The Western Nebraska Community College softball team closed out the regular season with a doubleheader defeat to Lamar Community College on Sunday at Volunteer Field.

                Game one saw WNCC had 4-1 and then Lamar had two big innings, a 4-run sixth and a 6-run eighth to claim the 11-6, extra-inning affair.

                The second game saw the same thing with Lamar scoring in four of the five innings, including an 8-run third inning to claim the 13-4 win.

                WNCC will now enter the Region IX tournament that begins Sunday. Pairings will be released later this week.

                The first game saw Lamar grab a 1-0 lead after scoring in the first. WNCC came back with three in the third and a single run in the fourth. The third inning runs came with two outs. Briana Henson led off by drawing a walk followed by a single by Emma Schwietzer. Bailey Blanchard then drove in both runs with a double. Blanchard scored on a misplayed flyball to the outfield for the 3-1 lead.

                WNCC added a single run in the fourth as Bella Coffman walked and scored on a Chloe Cronquist sacrifice fly for the 4-1 lead.

                WNCC pitcher Lexi Butterfield was cruising with some fine defensive plays behind her until the sixth with Lamar scored four runs to take a 5-4 lead. Lamar had three hits, including a home run and two fielding errors.

                WNCC came back to tie the game with a run in the sixth. Butterfield led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cronquist.

                Neither team scored in the seventh,

                The extra inning saw Lamar score six times on seven hits to take an 11-5 lead. WNCC tried a eighth-inning comeback as Butterfield walked and Chayden Chong was hit by a pitch. Hanafin had a single to load the bases and Butterfield scored on a Cronquist sacrifice fly, but that was all WNCC could get.

                WNCC was led at the plate by Hanafin with two hits, including a double. Blanchard had two RBIs with a double and Cronquist had three RBIs.

                The second game saw both teams score one in the first. WNCC’s first run came as Blanchard singled and scored on a free pass that force in a run.

                Lamar added three in the second to take a 4-1 lead and then put the game away with an 8-run third inning to lead 12-1.

                WNCC tried to come back as they score one in the third as Butterfield singled and scored on a Hanafin single to slice the lead to 12-2.

                The Cougars’ defense then put down the Lamar offense 1-2-3 in the fourth. The offense came back to score twice in the fourth themselves. Schweitzer led off with a single followed by Blanchard reaching base via a walk. Chong loaded the bases with a single. Bella Coffman scored two runs with a single to cut the lead to 12-4.

                Lamar added a single run in the fifth to go up 13-4. That meant WNCC needed two runs in the fifth to keep the game going, but that didn’t happen as Lamar got the win.

                WNCC finished the game with six hits. Coffman had a single with two RBIs, while Blanchard scored came across home plate twice for two runs.

Game 1

Lamar                    010 004 06 – 11 14 2

WNCC                   003 101 01 – 6 6 2

LP – Lexi Butterfield.

2B – Bailey Blanchard, Erin Hanafin.

Game 2

Lamar                    138 01 – 13 10 0

WNCC                   101 20 – 4 6 3

LP – Chayden Chong.

WNCC baseball falls to McCook 12-1, will travel to Trinidad for first-round of playoffs

MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team suffered a 12-1 5-inning defeat to McCook Community College on Sunday in the last regular season contest.

                The Cougars will now turn their attention to the Region IX tournament where they will face Trinidad State Junior College on Friday in Trinidad, Colorado, with the winn advancing to the Region IX tournament the following weekend.

                Sunday’s contest saw McCook belt five home runs in the win. The Indians started with three runs in the first before WNCC came back with a run in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-1. Jack Jones belted a double to score Luis Alcantara with the run.

                McCook answered with a 7-run bottom of the fourth to lead 10-1 and put the game away with two runs in the fifth for the 10-run rule game-ending play.

                WNCC managed just four hits in the contest. Jones had the only extra base hit with a double. Also getting singles in the contest were Quinn McCafferty, Alcantara, and Riley Schanaman.

                Dawson Hurford suffered the loss on the mound, going three innings in allowing three runs and striking out five. Will Potter went one inning with seven runs given up and four hits, while Jerson Morales gave up two runs with a strikeout.

WNCC                   000 10 – 1 4 2

McCook               300 72 – 12 8 0

LP – Dawson Hurford.

2B – Jack Jones.

WNCC soccer teams fall to Trinidad State on Sunday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team had a rough Sunday in falling in a conference contest to Trinidad State Junior College on Sunday at the Landers Soccer Complex.

                The Cougar men game up three goals in falling to the Trojans 3-0 in conference action.

                The Cougars contest was competitive as Trinidad scored two first-half goals. The first game from Adolfo Velasquez off an assist from Connor Starr for a 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the contest. With 19 minutes left in the half, Trinidad’s Romario Harding booted in a penalty kick for the 2-0 halftime lead.

                The second half saw just one score as Guilherme Caldas scored off a Starr assist for the 3-0 win.

                Trinidad State controlled the offense with 21 shots, three of which were on goal. WNCC had just two shots, both on goal.

                WNCC goalkeeper Mario Mejia had 11 saves in net.

                The WNCC men will have a few days off as they will next be in action Friday when they host Casper College. The Cougar men were supposed to host Laramie County Community College on Wednesday, but that contest was canceled.

WNCC women fall to Trinidad State 7-2

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team spotted Trinidad State Junior College five, first-half goals and then played the Trojans even in the second half, but couldn’t make up the first-half deficit in falling 7-2.

                The Cougars Andrea Jimenez scored both goals for the Cougars, but it was the Trojans first-half that was the difference.

                Trinidad got on the board first just 12:22 into the contest on a Laura Torres goal. Then, a few seconds later, Angelique Valencia scored as her corner kick, which was wind-aided, curved and bounced into the goal for the 2-0 lead.

                Torres added two more first-half goals, scoring her third with 27 minutes left and then her fourth with 36 minutes. Valencia had her second goal of the game, scoring in the 39th minutes of the first half for the 5-0 halftime lead.

                WNCC opened the second half as Jimenez scored just 11 minutes into the half to cut the lead to 5-1. Trinidad answered with a goal by Jaimie Piedra in the 74th minutes.

                Two minutes later, Jimenez scored her second goal off an assist from Ana Caroline-Lopez to make it 6-2. Trinidad closed out the scoring as Torres scored her fourth goal of the match for the 7-2 final.

                WNCC had 12 shots in the contest, seven of which were on goal. Trinidad State had 13 shots with seven on goal.

                WNCC goalkeeper Ana Von Ruden had six saves in net.

                The WNCC women will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to face Laramie County Community College in a conference contest that was postponed from earlier in the season. WNCC will then return home for their last two regular season games when they host Casper College on Friday and then Northeastern Junior College on May 11.