The North Platte Community College Knights lost a couple of heartbreakers to the Grayson College Lady Vikings 7-6 and 11-10 in eight innings to drop to 0-6 on the season.
Knights Head Coach Janell Higgins said “We lost a hard fought two games. Losing is tough and even harder when on the road but we are making strides forward every game. We hit the ball well today. Our defense was strong and weak at the same time. We made the tough plays and struggled to make the routine plays. Our girls showed a tremendous amount of fight and played as a team. I am very proud of them for their effort.”
In the first game the Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Sara Villalobos scored on a single by Shelby Clark. The Lady Vikings took the lead in the bottom half of the second scoring two runs.
The Knights took the lead in the top of the third with runs by Caroline Motis and Jazmin Chang on a single by Brittney Odum. Grayson tied the score in the bottom of the third when Whitlock doubled to center scoring Logan Pennartz.
The Knights scored three runs in the fifth inning by Andrea Quiroga, Jazmin Chang and Brittney Odum to give them a 6-4 lead. The Lady Viking’s Chelsea Whitlock scored on an error by the Knights in the fifth cutting the Knights lead to 6-5.
The Lady Vikings took the lead for good in the sixth inning on runs by Boyd and Pennartz on a single by Christina Guckes to centerfield.
Shannon Lieber took the loss for the Knights. Lieber pitched six innings, allowed eight hits, seven runs of which three were earned. Lieber struck out two and walked two.
The Lady Vikings’s Megan Rosewell pitched seven innings to get the win. Rosewell allowed only one earned run on four hits, striking out six Knights and walking two.
Andrea Quiroga led the Knights in game one offensively by going one for two with one run scored and a double and a stolen base.
In game two , Lady Vikings jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Knights battled back by scoring two runs in both the third and fourth innings to take a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Vikings took the lead, 8-4 with a six-run inning of its own in the fourth. The Lady Vikings scored on a solo home run by Jordan Gundersen, a single by Christina Guckes, and a single by Taren Dillion.
The Knights came back and cut into the Lady Viking lead when Tara Crouch singled. Shannon Lieber doubled scoring Crouch and then Sara Villalobos two-run homerun for three runs in the inning to make the score 8-7 in favor of the Lady Vikings. The Knights tied the score in the sixth on a run by Crouch on an error by the Lady Vikings leftfielder Rachel Morgan.
The Knights took the lead in the seventh when Sara Runia homered. In the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Vikings’ Marlee Boyd homered to tie the game and send the game to extra innings.
In the eighth inning the Knights scored the go ahead run when Shannon Lieber doubled and then scored on a single by Sara Runia. In the Lady Viking’s eighth Chelsea Whitlock singled to left field and was sacrificed to third by Brooklin Olson. With two outs in the inning, the game ended on a controversial home run by Goodman with Olson on base.
Shannon Lieber led the offense for the Knights in the second game going three for five with three doubles, three run scored and one run batted in. Sara Runia and Sara Villalobos added a home run each. Shelby Clark added a triple, scored a run and knocked one run in.
Baileigh Oleson pitched 7.2 innings but took the loss.
The Lady Vikings had three players with home runs: Marlee Boyd, McKensie Goodman, and Jordan Gunderson. Gunderson had three hits for the Lady Vikings in five at bats with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
McKensie Goodman picked up the win in relief. Goodman struck out five Knights in 3.2 innings pitched.
The Knights will finish up their weekend by travelling to play Murray State College in Oklahoma in a double header. Game times are at 2 pm. and 4 pm. CST.