CONCORDIA, Kan. – Big innings by visiting and number-18 ranked Labette Community College would lead to losses by scores of 10-1 and 16-7 for the Cloud County Community College softball team at the CCCC Softball Field in Concordia, Kansas on Thursday, April 1st.

The losses drop Cloud County to 6-10 overall and 1-9 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and end a stretch of eight straight contests within the KJCCC against teams that are currently ranked inside the NJCAA Division II Softball Top-20 poll. Labette has now won four straight to improve to 16-8 overall and 7-1 in the KJCCC to take over the top spot in Division A of the KJCCC Division II softball standings.

Game One:
Offense would be limited for the T-Birds in game one as Labette would jump out to a 2-0 lead after an inning of play and go up 5-0 after two as CCCC would manage to score just one run on two hits in the contest. The lone Cloud County run would come in the bottom of the fourth as an infield single from Kayla Lee would put just the second baserunner of the game aboard for CCCC as a stolen base and fielding error would allow Shayna Fila to reach base and take second while Lee would move all the way to third to put runners in scoring position with no outs. A Taylor Glause sacrifice fly would then drive in a run as the T-Birds would see a groundout and strikeout end the threat in the inning.

A potent Labette offense would turn their four-run lead heading into the top of the fifth into a nine-run lead as four straight singles to lead off the inning would drive home two runs while leaving two runners on base for Hallee Boyd to hit a three-run home run to cap off a five-run inning. Needing at least two runs to extend the game past the fifth, Cloud County would get a two-out double from Mackenzie Rowe but be unable to keep the rally going as a strikeout would end things in game one.

Hits from Lee and Rowe would account for the only two hits of the game for CCCC as the T-Birds would strike out four times and strand two runners while being able to take advantage of only of three Cardinal errors. Lee would add a stolen base in the contest while Delaney Miller would strike out three in her five innings pitched in the circle.

Game Two:
The T-Bird offense would come alive in game two by scoring in each of the first three innings but unfortunately run into a buzz saw as Labette would pound out 16 runs on 15 hits to take what would start out as a slugfest into a nine-run win. After allowing LCC to plate a run in the top of the first, Cloud County would get out of an early jam by getting a groundout to end the inning with the bases loaded before striking for a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning with a Glause RBI double to score Lee and Rae Ann Hartwig RBI single to give CCCC their first lead of the day. The second hit would force Labette to make an early pitching change as Cloud County would be unable to do any more damage in the inning but still be able to take a 2-1 lead into the top of the second.

A costly T-Bird error would allow the Cardinals to score three runs in the top of the second as Labette would reclaim the lead at 4-2 before seeing CCCC battle back with a leadoff walk by Delaney Exon and throwing error on a fielder's choice put two runners on with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt from Rowe moved both runners into scoring position, Lee would deliver with a big one-out two-RBI double to knot things up at 4-4 as Cloud County would ensure that they wouldn't fall behind in a deficit they couldn't recover from.

The scoring would continue in the top of the third as LCC would manage to add two more runs on four hits to reclaim the lead at 6-4, but wind up stranding runners at first and second as CCCC would be forced to come from behind yet again. Another leadoff walk and error would prove to be to the benefit of Cloud County in the bottom of the third as CCCC would score a run on a Cardinal fielding error that extended the inning before Rowe would provide a two-out, two-RBI single to put the T-Birds back up by a score of 7-6 as the game headed to the fourth.

Things would fall apart however for Cloud County in the fourth as Labette would be firing on all cylinders offensively with the first five batters of the inning safely reaching base to score a pair of runs before eight more would come across on three home runs and a two-RBI single to break the game open and make it 16-7 LCC.

In the final two at-bats for CCCC, Cloud County would get a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the fifth before being shut down in each inning as the next three batters in both innings would be retired.
Five more stranded base runners would prove to be costly for the T-Birds in the contest as CCCC would have seven hits and draw four walks but be unable to make the most of the opportunities they were presented. The six hits for Cloud County would come from six different players as the T-Birds would get extra-base hits from Lee and Glause while Exon would score twice.

What's Next?
Cloud County will have a week off before their next scheduled contests as they will hit the road for a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Coffeyville Community College on Thursday, April 8th. The Red Ravens have struggled out of the gate this season, and are currently 3-13 overall with a 2-8 mark in the KJCCC with a road doubleheader at Independence next Tuesday before hosting the T-Birds.