Lady Indians down Cougars 2-1 in eighth inning
The McCook Community College softball team won a 2-1 thriller Saturday in the eighth inning over Western Nebraska to advance to the championship game on Sunday. The Lady Indians will play Western Nebraska again, this time at noon Sunday at the Jaycees Sports Complex.
“Today was a battle for us,” said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. “But we did what we needed to do to win.
Sophomore Rocio Mascorro (Brownsville, Texas) batted in Laila Gutierrez (sophomore, Seminole, Texas) with the winning run in the eighth inning to send tournament’s top seed with an unbeaten mark in the weekend’s double-elimination format. The 2-0 Lady Indians will face the 2-1 Cougars in a noon game Sunday. If Western Nebraska wins, the teams would play another winner-take all game for a trip to the NJCAA College World Series.
Freshman Kaliyah St. Amand (Duncan, British Columbia) went the distance in the pitching circle for MCC to pick up the win.
“Kaliyah lives for this moment and will always give us a chance to win,” said Mendenhall.
In the first game of the day Otero College scored two runs in the seventh inning to win 3-2 and eliminate Trinidad State from the tournament. After Western Nebraska dropped the extra-inning game to MCC, the Cougars turned around and played Otero in the final game of the day -- an elimination game and won by Western Nebraska 11-3.
With MCC’s 47th win of the season, they are one win away from advancing to the NJCAA Division 1 College World Series May 19-24 at the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex in Yuma, Ariz.
Both team’s pitching and defenses were crisp all afternoon. Each team made just one error.
Western Nebraska threatened right away, in the first inning. After St. Amand walked the leadoff hitter, the Cougars bunted the runner to second and appeared poised when Western’s Isabelle Salinas blooped a double into shallow center field, but shortstop Laila Gutierrez fired the ball home to catcher Payton Kinsley who tagged the runner out. St. Amand struck out the WNCC cleanup hitter to escape the first inning.
Gutierrez doubled in the bottom of the inning, but was left stranded.
After the Cougars committed an error to lead off the bottom of the second inning, St. Amand doubled to put two runners in scoring position, but a popout ended the inning.
In the top of the third, freshman catcher Payton Kinsley (Didsbury, Alberta) crossed up the Cougar offense when the leadoff hitter tried to lay down a bunt but the MCC catcher made a diving catch for the first out. After a single, Gutierrez caught a liner at shortstop and nearly picked the runner off for a doubleplay, but back-to-back two-out singles with two outs plated the first run of the game as WNCC led 1-0.
The Lady Indians tied it up in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single by freshman Paige Warren (Victoria, British Columbia). She stole second and Gutierrez followed with a double. Kinsley drove home MCC’s first run with a sacrifice fly to left field, but MCC couldn’t push Gutierrez home.
After a strikeout and a single for Western to lead off the fourth inning, MCC turned a doubleplay when St. Amand caught a popped up bunt and threw to first base where sophomore Lexi Knapp (Berthoud, Colo.) was able double the runner off first base.
Kinsley hit a two-out double in the fifth but was left stranded there.
St. Amand retired Western Nebraska in order in the sixth inning on eight pitches. MCC went down 1-2-3 in the sixth and St. Amand struck two of the three hitters in the seventh and retired the side.
After MCC was unable to put any runners on base in the seventh and with the game tied 1-1, the tie-breaker rules were enacted for the eighth inning with a runner placed on second base to start the inning. The Cougar’s first batter attempted a bunt attempt but was thrown out by the catcher Kinsley. Warren grabbed a pop foul at third base for the second out and sophomore left fielder Anna Elliott (sophomore Calgary, Alberta) caught a pop fly for the final out.
In the MCC eighth, Gutierrez, who leads Region IX and is third in the nation with 72 stolen bases, was placed at second base with the tie-breaker rule.
“When we had Laila at second for the international tie-breaker rule and they didn’t score, I knew we would win,” said Mendenhall.
With the stage set, Kinsley popped out to shortstop for the first out of the eighth. Knapp followed with an infield roller to shortstop that went for a single as Gutierrez advanced to third base. Pinch-runner Haley Emmerson (freshman, Sterling, Colo.) came in for Knapp. She had stolen eight bases this season and had not yet been thrown out. She stole second base on the second pitch to Sadie Kahl, who eventually walked to load the bases.
Mascorro lined the first pitch of her at bat into right field to score Gutierrez with the game-winner.
“It’s hard to win this time of year and we will take them how we get them,” said Mendenhall
MCC had eight hits in the game with two each by Gutierrez and St. Amand.
St. Amand went eight innings for the win. She allowed a double and five singles, one walk and she struck out five.
MCC is 47-9 on the season while Western Nebraska is 27-24. The two teams split four games to end the regular season last weekend. The first two games were at McCook where Western won the first game 12-6 and MCC won the second game 9-1. Two days later in Scottsbluff the Cougars took the first game 7-6 and MCC came back to win the second game 7-4.
Up-to-date information about MCC softball including livestream links, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com
REGION IX TOURNAMENT
MAY 2-4 at McCook
JAYCEES SPORTS COMPLEX
RESULTS From Friday, May 2
Game 1 – McCook 10, Trinidad State 3
Game 2 – Western Nebraska 13, Otero College 5
RESULTS From Saturday, May 3
Game 3 – Otero College 3, Trinidad State 2 (Trinidad State eliminated)
Game 4 – McCook (46-9) vs Western Nebraska (25-24), 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 – Western Nebraska 11, Otero College 3 (Otero College eliminated)
Sunday, May 4
Game 6 – McCook 47-9 vs. Western Nebraska 26-26, noon (elimination game)
Game 7 – (If necessary), 2:30 p.m.