The North Platte Community College Knights had their seven game winning streak come to a halt, losing to the Iowa Western Community College Lady Reivers in both games of a double header 6 – 1 in the first game, and 10 – 1 in the finale.

In the first game, the Reivers scored in the first inning on a run by Tracey Edwards.  Edwards walked to start the game.  Kayla Chase advanced Edwards to second on a sacrifice.  Knights pitcher Baileigh Oleson hit the next two Lady Reiver hitters and Edwards scored on an error by Knights left-fielder Tara Crouch to make the score 1 – 0.

The Knights held the Lady Reivers scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Rievers scored their five remaining runs. The Reivers scored their five runs on five hits and a walk including doubles by Jocelyn Hernandez and Raylene Uribe which knocked in three runs.

The Knights got on the scoreboard in the seventh when Caroline Motis singled and was batted in on Sara Runia’s double.

Rachel Henks of the Reivers pitched seven innings and allowed five hits, one unearned run, and two walks and struck out nine North Platte hitters.

Baileigh Oleson pitched six innings for the Knights and allowed five earned runs on nine hits and four walks.  Oleson struck out four hitters.

Game two was all Iowa Western,  The Reivers scored three runs in the second,  three runs in the third and four runs in the fourth to defeat the Knights in five innings.

Sara Runia led the Knights at the plate by going two for three and scoring the Knights only run.  Runia had a single in the first, reached on a fielder’s choice in the third and doubled in the fifth.

The Knights had the bases loaded in the fifth  but only managed to score the run by Runia on a single by Shelby Clark.

Shannon Lieber picked up the loss for the Knights.  Lieber allowed 10 runs on 12 hits and two walks.  Lieber also struck out two batters.

The Knights are now 10 – 14 on the season, while .the Lady Reivers are 15 – 11 on the season.

The Knights travel to McCook on Thursday, March 19 to face the 19^th rated McCook Community College Lady Indians.  The games will be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com .  Game times are at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m CDT.

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team extended their winning streak to seven by defeating the Southeast Community College Lady Storm in a double header winning both games by identical scores of 12 – 10.

The games were National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II contests.

In the first game the Knights opened up the scoring in the first inning when Audrie Conner singled and later scored on Sara Villalobos’ single to centerfield.  The Lady Storm answered back with two runs in their half of the first on runs by Alexis Graewe and Callie Pinkham. The Knights came right back in the second and scored three runs.  Sara Runia started out the inning by singling to left field. Shelby Clark walked.  Brittney Odum singled to left field and brought in Runia.  Conner batted in Clark and Odum with a single.

The Knights added to their lead in the third inning by scoring another three runs to make the score 7 – 2.  Shannon Lieber reached on an error by Lady Storm second baseman Pinkham.  Jessica Jarvis was hit by the pitch.  Runia then singled to right advancing the runners.  Lieber scored on a ground ball by Clark.  Caroline Motis doubled to drive in Jarvis and Runia.

The Lady Storm battled back by scoring two runs in both the third and the fourth inning, which included a two-run home run by Megan Hartman.

The Knights got back one of the runs in the top of the fifth when Odum hit a line drive home run over the center field fence making the score 8 – 6 in favor of the Knights.

The Lady Storm weren’t done.  Hartman hit her second home run of the game to lead off the bottom of the fifth to make the score 8 – 7.

The Knights broke the game open in the top of the sixth when Mehana Chang singled and then scored when Villalobos reached on an error by shortstop Graewe.  Christina Rodie came in to run for Villalobos and scored along with Jarvis on Runia’s fifth home run of the season to make the score 12 – 7.

The Lady Storm scored three more runs in the sixth inning to cut the lead to 12 -10.  The Lady Storm  tried to rally in the seventh when the first two batters walked.  They were unable to  capitalize on the walks and went scoreless in the seventh.

Runia pitched the complete game for the win.  She allowed 10 runs on four hits and 10 walks and struck out 3 batters.

