MJCAA Western District baseball schedule set for this weekend

Cleveland Field will be filled with exciting baseball action this weekend as Western Nebraska Community College gets set to host the NJCAA Western District Tournament this weekend.

WNCC earned the right to host the 3-team playoff after winning their first Region IX baseball title. The winner of the playoff will advance to the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., May 26-June 2.

Western Nebraska will be joined in the tournament by Central Arizona College, the Region 1 winner, and Western Nevada Community College, the Region 18 winner.

Thursday’s action will be a round-robin format with Western Nebraska (29-27) facing Central Arizona (42-19) at 1 p.m. to open the district playoff. Then, Western Nevada (36-22-2) will take on Central Arizona at 4 p.m. The Cougars will then battle the other WNCC team, the Wildcats from Nevada, at 7 p.m. to finish out the day.

Friday’s and Saturday’s action will be determined by Thursday’s results. Friday’s game will be played at 7 p.m. while Saturday’s game will tip-off at 1 p.m.

Admission for the Western District is $6 for adults, and $3 for students, children and senior citizens.

WNCC nearly doubles regular season home run total wiht 19 dingers at regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team showed some finesse from the plate at the Region IX tournament over the weekend.

The Cougars entered the tournament with 22 home runs and just in a two-day period, the team nearly doubled that mark, collecting 19 round-trippers in the six games at regionals, which they placed second.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff, who was named the region’s coach of the year, was amazed at the team’s power.

“Offensively up until the last game, we did a tremendous job and made great adjustments,” she said. “We did a great job putting up runs. We had a lead in the Lamar game and then had to come from behind to win in dramatic fashion. We found a way to win against North Platte. We found a way to guy it out and score 17 runs. The second go-around with Otero and putting up 11 runs is a big moral victory for us. We just ran out of gas in the championship. Mentally and physically we just couldn’t get over the hump after playing four games in one day.”

WNCC’s power in the tournament not was only from their 19 home runs, but also the 15 doubles they collected. In fact, eight of the nine batters recorded at least one home run

Freshman Lauren Bourdon was the big hitter, doubling her season home run total from four to eight. Bourdon had two huge dingers in the team’s 11-7 win over Otero Junior College in the first championship game.

Bourdon had a second-inning 3-run blast to start the scoring for both teams. She then added a solo shot in the seventh inning to add an insurance run to force an if-ncessary game.

Bourdon also had home runs in the first game against Otero Junior College, which WNCC lost 8-7, and a home run in the team’s 13-5 win over McCook Community College in the team’s opener.

Sophomores Ashley Eichelberger and Jessica Ventoza also provided some punch as each dinged three home runs. Eichelberger had home runs against North Platte, a 2-run blast in the win against Lamar Community College to win the game, and a 2-run shot in the win against Otero.

Ventoza’s three home runs were all 2-run shots against Lamar, in the Otero win, and in the first Otero loss. Ventoza also added three doubles to her totals while hitting 15-of-23 for the game, including a 4-for-4 day in the 8-7 loss to Otero.

Amanda Hensley, Jessie McNabb, Amanda Torimaru and Lauren Mills each collected two home runs, while Kara Ryman had one. Winn-Ratliff said that Ryman and Eichelberger each could have had another one – both in the 8-7 loss to Otero. Ryman’s, the coach said, would have been a first-inning grand slam, while Eichelberger’s was a deep flyout to lead off the seventh.

While the reality of the season is closed, Winn-Ratliff was extremely excited in watching her team play never give up in the games.

“The kids were extremely gutsy and, really, it was anybodies opportunity to win it,” she said. “You saw McCook pick up a win, which his great for their program, North Platte upsets the three seed and goes all the way to finish third. The championship game couldn’t be more then what the fans asked for. I wish we had a little bit better showing in the if game, but it is by far the most exciting regional tournament I participated.”

The Cougars performance this season shows a lot for next year. Not only did the team post the most wins in school history with 36, they also set a number of other hitting records. And, with 11 players eligible to come back next year, WNCC should be one of the favorites to win the regional title.

“We are going to have the best returning class and we are going to return the most experience in the league,” she said. “That is something that is going to be great for us next year and something for us to build on.”

