GOODLAND, Kan. — The North Platte Community College softball team swept a pair of games Saturday against Northwest Kansas Technical College, 7-5 and 11-2.
The Knights came out with an early lead in Game 1 and rode the offensive momentum of Willow Chitty’s three doubles to win the first game. In Game 2, NPCC trailed 2-0 in the third inning but scored 11 unanswered runs to put the game away in five innings.
“We played solid all the way around today,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “Our pitchers spun the ball well with the wind blowing out.”
Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) enjoyed a five-for-seven day at the plate.
“Defensively we stepped up and made some great plays and didn’t play on our heels,” Higgins said. “I am proud of the fight we continue to show.”
Northwest Kansas Tech finishes the season 1-46.
North Platte is 13-23 with two regular season doubleheader dates remaining – Monday at home against Hastings College JV at 4 and 6 p.m. and Tuesday at McCook at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The Knights are the No. 3 seed in the Region IX, and will travel to Columbus Saturday to take on No. 2 seed Central Community College starting at 1 p.m., in a best-of-three series. The winner will play at Southeast Community College the following weekend in the regional championship series.
You can follow homes games broadcast on 98.1 FM / 1410 AM or on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com.
Game 1 – North Platte CC 7, Northwest Kansas Tech 5: The Knights came out with a pair of runs in both the first and second inning to take a 4-0 lead.
In the NPCC first, Willow Chitty (North Platte) started things off with an RBI-double and Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) followed with a run-scoring single to make it a 2-0 game. Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) led off the North Platte second with a single and later came in to make it 3-0 on a Maverick error. Chitty doubled in the fourth run.
After Northwest Kansas Tech scored three runs in the third inning, the Knights responded getting those three runs back in the top of the fourth. Bucio led things off with a single and scored on an RBI-single by Emily Marsden (Papillion). With two outs, Chitty banged out her third straight double to give the Knights a 6-3 lead and Binkly singled home Chitty to put North Platte up 7-3. NWKT scored two unearned runs in the seventh inning.
“We did a good job adjusting to their pitchers and hitting every inning,” Higgins said.
Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) went six innings, she allowed one earned run on nine hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Masden pitched the final inning and allowed two hits and no earned runs.
Game 2 – North Platte CC 11, Northwest Kansas Tech 2: Trailing 2-0 in the third inning Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) got the Knights on the scoreboard with an RBI double and a Maverick led to another run to tie the game 2-2.
Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) and Sienna Pfaff (Salem, Utah) had singles in the fourth inning when the Knights scored three unearned runs.
Hernandez-Bellew tripled in the fifth-inning to give North Platte a 7-2 lead and the Knights “kept the line moving” in the six-run fifth that included seven hits.
“Our offense came alive in Game 2 when we executed the circus play,” Higgins said.
Emily Marsden twirled a three-hitter allowing two runs and striking out three in five innings of work to pick up the win.
Hernandez-Bellew led the offense with three hits. The Knights also got two-hit games from Gibson, Pfaff, Marsden, and Kayleigh Bucio.