CONCORDIA, Kan. – A final tune-up ahead of Thursday's Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference opening doubleheader that is now scheduled to be on the road would see the Cloud County Community College softball team split a home doubleheader with Southeast Community College, winning 12-10 in game one before falling 16-2 in game two at the CCCC Softball Field in Concordia, Kansas on Tuesday, March 15th.
The non-conference split moves Cloud County to 8-5 overall on the year while Southeast is now 5-9 overall.
GAME ONE:
No shortage of runs would be had throughout the opening game on Tuesday as each team would turn two hits in the first inning into two runs before seeing the Storm put together a two-run top of the second on a hit and an error just to be outdone by the T-Birds who would score three runs on two hits and an SCC error while sending eight batters to the plate. Holding a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the third, the CCCC offense would put together its best inning of the afternoon as a
Taylor Dekok solo home run to lead off the inning would start a five-run, five-hit inning as four of the first five batters in the inning would reach base. The T-Birds would also get an RBI single from
Shayna Fila, a two-RBI double from
Ryleigh Jones, and a sacrifice fly from
Delaney Exon to cap off the scoring as Cloud County would take their largest lead of the game at 10-4.
Following a scoreless fourth inning, Southeast would have a five-run response in the top of the fifth as four hits and a hit batter would all be turned into runs for the Storm. CCCC would get two runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Jones would hit her second double of the game by finding the left-center field gap to score
Ella Caudill before seeing Exon score Fila with an RBI groundout in the next at-bat. The final run of the game would come in the top of the seventh by SCC as a one-out triple would come around to score on an RBI groundout to pull the Storm within two, but a second-straight groundout would end the game and allow the T-Birds to hang on for their first victory of the year over Southeast.
Pounding out 14 hits, seven different players for Cloud County would record at least one hit with Jones going three-for-three to go along with two-for-four performances from
Alexis Billings and
Mia Kelly. The big day from Jones would also see the Alma, Kansas native drive in five runs, scored twice, and hit three of CCCC's four extra-base hits while also stealing two bases. Splitting time in the circle for the T-Birds would be Dekok who improved to 4-2 overall after allowing eight runs on seven hits in four innings of work before turning things over to
Kyra Meyer who tossed the final three innings and allowed two runs on two hits.
GAME TWO:
Whatever Cloud County had going offensively in game one would not carry over into game two as CCCC would be limited to just five hits with three of the five hits coming in a two-run second inning as the T-Birds would never lead in the game. After allowing a run in the top of the first off a leadoff single, wild pitch, and RBI groundout, Cloud County would see the Storm send 16 batters to the plate in the top of the second as seven hits, three walks, a hit batter, and a throwing error would lead to 11 runs that would turn the one-run deficit into the largest deficit CCCC had faced all year. Southeast would tack on another four runs on just two hits in the top of the third as nothing would be going right for the T-Birds who would face a 16-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the third.
The lone offensive production in the game would come off a Caudill infield single and
Rae Ann Hartwig two-run home run to put Cloud County on the board before seeing the next two batters strike out and have the inning end on a flyout with a runner in scoring position. Both teams would be retired in order in the fourth as SCC would strand a runner following a one-out single in the fifth before facing the minimum again in the fifth to end the game.
Hartwig would account for two of CCCC's three hits in the contest and both runs driven in as Exon and
Zoie Kincade would also have extra-base hits in the game. Striking out seven times would not help Cloud County's cause in addition to four errors that would lead to six unearned runs for SCC.
What's Next?
A schedule change for Thursday will now see Cloud County hit the road to open KJCCC play with a 12 PM road doubleheader at Cowley Community College. The change comes amidst forecasted rain on Thursday in the Concordia area, with both the T-Birds and Tigers electing to swap home dates that will now see Cowley make a return trip on Tuesday, April 12th. Originally scheduled for a 2 PM start, the games have been moved up two hours in Arkansas City to try and avoid late afternoon rain that is also forecasted to make its way through the area in the southern part of the state.
