Lady Indians win 30th of season in Sunday split
TRINIDAD STATE, Colo. – The McCook Community College softball team picked up their 30th win of the season Sunday earning a doubleheader split with Trinidad State Junior College. MCC lost the first game of the day 11-2 but came back to win the second game 19-10.
Trinidad State powered out five home runs in Game 1 for their third win of the four-game series and hit five more in Game 2.
“In Game 1 we just didn’t play very well,” said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. “Any girl in their lineup can hit the ball out of the park and it showed.”
MCC trailed 6-3 in the fifth inning of Game 2 but took control of the game with seven consecutive singles in the seven-run inning and added nine runs in the final two innings to salvage the series finale.
“We still had our miscues in Game 2 but we hit better than them,” said Mendenhall.
Trinidad State goes to 16-4 in region IX play, atop the standings and 30-13 overall. MCC goes to 11-9 in the standings and 30-12 overall.
“We battled through a tough series, but we have a lot we need to work one to better a better ball club,” said Mendenhall.
The Lady Indians will close out the regular-season home schedule with four more games at the Jaycees Sports Complex this week. On Wednesday MCC hosts Southeast Community College in a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. On Friday, six sophomores will be honored prior to the doubleheader against Western Nebraska. Those games also start at 2 p.m.
All the latest information MCC softball including up-to-date schedule and changes as well as statistics, rosters and photos can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com
GAME 1 – Trinidad State 11, McCook CC 2: The only runs of the game for the Lady Indians came in the first inning on a one-out single by Andie Suhai (sophomore, Medicine Hat, Alberta) and a two-run home run by freshman Lexi Knapp (Berthoud, Colo.).
Trinidad State scored four runs in the first, added two in the second, four in the third and one more in the fourth to win in five innings on the eight-run rule.
Sadie Kahl (freshman, Calgary, Alberta) pitched 2.2 innings and allowed 10 hits, no walks and she struck out four. Knapp pitched 1.1 innings and didn’t allow a hit or an earned run and fanned two.
MCC had five hits and four errors in the game. Kahl had a double and Knapp the home run.
Trinidad hit five home runs in the game.
GAME 2 – McCook CC 19, Trinidad State 10: Freshman Angela Banzet (Surrey, British Columbia) led off the game with a single, Laila Gutierrez (freshman, Seminole, Texas) doubled her home then Lexi Knapp put MCC up 2-0 with an RBI-single.
After the Trojans hit a two-run home run in the second the Lady Indians responded to take a 3-2 lead in the third on a Gutierrez double and an RBI-groundout by Knapp.
Trinidad State reclaimed the lead in the third with two outs with four unearned runs to go up 6-3.
MCC sent 10 hitters to the plate in the fifth scoring seven runs. The Lady Indians started the inning with singles by Ayana Goodwin (Broomfield, Colo.), Gutierrez and a double by Knapp and a walk. Trinidad committed errors on next play, MCC went up 7-6 on an Ella Covill-Marter single and scored three more runs on an error and two passed balls to lead 10-6.
The Trojans got two back in the bottom of the fifth on two solo home runs to pull within 10-8.
Sophomore Brylee Dean (Gering) drove in a run in the sixth on a single. Freshman Anna Elliott (Calgary, Alberta) had an RBI-single and Covill Marter put MCC up 14-8 with a two-run double.
TSJC got their fourth home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 14-9 game with MCC leading. Covill-Marter departed to pitching circle after the homer. She pitched five innings, allowed nine hits and five earned runs with two walks and eight strikeouts.
After reliever Sadie Kahl shut down the Trinidad lineup in the sixth, MCC stretched the lead scoring five runs in the seventh, with consecutive singles by Gutierrez, Knapp, Kahl, Dean, Elliott, Covill-Marter and Andie Suhai.
Kahl pitched the final two innings, allowing two hits, one earned run and one strikeout.
MCC had 21 hits in the game with five from Gutierrez and three each by Knapp and Covill-Marter.
