MCC softball scores 28 runs in Sunday doubleheader sweep

MCC softball scores 28 runs in Sunday doubleheader sweep

COLBY, Kan. The McCook Community College softball team picked up a pair of wins Sunday, downing Colby Community College 14-12, 14-8.

MCC got three fourth-inning home runs from freshman in the first game and 15 hits to outlast the Lady Trojans and kept the offense rolling in the second game with a pair of home runs and 16 hits.

"Our kids did a great job offensively up and down the lineup," said MCC Coach Kevin Kaalberg. "They stayed focused throughout both games and competed hard. I'm very proud of them."

Freshman Alexis Cortez (Aurora, Colo.) homered twice in the first game with four RBIs and sophomore Emily Arp (McCook) went three-for-four as MCC, trailing 8-5 in the fourth inning, got home runs from Cortez, Taylor Thein (West Branch, Iowa) and Ashland Baca (Byers, Colo.).

In the second game the Lady Indians got four-baggers from sophomore Taryn Jenkins (Aldergrove, British Columbia) and Rae VanMilligan (Marion, Iowa) and a four-hit game from Alice Midiri (Condove, Italy).

Colby falls to 2-4 on the season, MCC goes to 8-2.

The Lady Indians are headed to Lamar, Colo. this weekend for the three-day, seven-team Region IX round-robin. All Region IX teams are scheduled to play each other one time. MCC will take on Otero Junior College (noon MT) and Trinidad (4 p.m. MT) Friday; Lamar (noon MT) and Northeastern Junior College (4 p.m. MT) Saturday; and Luna Community College (10 a.m. MT) and Western Nebraska (noon, MT) on Sunday.

GAME 1 MCC 14, Colby 12: The Lady Indians started the day down 5-0 in the first inning and 8-4 in the second before taking the lead in the fourth, and taking it back for good in the fifth.
Emily Arp led off the MCC second with a single. Camryn Laird (Pueblo, Colo.) doubled her to third, and Arp scored on an RBI single off the bat of Sidney Sansregret (Surrey, British Columbia) to make it a 5-1 Colby lead. Cortez cut the gap to 5-4 with a three-run home run to right field.
Colby went up 8-4 with three runs in the bottom of the inning but the Lady Indians got one run back in the third with an Arp double and a Laird single.
Taylor Thein and Cortez homered back-to-back to lead off the MCC fourth to make it an 8-7 deficit then Ashland Baca delivered a two-out, two run homer to put MCC up 9-8. Colby tied the game in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run.
Thein and Cortez doubled and walked to lead off the fifth inning in front of Taryn Jenkins, who doubled them home to put MCC up 11-9. Baca doubled in a run and Arp made in a 13-9 game with a sacrifice fly. A Colby error led to the fifth run of the inning.
Freshman Avery O'Neil (Ellsworth, Wis.) started the game in the circle but lasted just one inning and gave way to Anna Wilcox (Victoria, British Columbia) who picked up the win going six innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs while striking out four.
Cortez and Arp both had three-hit games, Arp, Laird and Thein all had two-hit games.

GAME 2 MCC 14, Colby 6: Starting pitcher Lana Armsbury (freshman, Omaha Westside) helped get the Lady Indians off to better start in the second game, keeping the Lady Trojans off the scoreboard in the first and allowing the MCC offense to keep producing.
Taryn Jenkins' RBI-single put MCC up 1-0 in the first and after walking the bases loaded, Taylor Thein and Alexis Cortez delivered back-to-back two-run singles to make it a 5-0 game. Colby scored twice in the bottom of the frame.
Third inning doubles by Emily Arp and Sidney Sansregret made it a 6-2 MCC lead and Sansregret scored on a single off the bat of sophomore Alice Midiri to put the Lady Indians up 7-2. Rae VanMilligan homered to lead off the fourth inning to put MCC up 8-3 but the Lady Trojans rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the game to one run at 8-7.
The Lady Indians went back up by three runs in the fifth on a walk, two singles, a fielder's choice and an RBI single by Ashland Baca. Anna Wilcox took over in the pitching circle in the fifth when Colby scored on an unearned run to make it a 10-8 MCC lead.
MCC scored four times in the sixth on a pinch-hit double by freshman Charlyee Ortiz (Maud, Okla.), a two run double by Midiri and a two-run home run by Jenkins to put MCC up 14-8. Jenkins had three hits in the game and Baca had two.
Armsbury allowed nine hits and four earned runs in four innings of work. She walked one and struck out two. Wilcox went three innings, allowing one hit, one unearned run and a walk.