Conner and Runia each had three hits for the Knights in game one to lead the Knights offensive attack.

In game two, the game went back and forth until the Knights exploded with seven runs in their half of the fourth to take an 11 – 5 lead.  Their onslaught was powered by a two-run home run by Odum scoring Motis and a three-run home run by Clark which scored Lieber and Tara Crouch.  In the fifth inning Odum walked and scored on an error by Lady Storm first baseman Nicole Zelinski to make the score 12 – 5.

The Lady Storm in their half of the fifth mounted a comeback by scoring five runs to cut the Knight lead to two.

The Lady Storm, in their seventh had the tying run on second base with one out.  Knights pitcher struck out Pinkham and Breanna Johnson to strand the runners and end the game.  Lieber struck out nine batters in the game and allowed only two walks.

The Knights were led offensively by Lieber, who had three hits in the game.

On the day the Knights had four home runs, including two by Odum who has six on the season. The Knights have hit a total of 20 home runs in their 22 games.

The Knights improve to 10 – 12 on the season and 4 – 0 in Region IX Division II play.  The Lady Storm drop to 7 – 13 on the season and 0 – 2 in Region IX play.

The Knights continue their road trip on Sunday when they travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa to face Iowa Western Community College.  Game times are at noon and 2:00 p.m. CDT.

The North Platte Community College Knights Softball team opened up their three day, six game road trip by sweeping  the Central Community College Lady Raiders on Friday  11 – 5 and 5 – 2 increasing their winning streak to five games.

The games were National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II games.

In the first game, the Knights opened up the scoring on a run by Audrie Conner.  Conner reached on an error by Lady Raider third baseman Kady Lockmon.  Mahena Chang singled to score Conner to make the score 1 – 0.  The Lady Raiders answered back with a run in their half of the first.  They took the lead in the bottom of the second to take the lead 3 – 1.  The Knights scored five runs in the third inning to take the lead 6 – 3.  Brittney Odum opened up the inning by singling to left field.  Conner reached on an error by the Lady Raider second baseman which advanced Odum to second. Odum scored on a single by Chang. The Knights pulled off a double steal with Chang stealing second and Conner stealing home.  Sara Villalobos walked and advanced to second on a single by Jessica Jarvis, which also put Chang on third.  Sara Runia doubled, scoring Chang and Villalobos and advancing Jarvis to third. Jarvis scored when Caroline Motis reached on the second error by Lockmon.

Shelbi Dittmer of Central hit a solo home run and Alicia Bigelow scored a run  in the bottom of the third to make the score 6 – 5 in favor of the Knights.  The Knights increased their lead to 9 – 5 in the top of the fourth with runs by Shannon Lieber, Chang and Villalobos.

In the top of the sixth, the Knights Runia sealed the win with a two-run home run scoring Christina Rodie.  Runia had five runs batted in, in game one to help her own cause.  Runia pitched a complete game allowing five runs, three of them earned, on five hits.  She also struck out four Lady Raiders to get the win in game one.

In the second game, the Lady Raiders scored in the bottom of the first when Jacy Bretschneider singled, advanced to second and then scored on a single by Shelbi Dittmer.

The Knights Jarvis started off the top of the second reaching base on an error by Bretschneider and scored on a single by Tara Crouch.  Shelby Clark singled to keep the rally going, advancing Crouch to second.  Odum singled to score Crouch. Odum scored on a fielder’s choice by Conner to put the Knights ahead 3 – 1.

Alissa Edwards of Central walked and scored on a single by Aney Pasold  to cut the Knights lead to 3 – 2.

The Knights added some insurance runs in the top of the fifth when Chang was hit by a pitch, Villalobos singled and Runia doubled to knock in both Chang and Villalobos to make the score 5 – 2.

Runia drove in seven runs on the day.

Shannon Lieber was in the circle and pitched a complete game for the win.  Lieber allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out five Lady Raiders.

Villalobos had four hits on the day to lead the Knights.

