2024-25 WNCC Lady Cougar Softball News
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WNCC softball places four on Region IX Division I All-Region Team
May 15, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team was well represented on the Region IX Division I All-Region team that was released earlier this month. The Cougars placed three players on the first team and one on honorable mention. WNCC finished runner-up at the regional tournament, falling to McCook Community College in the championship game. McCook placed nine players on the All-Region team. WNCC finished 27-25 on the season. -
WNCC softball ends season with runner-up finish at regionals
May 04, 2025MCCOOK – It wasn’t the way the Western Nebraska Community College softball team wanted to end their season, but finishing runner-up at the Region IX tournament after not making the tournament a year ago, goes a long ways in the growth and improvement of the team this season. WNCC needed to win twice to claim a regional title on Sunday in McCook. The Indians, who set a school record of most wins in a season with 47, captured the Region IX title with a 9-1 win over WNCC. The Cougars finished the season at 27-25 and had many highs to the season. “We had a great season all-around and I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” sophomore catcher Randi Mitchell said. “The turnaround from not even going to regionals last year to getting second really showed the hard work we put in with a brand new group of girls. Our goal from day one was Region IX champs and even though we fell short, that does not take away from our season and work we put in.”
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WNCC softball to play for a regional title on Sunday
May 03, 2025MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team is two wins away from claiming a Region IX title after splitting a pair of games at the Region IX tournament on Saturday. WNCC dropped a winner’s bracket contest in a thrilling contest to McCook Community College 2-1 in eight innings. That pushed the team to an elimination game later that night, and the Cougars took care of Otero College 11-3. WNCC will now face McCook on championship Sunday and will need to beat the Indians twice to punch their ticket to the NJCAA national tournament that will be played May 19-24 in Yuma, Arizona. Action tips off at 12 noon CST or 11 a.m. MST. If WNCC wins, the two teams will play for the title at 1:30 p.m. MST.
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WNCC softball opens regionals Friday against Otero
May 02, 2025MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team has won 14 of 16 games in the month of April as they get ready for the Region IX tournament that begins Friday in McCook and runs through Sunday with the championship game. WNCC comes into the tournament with a 25-23 record and is the third seed in the tournament. The Cougars will open tournament play Friday at 3:30 p.m. MST against second-seeded Otero College. Otero is 24-17 on the season. WNCC head coach Courtney Medina said the key for the Cougars at regionals to bring home a regional title is to keep playing the way they have been. “The key to this game (on Friday) and all the games is execution,” Medina said. “Executing the play at hand, staying grounded and just focusing on doing the job that’s being asked.”
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WNCC softball wins Region IX tourney opener over Otero
May 02, 2025MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened the Region IX tournament in McCook with an 11-5 win over No. 2 Otero College Friday. The Cougars, who pounded out 11 hits in the win, will face McCook Community College in the winner’s bracket final at 1:30 p.m. MST on Saturday. The winner of that game advances to the championship game slated for 11 a.m. MST on Sunday. McCook defeated Trinidad State 10-3 on Friday in the other first-round game.
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WNCC softball splits with McCook to wrap up regular season
April 27, 2025It was a special day at Volunteer Field on Sunday when Western Nebraska Community College and McCook Community College met for a doubleheader with a packed Volunteer Field. It was two exciting games between two of the top teams in Region IX with each team earning a win. The first game the Cougars captured a 7-6 win with a walk-off single in the seventh inning by JoLee Huffaker. Her single score Mykah Klumpp with the winning run. The second game saw McCook score five fifth-inning runs and then hold off a Cougar seventh inning rally to collect the 7-4 win. The Cougars pushed holding their opponents to under 10 runs a game to 19 straight contests. WNCC goes to 25-23 on the season and 16-8 in the conference. McCook went to 45-9 on the season and will host the Region IX tournament next weekend. The pairings have No. McCook taking on No. 4 Trinidad State at 1 p.m. MST and No. 2 Otero facing No. 3 WNCC at 3:30 p.m. MST. The tournament continues Saturday with the championship games slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. The winner of the tournament automatically qualifies for the NJCAA national tournament May 19-24 in Yuma, Arizona. While the game was both teams final regular season contest, it was a special day for the eight Cougar sophomores as they were recognized before the contest. It was also a special occasion for the 10-under softball teams from the Alliance Aftershock and the 308 United team as they got to partake in the introductions of the starting lineup on the field with the Cougar players.
