The 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.
                “We have set goals for ourselves and have been actively working towards them,” the sophomore from Santaquin, Utah, said. “We know what action steps we need to take to win games and implementing them has been huge to our success. Today’s (Friday’s) games were a lot of fun. It was a warm day at Volunteer Field and we were all very excited to be out playing some softball.”
                Mykah Klumpp, a sophomore from Valley Center, Kansas, was 3-for-3 in the first game with a home run and four RBIs. Klumpp said, once again, they had energy and played great defense to get the two wins.
                “We contained great energy every inning which allowed us to continue to back our pitcher up and string hits together. We have been going hard at practices, and it just shows when we go out to play,” Klumpp said. “I mean, it’s always about effort, but not only defensively. We put a lot of effort in all aspects of the game today. This includes fielding, pitching, catching, and hitting. We knew that no matter if a batter got on, we would lock in and work for the next batter, which was executed well.”
                The seven game win streak is the longest since 2019 when they won 12 straight games at the end of the season.
                Both Duke and Klumpp said the team is playing well right now on both ends.
                “The team is playing well. We are all having fun which is super important, especially for us because we play harder that way,” Klumpp said. “We just need to bring our high energy and all our effort to these next games. This will help us move towards our goal.”
                Duke said the team is building chemistry and that is helping right now.
                “I would say the team is playing well and consistently at our level,” Duke said. “We have great chemistry and lots of fun as well as a competitive spirit which showed in our first two games against NJC. It is essential for us to carry this energy to Sterling to take the series. The series is a pivotal point in determining who advances to the regional tournament so we are ready to fight hard.”
                WNCC took control of the first game from the start and never looked back as they scored in three of the four innings that they batted.
                WNCC went up 3-0 after one inning and then 8-0 after two innings. The first inning saw back-to-back singles from Tina Horton and Randi Mitchell and then both scored on a Sierra Hilgner single for the 2-0 lead. Klump later singled to score Hilgner for the 3-0 lead.
                NJC got their only hit of the game in the second inning, but nothing game of it.
                The Cougars came back with five in the third. Mitchell starts the frame by reaching on an error. Then, with two outs, Klumpp doubles home Mitchell. Duke followed with a run-scoring single. After that, Tori Travers, JoLee Huffaker and Ellie Soper all had run-scoring singles for the 8-0 lead.
                The fourth inning saw Hilgner score and then Klumpp took the fourth pitch she saw and calmly put it over the rightfield fence for a 2-run home run. It was Klumpp’s fourth home run of the season, which leads the team.
                The fifth inning saw Cooper get the first two NJC batters to strike out and then induced an easy infield fly to end the game in just an hour and 10 minutes of playing time.
                WNCC finished with 12 hits in the contest, led by Klumpp with three hits. She was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Duke and Hilgner each had two hits in the contest.
                NJC scored in the first inning on just one hit and a sacrifice fly. WNCC came back with four in the first. Tina Horton led off with a walk and came in to score on a Hilgner single. WNCC loaded the bases for Hilgner and the sophomore from Divide, Colorado, delivered a run-scoring single. Travers then scored two on a hit that resulted in an error for the 4-1 lead.
                WNCC added a single run in the second and then adds four in the fourth. The fourth started when Lydia Tibbals singled. With two outs, Hilgner drew a walk and then Kallie Stocking came through with a 2-out single to score one run followed by Klumpp hitting a deep fly ball that wasn’t fielded properly to score two more runs. Klumpp came in to score the final run on a Duke double.
                The second game saw the Cougars get seven hits as Duke and Kallie Stocking each had two hits. Stocking, Klumpp, and HIlgner all scored two runs in the game, while Duke and Travers all had two RBIs.
               
Game 1
NJC                       000 00 – 0 1 4
WNCC                305 2x – 10 12 1
WP – Kayli Cooper.
2B – Adi Duke, Mykah Klumpp.
HR – Mykah Klumpp.
 
Game 2
NJC                       100 00 – 1 5 3
WNCC                410 4x – 9 7 1
WP – Kayli Cooper.
2B – Adi Duke.
 
