It was a mixture of games between the Western Nebraska Community College and Otero College softball teams Thursday at Volunteer Field in Scottsbluff.

                The first game saw Otero hit 10 home runs in registering the 33-3 win over the Cougars. The second game was a little different story as WNCC scored first and led late before Otero got a seventh-inning home run to earn the 13-12 win.

                The Cougars will wrap up the regular season this weekend, hosting McCook Community College in five games. Saturday and Sunday's contests are doubleheaders starting at 12 noon and Monday will be just one game at 11 a.m. Sunday will also be sophomore recognition before the game.

                The second contest was a battle with the Cougars scoring first with two in the top of the first. Erin Hurst and Chloe Cronquist each got on with a walk. Hurst scored on a sacrifice fly and Cronquist scored on a Morgan Dustin single.

                Otero came back in the bottom of the second with three runs and then plated another run in the third for a 4-2 lead. WNCC got one back n the fourth when Baylie Krueger reached on an error and came in to scored on a fielder's choice hit to make it 4-3.

                The Rattlers added a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an 8-3 lead. WNCC mounted a comeback, scoring six in the sixth to take a 9-8 lead.

                Dustin started things with a walk and then Sianna Lewis hammered a 2-run home run to cut the lead to 8-5. Plorin than singled and the Cougars loaded the bases on walks by Bree Henson and Wharton. Plorin scored on a Devyn Priselac single. Cronquist then scored Henson on a sacrifice fly and Wharton and Priselac scored on a DemiRae Woolsey triple to take the 9-8 lead.

                Otero answered with three in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead at 11-9.

                WNCC mounted a seventh-inning rally as Plorin and Henson each reached base with one-out singles. Plorin scores on a Wharton double. Priselac then earned a walk to put two on with two outs. Cronquist then hammered a ball that should have been a home run, but the ball hit the yellow edging on the fence and she had a double by inches that scored two runs as the Cougars took a 12-11 lead.

                The bottom of the seventh saw Otero's Ana Medeiros get a one-out 2-run, walk-off home run for the winner.

                WNCC and Otero each had 11 hits in the contest. Plorin led the Cougars with a 3-for-4 game with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Wharton had two hits, a double and two runs scored. Cronquist had three RBIs in the contest.

                The first game was all Otero as they scored 12 in the first and 11 in the third to lead 28-3 after three innings. WNCC scored three runs, two in the second and one in the third. The second saw Woolsey reach on an error. Woolsey would come in to score on a Dustin single. Lewis followed with a single and Henson walked to load the bases. Dustin would then score on a double-play ball.

                WNCC scored another run in the third as Erin Hurst tripled and scored on a Cronquist sacrifice fly.

                Wharton led the Cougars with two hits. Hurst had the only extra-base hit with a triple.

Game 1
Otero                    (12)5(11) 14 – 33 27 2
WNCC                   021 00 – 3 6 6
LP – DesaRae Woolsey.
3B – Erin Hurst.

Game 2
WNCC                   200 106 3 – 12 11 6
Otero                    031 133 2 – 13 11 2
LP – Caley Leslie.
2B – Chloe Cronquist, Arianah Plorin, Victoria Wharton.
3B – DemiRae Woolsey.
HR – Sianna Lewis.