LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team split a pair of Region IX conference contests Sunday against Lamar Community College.

                The Cougars fell in the first game 9-8 in nine innings but bounced back with a strong defensive performance in the second contest to register a 10-3 win.

                WNCC goes to 16-24 overall and 9-15 in the conference, while Lamar is 12-12 in the conference.

                The Cougars will have six of the final eight games at home in the next two weeks, beginning with a key four-game series against Trinidad State College this weekend at Volunteer Field in Scottsbluff. Trinidad currently sits just two games in front of the Cougars for the final Region IX tournament spot.

                The first contest was the heartbreaking defeat as the Cougars started strong, jumping to a 5-0 lead before allowing Lamar to score eight runs in the second inning to take an 8-5 lead.

                After that, the Cougar defense played tough, holding Lamar scoreless until the walk-off run in the ninth inning. The Cougars tied the contest at 8-8 with three runs in the sixth.

                WNCC started the game strong with four in the first as Abbey Arntsen delivered a solo home run. The Cougars added a single run in the second when Tori Travers doubled and scored on an Arntsen ground out.

The tide changed in the bottom of the second as Lamar plated eight runs -- all with no outs -- to take an 8-5 lead.

The Cougars eventually tied the game with three in the sixth when Hayley Blumenshein led off with a two-out single. Tina Horton was hit by a pitch and then Travers scoreda  two after reaching on dropped fly ball. Travers came in to score the tying run on a Mia Migliaccio single.

                Neither team scored the rest of the way in regulation forcing extra innings. The Cougars had a prime scoring chance in the eighth when Blumenshein reached on an error and Travers singled with just one out. The Cougars loaded the bases, but couldn't get the big hit to take the lead.

                Lamar won the game in the ninth with a lead-off double which turned out to be the winning run.

                Both squads finished with nine hits. WNCC was led by Travers with two hits, including a double. Arntsen had a home run with two RBIs, while Albaugh had a double.
                The second game was a battle, but the Cougars minimized allowing runs to just three early runs. Offensively, the Cougars scored in six of the seven innings, which proved to be the key.

                WNCC finished with 14 hits in the contest, led by three each by Horton, Adi Duke, and Viktoria Sarkanyova. Sarkanyova had a double with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Duke and Horton each had two doubles. Blumenshein Jasmine Castro each had two hits with two runs scored.

                Neither team scored in the first, and both teams plated a run in the second. WNCC added a run in the third as Sarkanyova doubled and scored on a Horton single. Lamar took the lead with two in the third for a 3-2 lead, but it was short-lived as the Cougars scored on a two in the fourth for a 4-3 lead. Adi Duke and Blumenshein both singled and scored on a 2-out single by Sarkanyova.

                WNCC added single runs in the fifth and sixth for a 6-3 lead before putting the game away with four in the seventh. Duke led off with a double, followed by a Castro single. Sarkanyova then scored two with a single and Travers plated two more with a hit for the 10-3 lead.

Game 1
WNCC                410 003 000 – 8 9 5
Lamar                 080 000 001 – 9 9 7
LP – Mia Migliaccio.
2B – Alyssa Albaugh, Tori Travers.
HR – Abbey Arntsen.

Game 2
WNCC                011 211 4 – 10 14 4
Lamar                 012 000 0 – 3 8 3
WP – Gracie Holm; S – Mia Migliaccio.
2B – Adi Duke 2, Tina Horton 2, Viktoria Sarkanyova.