WNCC baseball tops Trinidad State on Friday
 
                The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team captured a pair of Empire Conference wins Friday at Cleveland Field over Trinidad State College.
                The first game was a battle as Clayden Brandon went six strong innings and then Alex Renfrow got the save as the Cougars earned the 7-6 win.
                The second game saw Julian Garza go six strong innings and the Cougars earned the run-ruled 11-1 over the Trojans.
                The two teams will be back at Cleveland Field for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon.
                The wins moves the Cougars to 15-20 overall and 6-8 in the conference. WNCC is fifth in the conference standings, just a game out of fourth place.
                Garza, who scattered four hits and allowed just one run with five strikeouts, said the team is starting to find their groove.
                “The team played well today. Everything came together from the offense to the defense and the pitching,” Garza said. “There was more energy in the second game. Everyone was up and getting everyone going.”
                Garza said they need to bring that same type of energy Saturday as they aim to win the conference series with Trinidad.
                “The team is playing well right now,” he said. “We just need to come out strong Saturday and play our style of baseball and get two more wins.”
                The second game was a complete team win as Garza controlled the Trinidad batters with five strikeouts and getting them to hit groundouts or flyouts in his six innings of work. Austin Neeley finished off the game with an inning of work, allowing just one hit while facing three batters.
                WNCC scored three times in the first as Calab Caciari started things with a single. WNCC loaded the bases after two walks. Jin Kobayakawa plated the first two runs with a single  and then Cooper Wilson scored the third run on a sacrifice fly.
                It stayed that way until the fourth when the Cougars plated one run as Austin Cooper tripled and scored two pitches later on  a passed ball for the 4-0 lead.
                Trinidad scored in the top of the fifth to make it 4-1, but the Cougars plated five runs in the bottom of the fifth on three singles and several walks and fielding errors for the 9-1 lead.
                The Cougars followed with a run in the sixth and seventh to end the game via the run-rule. The sixth saw WNCC load the bases with three walks and then Cooper scored the run with a sacrifice fly for the 10-1 lead.
                WNCC needed one run in the seventh to get the run rule and they got it. Kobayakawa tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Landon Lockwood to end the game.
                WNCC was led at the plate from Kobayakawa with a 3-for-3 game with a triple, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Cooper also had a triple while Kensei Oikawa had two RBIs and two runs scored.
                The first game plenty of scoring from both teams in the first two innings and then came down to defense. Trinidad opened the game with three runs but saw the Cougars answer with three of their own.
                Cooper Wilson started the first with a 2-out single. Kobayakawa then walked and Wilson scored on a Landon Lockwood single. Catcher Gladysh followed with a 2-run single to tie the game.
                Trinidad went back in front with a run in the second, only to watch WNCC score two in the second for a 5-4 lead. The second saw Jase Satterfield single  followed by a Calab Caciari single. WNCC loaded the bases and Cooper Wilson doubled to score two runs.
                WNCC went up 7-4 with two in the fourth as Vaughn Wilson had a solo home run and then Lockwood would triple scoring Cooper Wilson.
                The Cougars then allowed Trinidad to score single runs in the fifth and seventh, but Renfrow and shut the door for the win.
                WNCC had 13 hits in the win. Cooper Wilson led the way with a 4-for-4 plate appearance with two runs scored and two RBIs. Lockwood also had two hits with a triple and two RBIs.
                Brandon got the win, going six innings and scattering five hits, five runs and striking out 10. Alex Renfrow got the save, allowing a hit, a run, and striking out one.
 
Game 1
Trinidad             310 010 1 – 6 6 0
WNCC                320 200 x – 7 13 3
WP – Clayden Brandon; S – Alex Renfrow.
2B – Cooper Wilson.
3B – Landon Lockwood, Tucker Deal.
HR – Vaughn Wilson.
 
Game 2
Trinidad             000 010 0 – 1 5 1
WNCC                300 151 1 – 11 7 0
WP – Julian Garza.
3B – Austin Cooper, Jin Kobayakawa.