LA JUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team combined for 28 runs and 25 hits to claim a conference doubleheader over Otero College on Saturday in La Junta, Colorado.
WNCC pounded out 11 hits and received home runs from Gracie Holm and Tori Travers in collecting the 11-3, five-inning win. In game two, Travers went 4-for-5 with four RBIs, four runs scored with a double and home run to get the 17-6 five-inning run-ruled win.
WNCC moved to 12-22 overall and 5-13 in the conference, while Otero drops to 2-34 overall (1-17 in conference). The two teams will be back in action Sunday in La Junta for the conclusion of the four-game series.
Abbey Arntsen, who had a big game from the circle and the plate, said these two games were huge. WNCC snapped an eight-game losing skid with the wins.
"Seeing our offense come back to life was so relieving, especially as a pitcher," the freshman from Dinsmore, Saskatchewan, said. "Our team has such strong bats, but for the past few series we have been struggling at the plate. Today, we prove that we can be great hitters and that will help us get back on track. Today's games definitely gave some players the confidence they needed back."
Arntsen said the key in the wins is scoring quickly and often. In the previous two series against McCook and Southeast, McCook out-scored WNCC 38-2 and Southeast outscored WNCC 30-18.
"The keys in the wins today were having strong bats from the beginning of the game. We got runs on the board early, which helps our defense and pitchers feel confident on the field," she said. "Our pitchers also threw well today and gave our defense easy outs to make. Overall, we pieced everything together and that's what helped us get the wins."
WNCC will need to keep playing like this the rest of the season if they want to make the regional tournament. Arntsen said they have to build off of Saturday's wins going forward.
"If we want to build on this for tomorrow (Sunday), all we need to do is show up with the same work ethic and mindset we brought today," she said. "We know we can take two more from this team, but we can't go in thinking it will be easy. As long as we play our game and give our full effort, I have no doubt we can win both."
WNCC took control of the first game from the beginning, scoring four in the first, three in the second and two in the third. The first inning saw Gracie Holm start things with a two-out, solo home run. Arntsen then tripled in two more runs followed by a single by Adi Duke to score Arntsen to make it 4-0.
Otero added one in the first, but WNCC plated three in the second. After Alyssa Albaugh and Tina Horton walked, Travers launched a 3-run home run to make it 7-1. The Cougars added two more in the third for a 9-1 lead. The big hit in the third was two-out run-scoring singles by Albaugh and Horton.
Otero added two in the third to make it 9-3, but the Cougars put the game away in the fifth with two runs as Travers reached on an error that scored two. Arntsen then shut down the Otero offense in the fifth to get the run-ruled win.
WNCC had four players collect multiple hits. Travers had two hits with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Also collecting two hits were Arntsen, Duke, and Albaugh. Albaugh scored three times while Arntsen scored twice, had two RBIs, and a triple.
Arntsen got the win in the circle with five innings pitched, allowing five hits, three runs, and striking out six.
WNCC followed a similar formula in game, scored early and often. The Cougars plated two runs in the first and five in the second for a 7-1 lead.
The first saw Travers get a double and then Holm blast a two-run home run for the 2-0 lead. Otero scored one in the first, but the Cougars scored five in the second with all the runs coming with two outs. Hayley Blumenschein and Tina Horton started things with free passes. Travers, Holm, and Arntsen all had run-scoring singles, followed by Ellie Soper scoring two with a single.
Otero plated three in the second to make it a 7-4 contest.
WNCC regrouped and put four more on the scoreboard in the fourth, followed by a single run in the fifth and five in the sixth. The big hit in the sixth was a Travers, two-out, three-run home run to make it 17-6.
WNCC had 14 hits in the contest, led by Travers four hits. Arntsen tallied three hits with two runs scored, while Holm and Ellie Soper each had two hits. Holm had a home run with four RBIs, while Soper had two singles with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Game 1
WNCC 432 02 – 11 11 2
Otero 102 00 – 3 5 4
WP – Abbey Arntsen.
3B – Abbey Arntsen.
HR – Gracie Holm, Tori Travers.
Game 2
WNCC 250 415 – 17 14 3
Otero 130 020 – 6 6 3
WP – Mia Migliaccio.
2B – Tina Horton, Tori Travers.
HR – Gracie Holm, Tori Travers.