The Knights improve to 8 – 12 on the season and 2 – 0 in Region IX Division II play.  Central is now 2 – 4 on the season and 0 – 2 in Region IX play.

The Knights travel to Beatrice  on Saturday March 14 to play Southeast Community College in a doubleheader.  Those games are also Region IX Division II games.  Game times are at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. CDT.

The Knights will conclude their road trip on Sunday when they travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa to face Iowa Western Community College.  Game times are at noon and 2:00 p.m. CDT​

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team swept the Dawson Community College Lady Buccaneers on Wednesday at the Wayne Dowhower Softball Complex 4 – 3 and 6 – 0.

The first game started with the Lady Buccaneers scoring two runs in the second inning by Alissa Keeler and Haley Swan.  Keeler added a home run in the third to make the score 3 – 0.

In the fourth inning the Knights Sara Villalobos and Brittney Odum hit back-to-back home runs and Sara Runia scored on a single by Audrie Conner to tie the score at three.

The Knights scored the go ahead run in the fifth on an error by the Lady Buccaneers center fielder scoring Mehana Chang.

Shannon Lieber pitched seven innings for the win allowing three runs on eight hits.  Lieber struck out five.

In the second game, Baileigh Oleson pitched a gem, allowing one hit and no runs. Oleson struck out four batters in seven innings.

The Knights scored in the third inning on a two-run home run by Lieber, scoring Conner who had singled earlier.  Odum added her second home run for the day in the fourth inning to put the Knights up 3 – 0.  The Knights added three insurance runs in the sixth inning on doubles by Chang and Jessica Jarvis.  Jarvis, Chang and Odum scored the runs.

The Knights improve to 6 – 12 on the season and the Lady Buccaneers fall to 3 – 3.

The Knights take to the road this weekend to play six games in three days.  On Friday they travel to Columbus to play Central Community College in a doubleheader.  On Saturday they travel to Beatrice for a doubleheader with Southeast Community College.  All four of these games are National Junior College Athletic Association Region IX Division II games, which will help determine seeding for the Region IX tournament at the end of April in North Platte.  Game times for the Central games are at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Southeast games are at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. CDT.

The Knights conclude their road trip on Sunday by playing a doubleheader against Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Game times are at noon and 2 p.m. CDT.

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team split their doubleheader with the Dawson County Community College Lady Buccaneers on Tuesday at the Wayne Dowhower Softball Complex.

The Knights lost the first game 14-12 in extra innings and won the second game 5 – 1.

The Lady Buccaneers Jackie Thomas led off the first game by being hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and  advanced to third on a wild pitch that was ball four to Rachael Dillon. Both of them scored on ground outs to give the Lady Buccaneers the early 2 – 0 lead at the top of the first inning. In the bottom half of the first, the Knights scored five runs on four infield hits to make the score 5 – 2 in favor of the Knights.  In the second inning with Jacey Schleicher on base, the Lady Buccaneers Dillon homered to cut the lead to 5 – 4.

Shannon Lieber, the Knights first baseman led off the bottom of the third with a home run.  An inning later, with Sara Villalobos on base, Lieber doubled and later scored to make the score 8 – 6.

The Knights were leading going into the seventh inning 9 – 7.  The Lady Buccaneers rallied to tie the score at nine on runs by Haley Swan and Venessa Quintero.

In the eighth inning, the Lady Buccaneers were able to push across five runs to take the lead 14 – 9.  The Knights rallied for three runs  in the eighth inning by Audrie Conner, Villalobos and Sara Runia but it was not enough to win.

In the second game, the Knights scored four runs in the second inning by Brittney Odum, Shelby Clark, Toree Polsley and Andrea Quiroga.

Lieber added a run in the fourth on a solo home run to make the score 5 – 0.

Pitcher Baileigh Oleson was able to hold the Lady Buccaneers scoreless for 4.1 innings. Dillon scored the only run for the Lady Buccaneers in the second game.

