Lady Indians split games with Hastings JV
The McCook Community College softball team split a pair of games Wednesday at home against the Hastings Junior Varsity, winning the first game 8-0 and losing the second game 2-1.
'We couldn't get anything going at the plate today," said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. "We were just going through the motions."
Sophomore Lexi Knapp (Berthoud, Colo.) tossed a two-hit shutout over five innings in Game 1 and went three-for-three at the plate with two RBIs.
Hastings JV pushed across the winning run in the seventh inning of Game 2. MCC loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning but couldn't push any runs home.
MCC goes to 37-7 on the year.
The Lady Indians host Trinidad State Friday and Saturday at the Jaycees Sports Complex with doubleheaders starting at noon Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
"We have one day to get better and prepare for our most important regions games yet," said Mendenhall. "We will be better this weekend."
MCC continues its hold on first place in the Region IX standings with a 14-2 record. Otero is second at 15-5, Western Nebraska third at 10-6, Trinidad State is fourth at 9-7, Northeastern JC and Luna are tied for fifth at 5-11 and Lamar is seventh at 2-18.
GAME 1 – McCook 8, Hastings JV 0: Lexi Knapp and sophomore Anna Elliott (Calgary, Alberta) both singled to lead off the MCC second and with two outs sophomore Rocio Mascorro (Brownsville, Texas) put MCC up 1-0 with an RBI-single.
Sophomore Laila Gutierrez (Seminole, Texas) singled with one out in the second, stole second and came home on a Bronco error and with two outs Knapp singled home a run to give MCC a 3-0 lead.
Knapp hit her pitching stride in the fifth when she set down the Hastings order with three straight strikeouts on 15 pitches.
MCC put the game away with five runs in the bottom fifth. Gutierrez singled and stole second, and scored on an RBI-single by freshman Payton Kinsley (Didsbury, Alberta). Knapp followed with an RBI-single and MCC scored two runs scored on wild pitch and a Hastings JV error. Freshman Peytann Weiland (Aurora, Colo.) ended the game on the eight-run rule with an RBI-single.
Knapp gave up two singles in five innings of work in the pitching circle. She walked one and struck out six.
Knapp also paced the offense with a three-for-three game and two RBIs. Gutierrez had two hits and four stolen bases and Moscoro had two hits and an RBI.
GAME 2 – Hastings JV 2, McCook 1: A two-out MCC error and a Bronco double gave the Hastings JC a 1-0 lead in the first.
Laila Gutierrez (Seminole, Texas) was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first, she stole second and third and scored on an RBI-groundout by freshman Haley Emmerson (Sterling, Colo.).
The score remained 1-1 and neither team put more than one batter on base until the seventh inning when Hastings got a leadoff single off MCC starting pitcher Olivia Moorhead (freshman, Hershey). Moorhead allowed six hits in her six-plus innings of work, she didn't walk a hitter and struck out two.
The Broncos got a sacrifice hit when freshman Kaliyah St. Amand (Duncan, British Columbia) entered the game in the pitching circle for MCC. A groundout put the got-ahead run to third base with two outs and the runner scored on a passed ball.
Rocio Mascorro doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh for MCC. St. Amand beat out an infield single (Brownsville, Texas) and a Bronco error loaded the bases, but MCC was unable to score with an infield popout, a line drive out at third and a game-ending groundout.
St. Amand allowed two singles and a strikeout in the seventh inning.
Hastings outhit MCC 6-4. In addition to the seventh-inning hits by Mascorro and St. Amand, the Lady Indians got a leadoff single by Freshman Audrey Reeves (Sterling, Colo.) in the third and a two-out single by freshman Cassidy Fenske (Gibbons, Alberta) in the fourth.