WNCC softball sweeps Midland for 9th win

                MIDLAND, Texas – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team captured a doubleheader from Midland College Sunday in Midland, Texas.

                WNCC pounded out 11 hits in the first game in posting a 5-3 win. The Cougars were just as impressive in the second contest, winning 6-3 to move to 9-2 on the season.

                The Cougars finished the 3-day series of games over the weekend with a 6-1 record. WNCC will next be in action Sunday when they travel to Lamar Community College on Sunday for conference contests.

                In the opener, WNCC received a strong pitching performance from sophomore Bianca Duran. Duran went seven innings in scattering five hits and allowing three runs. Duran also struck out two.

                Offensively, WNCC took an 1-0 lead after one and then plated four in the third on five singles for a 5-0 lead.

                Three Cougars finished with multiple hits. Kayla Romey went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Duran also went 2-for-4. Mariah Shepherd finished the game with a 2-for-3 performance, including a run scored and an RBI.

                WNCC started the second game off very similar to the first contest, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after four innings. The Cougars scored a single run in the second off a single by Jennifer Cottle, who later scored for the 1-0 lead.

                The Cougars scored four times in the fourth with the big hit coming off the bat of Shepherd, who blasted a solo home run. The Cougars added a single run in the sixth as Cottle doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kasey Cash.

                Ravae Herrera picked up the win in the circle, going four innings in scattering six hits and allowing two runs. Shelby McGraw went one inning in allowing a run and striking out two. Duran got the save in tossing the sixth and seventh, allowing just one hit and striking out two.

                WNCC managed just five hits in the contest. Cottle led the way, going 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored.  The only other extra base bits were Shepherd’s home run and a double by McGraw in the seventh inning.

First Game

WNCC                   104 000 0 – 5 11 3

Midland               000 001 2 – 3 5 1

WP – Bianca Duran;  2B – Duran, Kasey Cash

Second Game

WNCC (9-2)        010 400 0 – 6 5 1

Midland               000 030 0 – 3 7 3

WP – Ravae Herrera; S – Duran; 2B – Jennifer Cottle, Shelby McGraw; HR – Mariah Shepherd.

Baseball splits with Odessa on Sunday

                ODESSA, Texas – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team split a doubleheader on Sunday against Odessa College in Odessa, Texas.

                The Cougars pounded out 11 hits and John Timmins went five strong innings in powering WNCC to the 12-2 win.

                WNCC, however, couldn’t rid the offensive spark of the first game, tallying just one hit while falling 3-1 in game two. The Cougars finished the four-game, weekend series with Odessa going 1-3.

                Sunday’s first game was a huge lift for the Cougars, who were defeated 15-0 and 9-2 to the Wranglers. A big reason for the offensive punch was the team’s hitting as they pounded out 11 hits, including five extra base hits.

                Ozzie Gonzalez was the big hitter for the Cougars, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. He also scored two runs and had two RBIs. JT Core, Keeton Krause, and Nick Vanthillo each contributed two hits each.

                The big inning for the Cougars was the second, where they plated six runs on five hits. The Cougars loaded the bases before Anthony Delgado ripped a two run-scoring single. WNCC kept finding the sweet spot on the bat as Core had a run-scoring single before Gonzalez doubled to centerfield to score another run for a 6-1 lead.

                WNCC pushed the lead to 10-2 with four runs in the fourth on three extra base hits. Core got things started with a solo home run to rightfield that was followed by a solo shot by Gonzalez to centerfield. Krause followed with a double that scored two runs.

                The Cougars added two more runs in the sixth. Vanthillo had a run-scoring single followed by Zach Ostergard with a run-scoring double.

                Timmins and Krause combined on a four-hitter. Timmins gave up four runs on two hits. The freshman from Bellevue also walked four and struck out four. Krause threw one inning, walking two but striking out three.

                The second game saw the Cougars nearly get no-hit. In fact, Odessa pitcher Jacob DelaCruz had a perfect game going through 4 2/3 innings before Pablo Garcia reached on an error with two outs in the fifth inning. DelaCruz then plunked David Martinez with a pitch. Garcia later came around to score on an error.

                DelaCruz took the no hitter into the seventh before WNCC’s Cameron Snyder singled to centerfield to break up the no-hit gem.

                Wright picked up the loss despite throwing well. Wright went five innings in scattering four hits and allowing three runs. The right-hander also struck out six and did not allow a walk.

                WNCC, 2-6, will be back in action this weekend for a five-game series against Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan.

First Game

WNCC                   060 402 – 12 11 2

Odessa                 110 000 – 2 4 2

WP – John Timmins; 2B – Ozzie Gonzalez, Zach Ostergard, Keeton Krause; HR – JT Core, Gonzalez.

Second Game

WNCC                   000 010 0 – 1 1 2

Odessa                 012 000 x – 3 4 2

LP – Challis Wright.

WNCC women win south sub-region with win over Trinidad, will host regionals March 3

               TRINIDAD, Colo. -- The No. 23 ranked Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team captured the South Sub-Region championship after dropping Trinidad State Junior College 72-38 Saturday afternoon in Trinidad, Colo.

               The Cougars moved to a perfect 10-0 in sub-region play with just two sub-region contests left. More importantly, by winning the sub-region, WNCC will now host the women's Region IX tournament that begins March 3. The win was also the Cougars 14th straight win since having to forfeit the first 13 games of the season.

               Mikayla Brower, who led the team with 16 points, said they played well in claiming the sub-region championship.

               "We knew we had to win today in order to host the tournament," she said. "We started out slow but then we started rolling and we knew we had it."

               Brower said they don't want to rest on just this goal, they still have the goal of finishing the sub-region unbeaten.