The team also put seven players on the all-region team as well having the Region IX coach of the year.

Earning first team honors were infielders Jessica Ventoza, Jessie McNabb and Kara Ryman, outfielder Lauren Mills, and pitcher Natasha Dypchey. Second team honors went to Ashley Eichelberger and Amanda Hensley. Winn-Ratliff was also voted as the coach of the year. But, she said that it was her players that stepped up when needed, and the future looks bright for Cougar softball.

“We playing 57 ball games, 49 with 11 kids, and had seven kids on the all-region team – three of which are first-team infield. That says a lot about us,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I think we had one of the best infields in the league and obviously other coaches thought that as well.

Winning 36 games was huge. Our goal was 40 and we fell a little short of that. Still, I couldn’t be more prouder of this bunch of the way the kids played hurt and injured. We were all on the same goal of wanting to play at Plant City, Fla., [the site of the national tournament] and we were closer then we ever been. I hope we continue to have success, get more kids on the all-region team and pick up more wins in the future and see where it gets us.”

WNCC 130 201 0 – 7 9 1
Otero 000 260 x – 8 7 1
LP – Jessica Pexton; HR – Ventoza, Hensley, Bourdon.

North Platte 303 404 2 – 16 19 5
WNCC 002 703 5 – 17 18 2
WP – Dypchey; 2B – Mills, Foster 2; HR – Hensley, McNabb, Eichelberger, Mills, Ryman.

WNCC 030 133 1 – 11 15 1
Otero 003 040 0 – 7 12 0
WP – Pexton; 2B – Ventoza; HR – Ventoza, Eichelberger, Torimaru, Bourdon 2.

WNCC (36-21) 000 01 – 1 4 4
Otero 612 4 – 13 12 2
LP – Dypchey.

WNCC softball team finishes second at regional tournament, seven players earn all-region

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team’s spectacular run at the Region IX softball tournament just came up short after going 2-2 on the final day. The Cougars forced an if-necessary game against the host team Otero Junior College, defeating the Rattlers 11-7 in the first championship game.

But, Otero was too strong in the final game, taking the title 13-1 over WNCC. For the tournament, though, WNCC show-cased themselves well. The team hit 19 home runs in the two-day tournament, and saw seven players earn all-region honors -- five on the first team.

It was also the second straight year that WNCC has finished second in the region. They also finished the season with a school-record 36 wins. And, they did it with a freshman-dominated team with just two sophomores on this year’s team – Ashley Eichelberger and Jessica Ventoza.

WNCC earned that berth in the championship game with two exciting wins. After falling into the loser’s bracket by a heart-wrenching loss to Otero 8-7, WNCC came back and defeated North Platte Community College 17-16 and then Otero 11-7 to set up a second championship.

In that second title contest, Otero jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and never looked back.

In earlier action, WNCC held a 6-2 lead over Otero in the morning game only to watch the Rattler’s score six runs to take the game 8-7. WNCC did have a change late, but Ashley Eichelberger’s long ball was caught a the fence before the outfielder tumbled over the fence.

That set up a contest with North Platte. The Knights grabbed a 10-2 lead after three innings. WNCC responded with seven runs in the fourth on three home runs, and went on to win 17-16. Natasha Dypchey picked up the win to send the Cougars into the championship needing to defeat the Rattlers twice.

They accomplished that first goal registering the 11-7 win as Pexton picked up the win and Dypchey getting the save. Both teams were tied at 3-3 after three innings, before the Cougars regained the lead 4-3 on a Amanda Torimaru solo home run.

The Cougars pushed the lead to 7-4 in the fifth inning on home runs by Eichelberger and Lauren Mills, before adding four more runs in the sixth inning for the 11-7 win and forcing the if necessary game.

Earning first team all-region honors for the 36-21 Cougars were infielders Jessica Ventoza, Jessie McNabb and Kara Ryman; pitcher Natasha Dypchey; and outfielder Lauren Mills. Ashley Eichelberger and Amanda Hensley each earned second team all-region honors.

