MCC Softball splits a pair of NCCAC road games with Central CC

COLUMBUS – The McCook Community College softball team split a pair of games against Central Community College Wednesday, winning the first game 2-1, and losing the second game 10-2 in five innings.

"We didn't have that same fire we had this past weekend against Trinidad," said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. "We tend to do that during our non-Region IX conference games. We need to keep that same intensity."

Freshman Ella Covill-Marter (Queensland, Australia) picked up the complete game win in Game 1 striking out 12 hitters.

"Ella did a nice job and Graci did an excellent job calling pitches," said Mendenhall of his battery of Covill-Marter and freshman catcher Graci Nelson, McCook.

In Game 2, Central scored three times in the first and never trailed, taking leads of 3-0, 5-0 and 7-1 before scoring three times in the fifth to end the game on the eight-run rule.

Central goes to 28-15 and 9-3 to clinch the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference.

MCC goes to 6-4 in the NCCAC and is in second place.

On Friday MCC will conclude NCCAC play and its home schedule with a doubleheader against North Platte starting at 2 p.m. on Purple Out Day. Fans are encouraged to wear purple in support of epilepsy awareness. Five MCC sophomores will also be honored.

MCC will wrap up the Region IX Division I schedule this weekend with five games at Scottsbluff against Western Nebraska with doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. and a single game Monday at 1 p.m.

"We need to get hot before we start the region tournament next week," said Mendenhall. 

For all the up-to-date information on MCC softball this season including up-to-date scheduling changes, statistics, rosters and photos, please visit the official website of MCC Athletics at mccindians.com

GAME 1 –McCook CC 2, Central CC 1: With one out in the fifth inning, freshman Katie Taylor (McCook) singled and was followed by a single from freshman Graci Nelson and a single by sophomore Nevaeh Ogden (Littleton Colo.) to drive home Taylor. Sophomore Madisyn Simms (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to make it a 2-0 game, but Ogden was thrown out trying to advance on the bases.

After a one out error in the fifth inning, Central managed their first hit off MCC starting pitcher Ella Covill-Marter but she induced a groundout and a strikeout to escape the Raider threat. After a one-out error in the sixth inning, MCC was called for catcher's interference and Central scored a run on a double but with runners on second and third base, Covill-Marter got a pop out and a strikeout to end that Raider rally.

CCC got a two-out double in the seventh but Covill-Marter was able to strike out the final hitter to pick up the complete game win. She allowed three hits, no earned runs, didn't walk a hitter and struck out 12 Raiders.

MCC had seven hits in the game with two each by Nelson and Odgen.

GAME 2 – Central CC 10, McCook CC 2: Central scored three unearned runs in the first and added two in the second to lead 5-0.

Madisyn Simms hit a home run in the fifth for MCC's only extra-base hit in the game. They had five total with three errors.

Sophomore Hailee Ruble (Delta, Colo.) went the distance in the pitching circle allowing six earned runs in 4.1 innings, walking three and striking out two.