MCC softball takes a pair of Saturday games in Iowa

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa – After losing a pair of games Friday at the Southeastern Community College tournament, MCC won a pair of games Saturday at the indoor fields at FunCity Turf. MCC took down Ellsworth 7-0 and the Iowa Wesleyan JV's 8-1.

MCC goes to 4-6 as the tournament concludes Sunday with two more games. At 11 a.m., MCC plays Augustana JV followed by a 1 p.m. against Black Hawk College-Moline.

MCC will be home to host the official start of the Region IX season with a seven-team, three day, 21-game showcase at the Jaycee Sports Complex Thursday-Saturday, March 3-5. All seven teams will play two games each day and every team will play a one game against each of the other six Region IX schools.

MCC will play games at noon and 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and then 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

For all the up-to-date information on MCC softball this season including, schedules, statistics, rosters and photos, please visit the official website of MCC Athletics at: https://mccookcc.prestosports.com/sports/sball/index

McCook CC 7, Ellsworth CC 0 – MCC posted the first runs of the game in the bottom of the third. A Panther error and a single from Alexis Cortez (sophomore, Arvada, Colo.) and a two-run double from Nevaeh Ogden (freshman, Littleton, Colo.) made it 2-0.

Sophomore Avery O'Neil (Ellsworth, Wis.) began the game in the pitching circle and went three innings allowing two hits, walking three and striking out five.

A pair of one-out walks in the fourth set the table for a two-run RBI-single from Ray VanMilligan (sophomore, Marion, Iowa) with two outs in the inning to put MCC up 4-0.

MCC closed out the game with a three-run sixth inning. Madison Morlett (freshman, Dallas, Ga.) doubled to lead off the inning, followed with three straight singles by Taylor Thein (sophomore, West Branch, Iowa), Alexis and Ogden. Freshman Alyssa Winter  (Lexington) singled in the final run of the inning with one out.

Anna Wilcox (sophomore, Victoria, British Columbia) pitched three innings, allowed three hits, and no runs.

Freshman Tyler Mooring (Santa Clara, Utah) came on to closed out the game in the seventh, striking out two and allowing one hit.

MCC had 10 hits, with three from Cortez, and two by Ogden, who also drove in three.

McCook CC 8, Iowa Wesleyan JV 1 – MCC scored a pair of runs in the first and second innings, and added three-more in the fourth to back a second-straight performance from a trio of MCC pitchers.

After Iowa Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the first MCC responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on a pair of walks, a run-scoring groundout and an RBI single from Ashland Baca (sophomore, Byers, Colo.).

A leadoff double by Isabel Lozano (sophomore, Greeley, Colo.) ignited the MCC offense in the second. She scored on a Taylor Thein single. Thein stole a pair of bases and scored on an infield groundout.

Avery O'Neil pitched the first two innings and allowed four hits, three walks and she struck out four.

Lozano and Thein led off the MCC fourth with a single and double to make it a 5-1 lead. An error and back-to-back infield groundouts made it 7-1.

Anna Wilcox went three innings, allowed just one hit and a walk while striking out two.

An RBI-single by Alexis Cortez drove home the final run of the game.

Tyler Mooring (Santa Clara, Utah) pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out three.

MCC had11 hits in the game with three by Moring, and two each by Lozano, Thein and Madison Morlett