The North Platte Bulldogs softball team went 1-1 in two neutral site games against Hastings and Lincoln East on Thursday.

Kearney hosted the three teams with North Platte playing Hastings and Lincoln East. The Dawgs played Hastings in the first game of the night and lost 9-2. The Lady Tigers jumped on North Platte early by scoring four runs in the top half of the first inning. The Lady Dawgs cut the lead in half by the end of the third inning but still trailed 4-2. Hastings then scored three runs in the fourth inning and its final two runs in the sixth for the 9-2 win.

Senior Jenny Keck led the way at the plate by going 1-3 with a double and an RBI in the loss. Sophomore Willow Chitty was the only player from North Platte with more than one hit as she had two singles and a run scored.

Keck also took the loss inside the circle after giving up nine runs, eight earned, on 14 hits in six innings. She also struck out three batters and didn’t issue a walk. Senior Katie Franzen came in for the final inning for North Platte and gave up one hit but no runs.

The second game of the night for North Platte was a different story offensively as the Dawgs beat Lincoln East 12-10. North Platte once again gave up first inning runs to the Spartans to trail 2-0 going into the bottom half of the inning. The Dawgs responded quickly though by scoring three runs to take a 3-2 lead. North Platte added two more in the second inning and led 5-2. Lincoln East got back on the scoring train in the fourth inning by scoring five runs to take a 7-5 lead, but North Platte again responded by scoring three runs in the fourth to finish the inning with an 8-7 lead. The Dawgs added two  more runs in the fifth, followed by three Lincoln East runs in the sixth to once again tie the game at 10 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. North Platte scored the two runs that ultimately made the difference in the bottom of the sixth and held the Spartans scoreless in the seventh for the 12-10 win.

Chitty led the way for North Platte by going 3-4 with two runs batted in. Franzen and Keck each had a double and two RBI in the game. Franzen also scored three runs in the game along with fellow senior Hannah Hays.

Senior Marisa Ramos started the game inside the circle for the Bulldogs and went three and one-third innings, giving up seven runs, five earned, on six hits. She also had one strikeout and gave up on walk. Keck came in for the final three and two-third innings. She gave up three runs, all of them earned, on six hits, while walking two batters and striking out three.

The standout player for Lincoln East was its leadoff hitter Crist. She had three home runs in the game and six RBI.

North Platte is now 6-4 on the season and will next play at the McCook Invite Saturday morning. The Lady Dawgs will play Cozad in the first round at 9:00 am. The bracket for the tournament can be seen below.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Hastings	4	0	0	3	0	2	0	9	15	1
North Platte	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Lincoln East	2	0	0	5	0	3	0	10	12	8
North Platte	3	2	0	3	2	2	–	12	9	3