The Knights  are now 4 – 12 on the season and the Lady Buccaneers are now 3 – 1 on the season.

The same two teams will face each other again on Wednesday in a doubleheader.  Game times are 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. CDT.

The games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1410 and on the internet at www.northplattepost.com.  They will also be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com.​

The North Platte Community College Softball team will host the Dawson Community College Buccaneers in doubleheaders on both Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11 at the Wayne Dowhower Softball Complex.

The Knights are 3 – 11 on the season.  They are led offensively by Sara Villalobos. Villalobos is leading the team in hitting with a 0.381 batting average, a 0.595 slugging percentage, and a 0.480 on base percentage.  Villalobos also has scored 11 runs, has three doubles, two home runs, and 11 runs batted in. Sara Runia leads the Knights in home runs with three on the season.

The pitching staff is anchored by Shannon Lieber and Baileigh Oleson.  Lieber has a 6.37 earned run average in 41 innings pitched.  She has 17 strike outs and has allowed 13 walks and five home runs.   Oleson has a 5.55 earned run average in 35.2 innings pitched.  Oleson has 18 strikeouts and has allowed 17 walks and 12 home runs.

The Buccaneers played their first games of their season today against Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.  The Lady Buccaneers were 27 – 18 a year ago and return nine sophomores including Alissa Keeler, who led the team in hitting with a 0.467 and a 0.895 slugging percentage.  She had 13 home runs and 51 runs batted in.

In the circle, the Lady Buccaneers return Jackie Thomas and Chezarae Garcia, along with Keeler.  Thomas went 5  – 0 on the season, had a 1.70 earned run average, striking out 28 and only allowing two home runs.  Garcia went 2 – 5 on the season with a 4.72 earned run average.  Garcia struck out 41 and allowed two home runs on the season.

Game times for both days are at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. CDT.

All games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1410 and on www.northplattepost.com.  It will also be live streamed on www.coachesaid.com.

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team split a double header against the Colby Community College Lady Trojans on Sunday at the Dowhower Softball Complex.

The Knights won the opener 6 – 4 and were defeated in the nightcap 10 – 9 in eight innings.

In the first game, the Lady Trojans jumped out to an early lead off the bat of Collette West.  West doubled in the first inning and scored to give the Lady Trojans a 1 – 0 lead.  In the third inning the Lady Trojans hit back to back home runs by West and Rachel Van Gulick to take a 3 – 0 lead.  The Knights ended the Lady Trojans rally after Hannah Charles singled and advanced Alix Johnson who reached on a walk.  Britnee Higgs advanced the runners by sacricing them to second and third.  Knights’ pitcher Baileigh Oleson struck out Alexandra Vigil to end the inning.

The Knights in their half of the third got their first run when Shannon Lieber reached second on an error by the Lady Trojans rightfielder, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by the Lady Trojans leftfielder.

With the Knights trailing Sara Villalobos batted in three runs on a double, knocking in Audrie Connor, Shannon Lieber and Caroline Motis to make the score 6 – 4.

Brittney Odum of the Knights made a spectacular defensive play when she caught the ball at the deepest part of centerfield, which made her tumble to the ground.  The Lady Trojans didn’t realize Odum had caught it and begin circling the bases and the Knights were able to double up the runner at first before she could get back.

Baileigh Oleson pitched six strong innings to pick up the win for the Knights.

In game two, the Lady Trojans took a 9 – 2 lead going into the seventh inning.  The Knights rallied to tie the game at nine when Mehana Chang hit a three run homer.

The Lady Trojans were able to score in their half of the eighth.  The Knights had the chance to  score in their half of the eighth with Villalobos on second .  Sara Runia reached first on an infield hit, which advanced Villalobos to third.  Villalobos was thrown out at home when she attempted to score when Odum grounded out.