Saturday’s Region IX Tournament Scores
Lamar 15, Dawson 3
Otero 8, WNCC 7
North Platte 10, Lamar 2
WNCC 17, North Platte 16
WNCC 11, Otero 7
Otero 13, WNCC 1

WNCC softball team wins two at regionals, Eichelberger hits walk-off home run in win over Lamar; teams hits five homers for the day

LA JUNTA, Colo. — The Western Nebraska Community College softball team belted five home runs in the first day of the Region IX tournament in La Junta, Colo. But, it was sophomore Ashley Eichelberger’s seventh-inning, 2-run walk-off home run that proved the biggest in powering the Cougars to a thrilling 9-8 comeback win over Lamar Community College.

The Cougars, 34-19, opened the tourney defeating McCook Community College 13-5 behind home runs by Amanda Torimaru, Lauren Bourdon, and Jessie McNabb. Jessica Ventoza chipped in a home run in the second game as well.

The two wins Friday puts the Cougars into a 10 a.m. winner’s bracket contest against Otero Junior College today. Otero was a 9-1 winner over North Platte Community College.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff was impressed with the team’s long ball hitting. “Five home runs is nice, obviously, but we would take a bunch of doubles as well,” she said. “Some big things happened in the games and some kids stepped up. We hope they can carry it over to our games [today].”

The way the team came back against Lamar was huge. The team led 5-2 heading into the seventh inning only to see the Runnin’ Lopes notch two 3-run home runs to grab an 8-5 lead. WNCC came back with two home runs of its own in the
bottom of the frame.

Bourdon led off by drawing a walk. Then, with one out, Ventoza rocketed a shot over the centerfield fence to cut the deficit to 8-7. Three batters later and with two outs, Eichelberger delivered the killer hit, sky-rocketing a shot over the left-field fence for the game winner.

“I thought we hit real well. We started out the Lamar game, jumping out on top and then fizzled out a little bit,” Winn-Ratliff said. “We then showed up to play and swung the bats in the seventh inning.”

Jessica Pexton picked up the win pitching the final two-thirds inning in relief of Natasha Dypchey. Pexton got the final two Lamar batters on a sacrifice and a strikeout. Dypchey went 6 1/3 with three strikeouts and three walks to get the no-decision.

WNCC had five players record multiple hits. Ventoza, Hensley and Ryman each went 2-for-3, while McNabb and Eichelberger went 2-for-4. Ventoza finished the game with three runs scored, two RBIs and a home run, while Hensley went two runs scored, an RBI and a double. Ryman had two RBIs and two singles, followed by McNabb with two runs scored, two RBIs and a double, and Eichelberger with two RBIs, a run scored and a home run.

WNCC’s strong hitting in the Lamar contest was a carryover from the tourney opener against McCook, where they pounded out 17 hits, including eight extra base dingers. In that contest, McCook grabbed a 3-0 lead on a home run, only to see the Cougars come back with eight runs in the third inning.

Torimaru started things with a towering 3-run home run followed by a Bourdon solo shot. The Cougars capped off the scoring on a Ventoza run-scoring double. WNCC added four more runs in the fifth inning on a McNabb 3-run home run and a Torimaru run-scoring double,

Pexton picked up the win, scattering seven hits, while striking out six and walking four.

Six Cougars finished with multiple hit games. Ventoza and Torimaru finished with 3-for-4 efforts. Ventoza had two runs scored and a double, while Torimaru had four RBIs, two doubles and a home run.

Also collecting two hits were Hensley, Eichelberger, McNabb and Bourdon. Hensley had two runs scored and three RBIs, Eichelberger had a double and runs scored, McNabb finished with two runs scored, three RBIs and a home run, and Bourdon had two runs scored, an RBI, a double and home run.

Other scores in the regional tournament included North Platte Community College downing Dawson Community College 5-2, Lamar defeating Trinidad State Junior College 11-1, and McCook eliminating Trinidad State 10-7. North Platte eliminated and McCook 18-1.

First Game
McCook 003 020 — 5 7
WNCC 008 041 — 13 17
WP — Pexton, 2B — Torimaru 2, Ventoza, Bourdon, Eichelberger; HR — Torimaru, Bourdon, McNabb.

Second Game
Lamar 000 011 6 — 8 6 1
WNCC (34-19) 203 000 4 — 9 10 2
WP — Pexton; 2B — McNabb,Ventoza, Hensley; HR — Ventoza, Eichelberger.