MCC drops CWS opener to Crowder 4-2
YUMA, Ariz. – The McCook Community College softball team opened the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 World Series Monday dropping a 4-2 game to Crowder Community College.
The Roughriders scored three runs after two outs in the opening inning and held on for a 4-2 win to send the Neosho, Mo., team (50-9) on to face top seeded top-seeded Florida SouthWestern (52-5) at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
MCC goes to 48-10 and will play an elimination game Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. against one of the earlier games Tuesday.
"We just couldn't get anything going offensively," said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. "It's tough to get down early and climb out of it when you can't do much offensively."
MCC starting pitcher Kaliyah St. Amand (freshman, Duncan, British Columbia) struck out the first hitter she faced then Crowder loaded the bases with back-to-back singles and a walk. After an infield popout Crowder's Callie Cooper singled to right field to drive in two runs.
Alura Padgett followed with a single to left driving home another run but when Cooper tried to score a fourth run, MCC left fielder Anna Elliott (sophomore, Calgary, Alberta) threw home to catcher Payton Kinsley (freshman, Didsbury, Alberta) who tagged Copper at the plate to end the inning with Crowder leading 3-0.
Kinsley was the only MCC batter to reach base in the bottom of the inning when she drew a two-out walk but was left stranded.
St. Amand retired the Roughriders in order in the second with a pair of strikeouts. In the bottom of the inning, sophomore Rocio Mascorro (Brownsville, Texas) was hit by a pitch with two outs and Elliott followed with a walk, but Crowder stopped the MCC rally.
An MCC error in the third followed by a single and a sacrifice fly gave Crowder a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Indians responded in the bottom of the inning when freshman Paige Warren (Victoria, British Columbia) reached base on a Roughrider error, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an infield single by sophomore Laila Gutierrez (Seminole, Texas). Gutierrez stole second base, advanced to third when she tagged up after a popout to first base and scored on an error by the Crowder catcher to make it a 4-2 game.
St. Amand pitched a scoreless fourth, allowing one single and led off the bottom of the inning with a hit of her own, but after a one-out sacrifice bunt by Elliott, MCC was unable to score.
Again in the fifth, St Amand kept CC off the scoreboard on one hit and MCC went out in order. Both teams had three-up, three-down sixth innings.
Crowder got a one-out hit in the seventh, and put another runner on with an infield hit but did not score.
MCC went out in order in the seventh.
Crowder outhit MCC 9-2 with MCC's hits coming from Gutierrez and St. Amand.
St. Amand walked one and struck out three hitters, allowing three earned runs.
"Kaliyah did a nice job in the circle," said Mendenhall.
Crowder's Jessica Smith, second in the nation in strikeouts, fanned nine Lady Indians and allowed two walks.
In other first-round games Monday, the lowest eight seeds in the 20-team elimination game were in action in the four early games. No. 20 Navarro College (Corsicana, Texas) downed 13th seeded College of Southern Idaho 5-1. No. 18 Rose State (Midwest City, Okla.) beat Lake Land College (Mattoon, Ill.) 3-1 and No. 14 Southern Union State (Wadley, Ala.) downed No. 19 Arizona Western (Yuma, Ariz.) 4-0.
In the late games, the fifth through 12 seeds played with No. 8 Paris 50-9, (Paris, Texas) playing No. 9 Butler 44-7, (El Dorado, Kan). No. 5 Chattanooga State 48-7, (Chattanooga, Tenn,), played No. 12 Chipola 33-19, (Marianna, Fla.).
In the final games of the day No. 6 Odessa 44-6, (Odessa, Texas) plays No. 11 Wallace State 47-13, (Hanceville, Ala.), and No. 7 Gaston College 60-3, (Dallas, N.C.) plays No. 10 Trinity Valley, 50-12, (Athens, Texas)
MCC would play Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. against the loser of the 3:15 Tuesday game between No. 3 Northwest Florida and No. 14 Southern Union College.
"We will be better tomorrow," said Mendenhall.