LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team went 1-1 on the first day of the Region IX softball tournament Friday at Lamar, Colorado.
WNCC scored two 8th-inning runs against top-seeded Lamar Community College in registering the 6-4 win in the first round. The Cougars then fell 8-6 in the winner's bracket final to Otero Junior College.
Other action in the tournament saw Otero defeated Trinidad 2-1. Trinidad State then eliminated the top-seed Lamar Friday night with a 4-2 win.
WNCC will face Trinidad State in an elimination game on Saturday at noon. The winner will have a date with Otero at 3 p.m. in the championship. WNCC will need to win three straight, including an if-necessary game on Sunday to win the championship.
The WNCC and Lamar contest was a championship-type of contest. Lamar, who defeated WNCC six times during the regular season jumped to a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Cougars sliced the lead in half with a single run in the third as Madi Jackson rips a 2-out triple to score Alyssa Guymon.
Lamar responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning for a 4-1 lead. After that, the Cougar defense stepped up to hold Lamar scoreless in the next five innings, including stopping the Lopes from scoring with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
In the meantime, WNCC started its comeback with a single run in the fifth on a Gabby Loya single that scored Guymon.
WNCC tied the game in the sixth. Lamar walked the bases loaded. With two outs, Doumer reaches on an error that scores one run. Jackson then walked to bring in the tying run.
Neither team scored in the seventh. The eighth inning saw Marlee Grant and Guymon each single. Doumer then rips a double to plate Grant with the go-ahead run. Jackson hits a sacrifice fly to plate an insurance run.
WNCC finished the game with nine hits. Jackson led the way with a 3-for-4 game with a triple and three RBIs. Alyssa Guymon finished with two hits with three runs scored. Guymon had two walks. Doumer had the only other extra base hit with a double.
McMillan picked up the win, going eight innings in allowing 10 hits and four early runs. McMillan struck out four and walked four while tossing 162 pitches.
The game with Otero proved to be an offensive game as the two teams combined for 23 hits and 14 runs. WNCC struck first with Doumer ripping a solo home run.
Otero responded with three in the second for a 3-1 lead. WNCC came back to plate a single run in the third as Michaela Kelly ripped a 2-out double to score Doumer and cut the lead to 3-2.
Otero went up 4-2 with a run in the fifth. That was when WNCC started the comeback, scoring two in the sixth to knot the game at four. McMillan doubles to score Kelly for one run and then Grant got a 2-out double to score McMillan to tie the contest.
WNCC couldn't hold Otero down in the sixth as the Rattlers scored four times on four hits. All four runs came with two outs.
The Cougars did get a comeback in the seventh, scoring twice. The first run came as Kelly doubled home Jackson and the second run came on a Reagan Solomon sacrifice fly.
WNCC finished with 11 hits with six of them going for extra bases. Kelly led the way with three hits, including two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Doumer and Jackson each had two hits. Doumer had a home run with two RBIs and a run scored, while Jackson had a double with a run scored.
Grant finished with a double and a run scored, while McMillan had a double with a RBI and run scored.
Game 1
WNCC 001 012 02 – 6 9 1
Lamar 202 000 00 – 4 10 1
WP – Emma McMillan
2B – Brooke Doumer
3B – Madi Jackson
Game 2
WNCC 101 002 2 – 6 11 1
Otero 030 014 x – 8 12 2
LP – Reagan Solomon
2B – Marlee Grant, Madi Jackson, Michaela Kelly 2, Emma McMillan
HR – Brooke Doumer