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WNCC, McCook split softball games on Friday
April 25, 2025MCCOOK – Western Nebraska Community College softball team extended their win streak to 14 games with a 12-6 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday against McCook Community College in McCook. McCook came back and registered a 9-1 win in game two. McCook’s win locked up the Region IX regular season title and the right to host next week’s Region IX tournament. Pairings for the tournament will officially be released after Sunday and the only thing that is unsure of for the Region IX tournament is the fourth team, which will be either Trinidad State or Northeastern Junior College. WNCC will be the third seed while Otero will be the second seed in the regional tournament. But the regular season is not over just yet. McCook will come to Volunteer Field on Sunday for a doubleheader and it will be an important contest as the Cougars will be looking to enter the regional tournament on a win streak and will try to win the regular season series against McCook.
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WNCC softball tops Luna for 13th straight victory on Sunday
April 20, 2025LAS VEGAS, N.M. -- The Western Nebraska Community College softball team is finding their stride down the stretch as the Cougars outscore Luna Community College 52-9 in the 4-game series including taking two games on Easter Sunday for the series sweep. Easter Sunday saw the Cougars scored nine times in the fourth inning in the first game to post a 17-13 win. The second contest saw Cougar pitcher Kallie Stocking toss a 1-hitter as the Cougars got home runs from Alyssa Albaugh, Lydia Tibbals, and Tina Horton in posting the 12-3 win. Tibbals was a single away from hitting for the cycle. It was the Cougars' 13th straight win and the longest since the team won 17 games back in 2016. WNCC moves to 23-21 overall and 14-6 in conference play. “All around it’s been really fun. Coop and Kallie did a phenomenal job in the circle all weekend. They really trusted their defense behind them and showed a lot of composure when runners did get on to leave them there,” coach Courtney Medina said. “The defense has come so far and it’s nice to see their hard work pay off, everyone was going all out and bodying up balls and making hard plays look easy. “Offensively, we can execute a little bit better and the girls know that but they have really good short-term memory and are able to string together quality at bats. They shortened up and weren’t trying to do too much and they were really successful. Our playte approach was really good this weekend.”
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WNCC softball sweeps Luna for 11th straight win
April 18, 2025LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team put together another solid performance on the diamond registering a doubleheader conference sweep over Luna Community College on Friday in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Kayli Cooper had another strong performance in game one as the righthanded pitcher who was named Region IX Player of the Week earlier, tossed a one-hitter and was one batter away from a no-hitter as the Cougars won 9-0 in seven innings. The second game saw WNCC pound out 14 hits as Kallie Stocking went five innings with six strikeouts as the Cougars registered the 14-3 win in five innings. WNCC moves to 21-21 overall and are solidly in third place in the conference standings at 12-6. It was also the team’s 11th straight win. The two team will be at it Saturday for another doubleheader in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Cougars will then have the last games of the season next weekend April 25 and 27 when they face conference-leading McCook Community College on Friday in McCook and then host McCook Sunday at Volunteer Field in sophomore recognition day.
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WNCC softball sweeps NJC in dramatic fashion Monday
April 14, 2025STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team had a never-say-die attitude in their games in their games on Monday they used that attitude late in the games to capture their ninth straight wins by sweeping over Northeastern Junior College Monday in Sterling, Colorado. WNCC got a strong pitching performance from Kayli Cooper, who picked up both wins as the sophomore combined for 14 strikeouts in 13 innings of work on the day. The first game saw Cooper strike out eight as the sophomore tossed the shutout in the 3-0 win. The second game, Cooper went six innings with six strikeouts, but it was Mykah Klumpp’s 2-run home run in the seventh that tied the game and then the Cougars won 4-3 in extra innings to get the sweep. WNCC coach Courtney Medina said the team showed plenty of grit all day to get the wins.
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WNCC softball sweep NJC for 7th straight win
April 11, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team captured their seventh straight win in a doubleheader with Northeastern Junior College on Friday at Volunteer Field. The doubleheader took less than three hours to play as the Cougars moved to 8-6 in the conference and 17-21 overall. The first game was a sterling pitching performance from Kayli Cooper, who tossed a one-hitter in five innings of work with just three strikeouts as the Cougars won 10-0. The second game was another was just as impressive as Cooper got the win in the circle as the Cougars downed NJC 9-1. Both games lasted just five innings because of the 8-run rule. WNCC and NJC were slated to play Sunday in Sterling, Colorado, but those games were moved to Monday because of weather concerns. WNCC is fourth in the Region IX standings at 8-6 and are just a game out of third place, which is held by Trinidad at 9-5. Trinidad split a pair of games with Otero on Friday, winning the first 2-0 and dropping the second 10-6. Adi Duke, who went 4-for-6 on the day with two doubles, said the team played well to get the wins.
