip Freeman, Laramie County Community College; Denzel Douglas, Casper College.

Region IX Men’s Coaches of the Year
Houston Reed, Otero Junior College, Chase Tait, Miles Community College

WNCC softball team opens Spring Break with win over Gateway on March 14

                PHOENIX, Ariz. -- The Western Nebraska Community College softball team found plenty of success in the first day of their Spring Break trip, sweeping a doubleheader from GateWay Community College Wednesday.

                In the opener, Bianca Duran scattered nine hits, but struck out three in leading the Cougars a 7-3 win. The second game saw Amanda Jones toss a complete game and the Cougars scored six in the final two innings to scurry past Gateway 7-4.

                In the opener, the GateWay was up 3-2 after three innings, but that was when the Cougar bats came alive, scoring twice in the fourth and sixth innings and a single run in the fifth.

                WNCC scored twice in the fourth as a Jones hit and error scored Mariah Shepherd and then Danielle Hearn scored on a single by Gabi Palacios for the 4-3 lead.

                The Cougars added a single run in the three singles followed by a Kasey Cash sacrifice fly that scored Jocelyn Stubbs. WNCC added two insurance runs in the sixth on four hits, including run-scoring singles by Palacios and Stubbs and a double by Duran.

                The Cougars pounded out 13 hits in the contest as Duran went 4-for-4 with a run scored and a double. Palacios also was perfect from the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Shepherd was the only other Cougar with multiple hits with two singles.

                Duran went seven innings by giving up nine hits, three runs and striking out three.

                GateWay jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead and stymied the Cougars with just two hits, a second-third-inning double by Bree Bitton and a single by Mariah Faifer in the third. WNCC finally cracked the scoreboard with a run in the third. They opened up the game in the sixth and seventh, scoring six runs on eight hits.

                In the sixth, Shepherd started things with a double followed by a single by Duran. Stubbs then ripped a run-scoring single. Duran scored the second run to trail 4-3 heading to the seventh.

                That was when the Cougars exploded as Hearn led off with a double followed by Sarah Hawryluk singling. Aria Agle then reached on an error that scored pinch-runner Shalese Connary. The Cougars then used their speed as both Haryluk and Agle scored on a Shepherd single. Shepherd scored the final run on a Brandi Percival single.

                Jones went seven innings and scattered nine hits while striking out two to get the win.

                Offensively, the Cougars pounded out 10 hits. Hawryluk, Shepherd and Bitton all had two hits. Shepherd had a double, two runs scored and three RBIs, while Bitton had a double.

                The Cougars will be back in action Thursday with three games with games at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. against Central Arizona College and Clackamas Community College out of Oregon City, Oregon.

First Game

WNCC                   101 212 0 -- 7 13 1

GateWay             201 000 0 -- 3 9 6

WP -- Biance Duran; 2B -- Duran.

Second Game

WNCC                   001 002 4 -- 7 10 2

GateWay             120 100 0 -- 4 9 3

WP -- Amanda Jones; 2B -- Mariah Shepherd, Bree Bitton, Danielle Hearn.

Cash becomes money with solo home run to propel Cougars to 1-0 extra-inning win.

                 Bianca Duran and Amanda Jones tossed shutouts, but it was freshman Kasey Cash who went to the bank both offensively and defensively in lifting the Western Nebraska Community College softball team to a doubleheader sweep over Trinidad State Junior College on Thursday at Volunteer Field.

                In the opener, Duran threw eight strong innings before Cash delivered a eighth inning, 250-foot home run that sky-rocketed over the scoreboard in left field for the 1-0 win.

                The second game saw Amanda Jones scatter six hits while striking out three in leading the Cougars to the 3-0 win. Both games were conference wins, pushing the Cougars to 6-2 in conference play and 18-14 overall.

                While Cash went money with the home run swing to lead off the eighth inning, the real reason for the Cougars’ wins was defense. Cash was involved in two clutch double plays, one in each game, that helped spark the team.

