LAUNTA, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community softball team split a conference doubleheader on Sunday with Otero Junior College.

                The first game saw WNCC score eight, fifth-inning runs to capture the 11-8 win. The second contest say Otero score in the bottom of the seventh to escape with the 3-2 win.

                The Cougars will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Northeastern Junior College for another Region IX conference contest.

                In the opener, the Cougars fell behind the 8-ball early, trailing 6-1 after the second inning. WNCC never lost sight and came bouncing back with authority, plating eight runs on four hits in the fifth inning.

                The fifth-inning rally started with a Kenzie Sawyer double followed by Haille Weber earning a walk. After two errors and another walk, WNCC had the bases loaded and the offense continued to hit all cylinders as Andy Hancock and Courtney Medina had run-scoring singles before Christian Bobian ripped a 3-run triple for the 10-6 lead.

                WNCC added an insurance run in the sixth as Jasmine Wessel led off with a solo home run.

                Hancock then preceded to shut down the Otero bats, allowing just single runs in the sixth and seventh for the win.

                Hancock tossed seven innings in allowing just three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Whitney Fields started and allowed five runs on four hits.

                Offensively, the Cougars had 10 hits, including four extra base hits. Hancock, Medina, and Weber all had two hits. Medina had two runs scores and an RBI. Wessel finished the game with one hit with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Lauren Oxford also scored two runs.

                The second game was a defensive contest as neither team scoring a lot of runs. WNCC went ahead 2-1 with two runs in the third on just one hit. Bobian scored the first run with a run-scoring double. Bobian later came home on a Weber fielder's choice for the 2-1 lead.

                Otero tied the game in the fifth with a single run and won the game with a single run in the seventh with two outs.

                Bobian had the only extra base hit for the Cougars with her double. She also had a run scored, a RBI, and a stolen base. All the other hits were singles.

                Conference standings so far have Trinidad and McCook on top at 4-0 with Otero and WNCC at 2-2. Lamar and NJC are next at 0-4.

First Game

WNCC                   011 081 0 – 11 10 3

Otero                    510 001 1 – 8 11 5

WP – Andy Hancock; 2B – Courtney Medina, Kenzie Sawyer; 3B – Christian Bobian; HR – Jasmine Wessel.

Second Game

WNCC (6-4)        002 000 0 – 2 5 1

Otero (6-10)       010 010 1 – 3 8 0

LP – Whitney Fields; 2B – Bobian.