               "Coach Harnish said he has never had a team unbeaten so that would be a good goal to have," she said.

               WNCC has three regular season games left as they hit the road for two sub-region contests on Tuesday against McCook and then Thursday at Eastern Wyoming. The Cougars can go 12-0 in the sub-region with two wins. The Cougars will then wrap up the regular season on Feb. 27 when they host Northwest Kansas Technical College.

               Saturday, however, the Cougars played their usual strong defensive game. WNCC started the contest slow, leading just 11-6 but heated up to lead 30-16 at intermission. The Cougars then outscored the Trojans 42-22 for their 14th win of the season.

               Brower said they solved the zone defense of the Trojans by penetrating. Still, the Cougars buried eight 3-pointers on the night. Brower led the team from beyond the arc, nailing 3 of 4 treys.. Shalisa Moffit also contributed two 3-pointers on the day.

               The Cougars shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half, but heated up in the second half, burying 48 percent of their shots.

               WNCC had three players finish in double figures. After Brower's 16 points, Moffit and Gritt Ryder each had 12 points. Ryder also led the team with five steals. Laurin Rivera paced the team with six assists, while Jessica Aratani pulled down eight rebounds.

WNCC                  30 42 -- 72

Trinidad               16 22 -- 38

WNCC

Mikayla Brower 16, Kelsey Doddridge 3, Gritt Ryder 12, Ashley Stevens 2, Jessica Aratani 7, Laurin Rivera 5, Shalisa Moffit 12, Katie Kerkhoff 4, Maurissa Ortega 4, Simone Evans 3, Michelle BRassard 4.

Duran smashes two home runs, Cougars take down Odessa

               MIDLAND, Texas -- Western Nebraska Community College's Bianca Duran smashed two home runs and the Cougar softball team earned an impressive win over Odessa College 10-7 in the Midland Tournament on Saturday.

               The Cougars, however, couldn't stay unbeaten in the tournament, falling 3-2 in eight innings to Lubbock Christian junior varsity to finish the tournament at 4-1. WNCC will return to action today when they play Midland College in a doubleheader.

               WNCC got the offense cranked up early in the Odessa game in the first five innings. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Duran solo shot and followed that up with a four-run second inning for a  5-1 lead. The second saw the Cougars rap out five hits, including runs-scoring doubles by Angel Council and Lindsey Shiels-Brophy, and another double by Kasey Cash.

               After scoring a single run in the third, the Cougars scored two runs in the fourth on back-to-back home runs by Duran and Jennifer Cottle for an 8-2 lead, before adding two more in the fifth.

               WNCC had four players finish with multiple hits. Jennifer Cottle led the way with a 3-for-4 game with three RBIs and a home run. Duran went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs scored and two home runs, while Council and Danielle Hearn each finished with two hits each.

               Duran picked up the win, going all seven innings. The sophomore from Westminster, Colo., scattered 11 runs, gave up seven runs of which only three were earned, and struck out one.

               The second game was a classic battle between two schools. The Cougars played well except for scoring more runs then Lubbock Christian. The game was a pitcher's duel until the fifth when the Cougars scored twice. Kayla Romey belted a triple to score Melanie Rowson for the first run of the game. Romey came around to score on a Council double.

               Lubbock Christian then scored twice in the sixth before scoring the winning run in the eighth inning.

               Ravae Herrera took the loss in the circle for the Cougars.

               Offensively, the Cougars had seven hits to Lubbock Christian's three.

First Game

WNCC                  141 220 0 -- 10 15 5

Odessa                 102 000 4 -- 7 11 4

WP -- Bianca Duran; 2B -- Angel Council, Kasey Cash, Lindsey Shiels-Brophy, Ravae Herrera; HR -- Duran 2, Jennifer Cottle.

Second Game

WNCC                  000 020 00 -- 2 7 3

LBJV                      000 002 01 -- 3 3 0

LP -- Herrera; 2B -- Council; 3B -- Kayla Romey.

Cougar men fall to Trinidad State

               TRINIDAD, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team couldn't find an answer to a red-hot shooting Trinidad State Junior College team that shot 58 percent from the field on their way to a 93-72 South Sub-Region win over the Cougars Saturday afternoon.

               "They ]Trinidad] came out ready to play and they shot 50 percent from the field even as much defense that we threw at them," WNCC coach Russ Beck said. "We ran into them when they were playing for something [after losing last night]."

               Shooting was definitely a big key in the contest. Trinidad shot 58 percent from the field and buried nine 3-pointers. Devonte Malcolm had the hot hand from beyond the arc, burying seven treys.

               WNCC, on the other hand, shot 47 percent from the floor and made 6 of 19 3-pointers. Rich Williams led the team with three treys.

               Beck said a big key was how Trinidad played as a team, dishing out 28 assists and committing only 12 turnovers. WNCC turned the ball over just 12 points as well.

               WHCC had had two players in double figures. Ward tossed in 24 points followed by Quante Cooley with 12 points. Williams followed with nine points while Sebastian Suarez had eight points.

               Malcolm led Trinidad with 27 points followed by Tre'von Wilkerson with 19 points.

               WNCC will be back in action next week with three sub-region contests. The Cougars travel to McCook on Tuesday and Eastern Wyoming on Thursday before returning home for a Friday afternoon game against North Platte Community College at 4 p.m.

WNCC                  38 35 -- 73

Trinidad               50 43 -- 93

WNCC

Tahir Little 7, Quante Cooley 12, Charles Ward 24, Sebastian Suarez 8, Cody Johnson 6, Trey Moore 2, Chad Calcaterra 5.