                But, Cash wasn’t the only one that turned in sparkling plays on defense. Aria Agle robbed Jacqueline Booz of a home run in the second game, while Mariah Faifer turned a double play in the first game to thwart an early Trinidad rally.

                “The defense was big. Without defense we can’t get anywhere,” the freshman from Wellington, Colo., said. “The defense was solid throughout the games and everyone has to be working with everyone to make good plays. The double plays helped a lot.”

                Cash said that they needed these wins the past two days to rebound from a rough Spring Break trip.

                “Today’s wins felt really great. We had to come out with a the wins because we had a tough week in Arizona,” she said. “We also played Trinidad a few weeks ago [and split] and we just wanted to come out and do the best we could to get two wins. I think we played good defense and fought for our wins.”

                Pitching also played a huge part in the win. Duran picked up the win in the opener, going eight strong innings in scattering eight hits while striking out three. Duran’s counterpart Kaycee Prevedel also was tossing a gem. The Trinidad freshman struck out 16, while tossing a two-hitter.

                The first game was a defensive gem. Trinidad State had lead-off singles in the third and fifth but each time the Cougar defense thwarted any type of score. In fact, WNCC failed to allow one Trinidad runner touch third base in the opener.

                Prevedel and the Trinidad defense was also stopping any type of Cougar Rally. Prevedel, in fact, had a no hitter going through five innings. That was until the sixth when Bree Bitton unleashed a lead-off of double. WNCC, however couldn’t manufacture a run.

                Both teams went 1-2-3 in the seventh setting up the extra inning. Trindad had two singles, but a clutch double play by Cash robbed the Trojans of getting any runs.

                That set up the dramatic eighth and it was Cash that led off the inning. Cash worked the count to full and on the next pitch she took the inside pitch and lifted to the moon for the game winner. Cash knew when she stepped up that all she had to do was make contact to get on base.

“When I went up to bat, I knew I had to do something to help my team pull out the win,” she said. “When it went into extra innings, I just thought about getting a base hit. The right pitch came, I swung and it felt good. The pitch was just on the inside corner. I hit the pitch and I took off and when I rounded first, I saw it was over and made me excited.”

The second game was also a defensive gem for the Cougars as they again thwarted Trojans run-scoring attempts. The biggest threat came in the fourth when Booz and Caitlyn Reid had back-to-back singles. Jones then got out of the inning by inducing three straight fly balls, two to the infield and the third out to left fielder Aria Agle.

After the huge defensive stand in the fourth, the Cougars finally cracked the scoreboard with a single in the bottom of the frame. Jocelyn Stubbs earned a lead-off walked and scored two batters later on a double by Agle for the 1-0 lead.     

WNCC added two insurance runs in the fifth. Sarah Hawryluk led off with a slap single and scored on a Gabi Palacios triple. Palacios came around to score on a sacrifice fly my Mariah Shepherd.

The Cougars pounded out seven hits in the second game. Hawryluk went 2-for-4 with two singles, two stolen bases and a run scored. Stubbs also had a good game, going 1-for-1 with two walks and a run scored.

WNCC, 18-14, will be back in action this weekend as they host Otero Junior College on Saturday and Lamar Community College on Sunday in conference doubleheaders. First pitch for both contests is slated for 2 p.m.

                “This weekend we need to string together more hits and keep our defense solid,” Cash said. “If we do that, we should do well and pull out four more wins against Lamar and Otero.”

Game One

Trinidad                000 000 00 – 0 6 1

WNCC                   000 000 01 – 1 2 1

WP – Bianca Duran; 2B – Bree Bitton; HR – Kasey Cash

Game Two

Trinidad (12-8)   000 000 0 – 0 6 2

WNCC (18-14)    000 120 x – 3 7 2

WP – Amanda Jones; 2B – Aria Agale; 3B – Gabi Palacios