MCC Softball wins 12th straight with sweep of Southeast CC

BEATRICE -- The McCook Community College softball team got its 12^th straight win Wednesday, winning twice over Southeast Community College 13-7 and 20-12.

"I'm very proud of them," said MCC Coach Kevin Kaalberg. "The ten games before today have been an emotional, high intensity level of softball.

MCC got a pair of home runs from Ashland Baca (sophomore, Byers, Colo.) in the first game and started Game 2 when the first eight batters reached base for nine runs. That first inning included a pair of three-run doubles from sophomore Alexis Cortez (sophomore, Aurora, Colo.) and freshman Madisyn Simms (freshman, Port Moody, British Columbia).

Baca added another homer in Game 2 to give her 18 on the season, tied for ninth most among all Division 1 junior college players and her six RBIs give her 59, which is 12^th most in the nation.

Cortez's first-inning double was her NJCAA-leading 23^rd double and Simms hit her 20^th, which is ninth most in the nation.

"Playing games outside the region there is bound to be a letdown emotionally," Kaalberg said. "Even though we weren't consistent today, we showed that we were the better team."

With the two wins MCC improves to 8-0 against Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference opponents, with one scheduled doubleheader remaining on the NCCAC slate – April 27 at home against Central Community College, second place in the Nebraska conference at 6-4. No makeup date has been set for MCC's postponed game at North Platte earlier this month.

With Wednesday's losses Storm go to 7-27 and 2-8 in NCCAC.

MCC improves to 33-15 and is back in the region this weekend to protect its lead in the Region IX standings. MCC (17-5 in Region IX Division 1 play) travels to Trinidad State (21-20, 13-9) for a four-game series Saturday and Sunday.

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 mccindians.com

GAME 1 – McCook CC 13, Southeast CC 7: MCC took charge of the game early scoring four runs in the first and adding seven more in the second.

After two walks and a hit batter to start the game, sophomore Ashland Baca (sophomore, Byers, Colo.) hit a grand slam to put MCC up 4-0. MCC sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning and scored seven times on seven hits, a walk and a Southeast error. Baca hit her second home run of the game, a two-run shot to put MCC up 9-0.

Anna Wilcox (sophomore, Victoria, British Columbia) pitched the first two innings and shut out SECC on one hit, one unearned run and two strikeouts.

Freshman Cassidy Fife (Provo, Utah) put MCC up 13-1 with a two-run home run in the third inning.

The Storm extended the game with five runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth.

Tyler Mooring (freshman, Santa Clara, Utah) pitched two innings and allowed three hits and a walk resulting in five runs, but all of the runs were unearned. She struck out two.

Paige Smith (freshman Perth, Australia) took over in the pitching circle in the fifth and allowed one run over the final three innings on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

MCC banged out 15 hits in the game with two each by Taylor Thein (sophomore, West Branch, Iowa), Baca, Fife, Mooring, Simms, and Smith.

GAME 2 – McCook CC 20, Southeas CC 12: MCC's first eight hitters of the second game reached base, leading to nine first-inning runs. Alexis Cortez and Madisyn Simms both had three-run doubles in the inning.

Southeast came back with three unearned runs in the first off Anna Wilcox, and after MCC was held off the scoreboard in the second, the Storm led off the second with back-to-back homers to cut the MCC lead to 9-5.

Paige Smith came on in relief in the second and went 3.1 innings allowing four hits, two walks, five runs and three strikeouts.

Tyler Mooring (freshman, Santa Clara, Utah), led off the third inning with a solo home run and one-batter later Taylor Thein hit a two-run home run to put MCC up 12-5 but Southeast countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to pull within 12-8.

MCC scored two runs in the fourth on a Storm error and an RBI-double by Thein, and added another run in the fifth on a bases-loaded Mooring walk to give MCC a 15-8 lead.

After Southeast scored twice in the bottom of the fifth with one out, pitcher Avery O'Neil (sophomore, Ellsworth, Wis.) came on in relief of Smith and retired the side.

MCC scored four times in the sixth, as freshman Sydney Erlandson (Woodbury, Minn.) hit a three-run home run to give MCC a 19-10 lead. After Southeast scored twice in the sixth, Baca launched a two-out solo homer to left in the seventh to give MCC its final run.

O'Neil pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and two runs on a walk and three strikeouts.

Among MCC's 20 hits in the game, Simms had four while Thein and Cortez had three and both players drove in four runs.