Knights Head coach Janelle Higgins said, “We fought hard all day. Game one we made adjustments towards the end of them game and finished strong. Game two we had a rough inning but came back in the 7th to show we weren’t giving in and came up short. To be down 7 going into the 7th it would have been easy to roll over and these girls showed how tough they are by stepping up.”

The Knights go to 3  – 11 on the season and will play Dawson Community College on Tuesday and Wednesday at home.  Game times are at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. CDT on both days.

ESPN Radio 1410 and www.northplattepost.com will be broadcasting the games.  The games may be viewed on www.coachesaid.com.​

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team split a double header against Adams State University Grizzlies Junior Varsity on Friday at Alamosa, Colorado, losing the first game 13 – 4, and winning the nightcap 11 – 10.

In the first game the Knights started off the game with walks by Sara Villalobos and Brittney Odum.  Sara Runia reached on a fielder’s choice.  Villalobos scored on an error by the Griizzlies’ third baseman April Riggins.  The Grizzlies answered back in their half of the first by scoring two runs.

After pushing across two runs in the top of the fourth, the Knights faced just a 6-4 deficit. A groundout by Caroline Motis and an RBI single by Odum triggered  the Knights’ comeback. Shannon Lieber lined to center to end the Knights threat.

Adams State JV answered with seven runs of its own in the fourth. Adams State JV scored on an RBI single by Amy Pender, a two-run error, a sacrifice fly by Briana Rodriguez, an RBI single by Schulyer Adkins, an RBI single by Alexandria Quintana, and an RBI triple by April Riggins.

Lieber took the loss for the Knights pitching four innings and allowing seven earned runs.

Tara Crouch led the Knights offensively by reaching base twice and scoring two runs.  Crouch tripled and walked.

In the second game Runia clubbed two home runs to carry the Knights to an 11-10 win over Adams State JV in seven innings.

Each team blasted the other’s pitching, and there were 21 total runs and 22 hits during the game.

The teams traded runs for most of the contest, leading to eight lead changes in the game.

The Knights pulled out the win thanks to a strong fifth inning. The Knights scored on a three-run double by Shelby Clark off Kaitlin Hoffmann, bringing home Villalobos, Runia and Andrea Quiroga.

The Knights were sparked by Villalobos and Runia, who teamed up for seven hits and four RBI.

Baileigh Oleson pitched seven innings to get the win for the Knights.  Oleson struck out three and allowed six earned runs.

The Knights are now 2 – 10 on the season.  They will face Colby Community College on Sunday March 8 at home.  Game times are at noon and 2:00 p.m.  CDT.  The game may be seen on www.coachesaid.com.

The North Platte Community College Knights softball team will be at home for the first time this season when they play the Colby Community College Lady Trojans in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 8 at the Dowhower Softball Complex.

The Knights are 1 – 9 on the season.  Offensively they are led by Shannon Lieber, who is batting 0.345 in 29 at bats.  Lieber has had five doubles and one home run for a slugging percentage of 0.621.  She has also batted in six runs. The Knights have hit six home runs on the season: two by Sara Villalobos; two by Brittney Odum and one each by Lieber and Sara Runia. Villalobos and Odum lead the team in runs batted in with eight.

Lieber also is the leader on the Knights pitching staff.  She has a record of 0 – 4 with a 4.26 earned run average. She has 12 strikeouts and has only walked four batters.

The Lady Trojans are 7 – 4 on the season.  They have defeated the Knights in the first two games of the season 6 – 4 and 3 – 0. They are led at the plate by Shelbi Day with a 0.452 batting average with a double and two triples.  The Lady Trojans have had three home runs this season.  One each by Tanner Harvey, Sarah Churchwell and Tahnee Saxton.

Mara Nash and Abby Martin have anchored the Lady Trojan pitching staff. Nash has a 2 – 2 record with a 2.41 earned run average with 31 strikeouts. Martin is 3 – 1 with a 5.73 earned run average and 11 strikeouts.

Game times are at noon and 2:00 pm CDT.  They may be viewed at www.coachesaid.com.