MCC Softball wins eighth straight with sweep over Storm

The McCook Community College softball team stretched its win streak to eight games with a pair of wins Friday over Southeast Community College, 6-3, 14-6.

"The kids fought through to get the sweep, I'm proud of them," said MCC Coach Kevin Kaalberg.

Southeast out-homered MCC 3-1 in Game 1, but MCC prevailed 6-3 and came up with a pair of five-run innings in Game 2 to take the win in five innings.

"We need to continue to work on our consistency, both hitting and locating our pitches," Kaalberg said.

MCC improves to 19-13 overall and 4-0 in the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference.

The Storm fall to 6-18, and 1-5 in NCCAC

On Saturday MCC stays at home and will play another NCCAC foe in North Platte (1-17, and 1-3).

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and these are the Purple-Out games for epilepsy awareness.

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/landing/index

GAME 1 – McCook CC 6, Southeast CC 3: MCC broke out on top and never trailed as Alexis Cortez (sophomore, Aurora, Colo.) doubled to centerfield with one out in the first. She later stole third and came home on a Storm error. MCC scored a second run on a SCC error to take a 2-0 lead.

With two-out in the second, sophomore Taylor Thein (West Branch, Iowa) lofted a solo-home run to leftfield to put MCC up 3-0.

After Southeast scored an unearned run in the third, MCC came back with three runs in the fourth inning. Rae VanMilligan (sophomore, Marion, Iowa) led the inning off with a single. Freshman Cassidy Fife (Provo, Utah) bunted her to second. Nevaeh Ogden (freshman, Littleton, Colo.) doubled home Milligan and Cortez followed with a two-run double to give MCC a 6-1 lead.

Southeast led off the fifth with back-to-back solo homeruns of MCC starting pitcher Avery O'Neil (sophomore, Ellsworth, Wis.) to cut the gap to 6-3 but O'Neil was able to get out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts. She went five innings, allowed the three hits and two earned runs, she walked three and struck out 10.

Freshman Paige Smith (Perth, Australia) relieved O'Neil in the sixth inning and picked up the save, pitching two innings, allowing two hits and one earned run and striking out two.

MCC had seven hits in the game with two from Cortez.

GAME 2 – McCook CC 14, Southeast CC 6: Southeast took the lead with a solo home run in the first off MCC starting pitcher Anna Wilcox (sophomore, Victoria, British Columbia) but MCC responded with three-runs in the bottom of the inning. Ashland Baca drove tied the game on an RBI-double, a fielder's choice scored the second run and the third run came home on a sacrifice pop off the bat of Sydney Erlandson (freshman, Woodbury, Minn.).

The Storm scored three times in the second to lead 4-3. Wilcox went two innings, allowed four runs, four hits, two walks and one strikeout.

MCC tied the game 4-4 with a solo-home run from Alexis Cortez in the third.

After Southeast took a 6-4 lead in the third, MCC took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning with doubles by Madisyn Simms (freshman, Port Moody, British Columbia), Alyssa Winter (freshman, Lexington), a Erlandson single and a two-run double by Rae Van Milligan, a bases-loaded walk and the final run came home on a sacrifice fly off Baca's bat to give MCC a 9-6 lead.

After allowing a pair of runs in her first inning of relief Avery O'Neil shut down the Storm in order in the fourth and fifth innings and MCC was able to walk off the win in the bottom of the fifth with a five-run frame. The game ended with four straight extra-base hits: a home run by Baca and consecutive doubles by Paige Smith, Simms and Winter.

MCC had 14 hits in the game with three by Simms and two each by Cortez, Baca and Winter.

O'Neil pitched three innings allowed two earned runs, three hits, one walk and she struck out eight.