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WNCC softball picks up two wins against Lamar on Tuesday
April 08, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team captured their fifth-straight win as the Cougars topped Lamar Community College in a pair of conference games Tuesday at Volunteer Field. Game one saw Sierra Hilgner finish with two hits with three RBIs in the 8-3 win. Game two saw Randi Mitchell get a double and triple and the Cougars pounded out 13 hits in registering the 12-2, five-inning win. The win moves WNCC to 15-21 overall and 6-6 in conference play. It was the Cougars fifth straight win as they get ready to entertain Northeastern Junior College on Friday in a key conference slate. Mitchell, who went 4-for-5 on the day with two doubles and a triple, said Tuesday’s wins along with the five-game win streak is key as the Cougars continue building for the regional tournament.
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WNCC breaks scoring record with 40 runs in a game
April 07, 2025It was a record-setting day for the Western Nebraska Community College softball team as they picked up a pair of non-conference wins over Ft. Hays Tech Northwest on Monday. The first game saw Kayli Cooper toss a 2-hitter and the Cougars earned the 8-0 win in just five innings on a walk-off 2-run single my Mykah Klumpp. The second game saw the Cougars break the school record for runs in a game when they Cougars won 40-4 in a five-inning contest. The previous record was 32 runs that was scored against McCook a few years ago. WNCC pounded out 41 hits in the contest with doubles from Randi Mitchell, Jenika Fuentes, and Sierra Hilgner. Mitchell also had a triple, while Klumpp had a first-inning 3-run home run.
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WNCC softball splits one-run games on Friday with Otero
March 28, 2025Friday’s Western Nebraska Community College and Otero College conference softball games were one-run games with each team claiming a victory in thrilling fashion. Game one saw Otero jump to a 7-1 lead and then held on after a Cougar seventh-inning comeback attempt to capture the first game 7-6. The second contest saw WNCC score five runs in the fifth and sixth innings and then played some tough seventh-inning defense in posting the 8-7 win. The Cougars will be back in action on April 7 and 8 when they host a pair of doubleheaders. WNCC will host Ft. Hays Technical Northwest on Monday, April 7 and then face Lamar Community College on Tuesday, April 8. Both games were contests that were postponed from earlier in the season. Kallie Stocking, who got the pitching win in the second game, said they need to utilize the way they played on Friday for the remainder of the season.
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WNCC softball team drops two conference games to Otero
March 27, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College and Otero College softball teams soaked up the warm weather Thursday at Volunteer Field and it was the Otero bats that were hot as the Rattlers claimed the conference doubleheader. The first game saw Otero score nine runs in the third and fourth innings and that was the difference as the Rattlers won 13-10. The second game was a good pitcher’s dual as the two teams played strong in the circle and on the defense. In the end, Otero snuck out with the 4-1 win.
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WNCC softball goes 1-3 against Trinidad over the weekend
March 23, 2025TRINIDAD, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened conference play at Trinidad State College over the weekend and played some competitive games, including two extra-inning contests. WNCC managed one win over the weekend when they topped Trinidad State 8-5 on Sunday in game one, while falling in the other three games 11-3 and 6-5 in nine innings on Saturday, and then dropping a thrilling 12-11, nine-inning contest on Sunday. WNCC will be back in action this weekend at home against Otero College. Sunday’s two games were dramatic, to say the least. WNCC captured game one by scoring at least a run in five of the seven innings.
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WNCC softball falls twice to Yavapai on Tuesday
March 11, 2025PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team wrapped up their Arizona trip dropping a pair of games to Yavapai College on Tuesday. The first game saw WNCC manage just two hits as Yavapai earned the 9-1 win. The second game saw WNCC limited to just two hits as Yavapai scored in all four innings for the 11-0 win.
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WNCC softball falls to Arizona Western
March 10, 2025YUMA, Arizona – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team battled Arizona Western before falling in a doubleheader 7-1 and 8-7. The first game saw the Cougars score first before Arizona Western plated seven runs to get the 7-1 win. The second game was a lot closer as WNCC was up early before allowing five late runs in the 8-7 game. The second game was one where the Cougars should have won in a game that was a battle with both teams battling back and forth.
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WNCC softball takes 3 of 4 from Dawson over the weekend
March 02, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team played strong defense, got timely hits, and had strong pitching as the Cougars took three of four games from Dawson Community College over the weekend. On Saturday, the Cougars earned a split, as they scored five sixth-inning runs in game one and captured the 5-3 win. The second game Dawson out-hit the Cougars 10-3 to claim the 8-1 win. Sunday’s contests saw the Cougars score early and then held on as Kayli Cooper went the distance in the circle allowing just three hits in the 5-2 win. The second game saw Cooper get the win in the circle in relief and it was a Mykah Klumpp sixth-inning solo home run that proved to be the winner in the 5-4 win. Cooper, the sophomore pitcher from Saskatchewan, had all three wins from the circle over the weekend. The defense was a key factor in the way the Cougars played over the weekend.
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WNCC comes back to take game two in thrilling fashion
February 26, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team battled back from an 8-2 deficit in the second game of a doubleheader with Miles Community College on Wednesday at Volunteer Field to claim the 10-8 victory to earn a split on the day. WNCC dropped game one 12-6 after Miles scored eight times in the fifth inning. WNCC will be back in action this weekend at home when they host Dawson Community College Saturday and Sunday in doubleheaders both days. Faythe Lafirenza, who went 7-for-8 on the day with three doubles and a triple. The freshman from Kingman, Arizona, said the comeback win was a team win as the team did what they needed to get the win.
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WNCC softball splits with Miles in home opener
February 25, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team had their home openers on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Volunteer Field when Miles Community College traveled from Montana to play the Cougars. The Cougars and Pioneers earned a split on the day. In the opener, WNCC scored 12 runs in the third and fourth inning to earn the 17-9 win in six innings. The nightcap saw Miles score seven times in the fifth and then held on for the 10-7 win. The two squads will be back in action Wednesday for another doubleheader at Volunteer Field with first pitch slated for 11 a.m. Game one was an offensive battle as the two squads combined for 26 runs and 29 hits.
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WNCC softball team wraps up Texas trip with six games against ranked teams
February 16, 2025The Western Nebraska Community College softball team went to Texas to play six games against some top competition. While they went 0-6 on the road trip, they had some competitive contests. WNCC opened the trip against the 13th-ranked Trinity Valley Community College. On Friday, the Cougars fell to the Cardinals 9-1 and 8-0. On Saturday, WNCC faced TVCC once again and lost 8-0 and 6-3. Then, on Sunday, the Cougars faced 16th-ranked Paris Junior College and dropped a couple competitive games, falling in game one 9-2 and then losing a heartbreaker where starting pitcher Kayli Cooper went the distance, striking out seven, before Paris won 3-0.
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WNCC softball splits contests with Cisco on Saturday
February 08, 2025CISCO, Texas – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team moved to 2-2 on the season after splitting a doubleheader with Cisco College on Saturday in Texas. The Cougars dropped the first game 12-1 but came back with a big seventh inning as Alyssa Albaugh a go-ahead 2-run double to help the Cougars to the 7-6 win. The second game was a barn-burner as the two teams stayed with each other from the get-go. After a scoreless first inning, Cisco went up 1-0 with a run in the second.
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WNCC softball opens season with a split with Ranger
February 07, 2025RANGER, Texas – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team earned a split with Ranger College on Friday to open the season in Ranger, Texas. WNCC started slow in the first game and then had their comeback come up one run short in falling 6-5. The second game was a different story as Jenika Fuentes tossed a complete game in giving the Cougars the 7-3 win. WNCC will wrap up the Texas trip with a pair of games against Cisco Community College on Saturday.
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WNCC softball team opens competition this weekend in Texas
February 03, 2025The goal for the Western Nebraska Community College softball team is to win a Region IX title and it is a goal that has realistic potential with the talent level of this year’s team. The Cougars will begin that goal of a regional title when they open this weekend at Ranger College and Cisco Community Colleges in Texas. WNCC head coach Courtney Medina, who is in her third year at the college, believes this team has the potential to do good things. “The goal is simple; get better every day and have a lot of grit and compete. We don't want to get too wrapped up into anything else,” Medina said. “Everyone wants to win a Region IX title; our goal is to focus on the path to get there. It’s about the journey, not the destination.”
