CONCORDIA, Kan. – Eclipsing last year's win total, the Cloud County Community College softball team would earn their sixth win in their past seven games by securing a home doubleheader sweep over visiting Allen County Community College at the CCCC Softball Field on Saturday, April 29th.
Picking up a 9-5 win in game one to match last season's win total of 18, the T-Birds would shutout Allen in game two by a score of 5-0 to improve to 19-23 overall and 9-9 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while the Red Devils fall to 12-25 overall and 4-14 in the KJCCC.
Game One:
Allowing a leadoff error to ACCC, CCCC would fall into a 2-0 hole after half an inning of play as a sacrifice bunt and double into right-center field would put runners at second and third with just one out for the Red Devils. Allen would see the two runs come across on each of their next two at-bats, with an RBI groundout and RBI single pushing across two unearned runs before the T-Birds would get a chance to bat.
Looking to match Allen with some offense in the bottom of the inning, Cloud County would turn a leadoff
Ryleigh Jones single into a run later in the inning as a stolen base, groundout, and fielding error on a would-be groundout bringing home the sophomore to cut the Allen lead in half at 2-1 despite ending the inning by stranding two runners.
Two strikeouts in the top of the second would help set the table for a one-two-three defensive end of the second for CCCC to get the bats back up at the plate where five consecutive base hits to begin the bottom of the second would allow Cloud County to plate four runs. Of the five hits, doubles for
Zoie Kincade and Jones along with singles from
Brooklynn McCormick,
Alexis Billings, and
Kaitlynn Baca capped off the inning to give CCCC a 5-2 lead heading into the third.
Following a scoreless inning to send things to the fourth, Allen would cut a three-run deficit down to just one as an infield single set up a two-run home run for the Red Devils before a pair of groundouts to end the top half of the inning. Cloud County would be unable to respond offensively in their end of the inning but would retire ACCC in order in the top of the fifth to maintain their one-run lead and head to the plate with the two-three-four batters due up.
Back-to-back one-out base runners in the form of an
Emily Kvasnicka single and
McKenna Mayhew walk would put a runner in scoring position that would eventually come around to score on a
Hannah Hotalen RBI single to put CCCC up 6-4. The lead for the T-Birds would grow again in the bottom of the sixth as a two-out double for Jones and Baca RBI single kick off a rally that would see three runs come home on three hits to give Cloud County a more comfortable 9-4 lead heading into the seventh.
Trying to close out the Red Devils would not come easy for CCCC as a leadoff single would be followed by a fielder's choice and lineout before a shallow single down the left field line to put runners on the corners with Allen's three-hole hitter due up. The base runner from third would score in the next at-bat as a wild pitch would give ACCC their first run since the top of the fourth before having the game end on a flyout into right field to give the T-Birds a game-one win.
An efficient and effective offensive performance from Cloud County would see 11 total base hits produce the nine-run outing to mark the 10th time this year that CCCC has scored at least nine runs in a game. Stranding just four base runners, Baca and Mayhew would lead the T-Birds with three RBI each while seeing eight of the nine players in the lineup for Cloud County record at least one hit. In the circle, Dekok would need just 93 total pitches to throw a complete game and improve to 8-6 overall after allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits.
Game Two:
It would be defense early on that would prove to the headline in the opening innings of game two as two stranded base runners for Cloud County would be followed by a pair of stranded base runners in the second for Allen with neither team able to find the scoreboard throughout the first four innings of action. Another scoreless defensive inning for the T-Birds in the top of the fourth would once again give CCCC the opportunity to try and take the first lead of the contest in the bottom f the inning with the middle part of the order due up.
Starting off the bottom of the fourth with a Mayhew single and hit-by-pitches for
Jayden Rehlander and Hotalen, Kincade would ensure that the lead would be taken by Cloud County by finding the right-center field gap to drive home all three base runners on a stand-up double. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Billings would draw a walk to turn the lineup over and set up a two-out, two-RBI triple for
Mia Kelly to finish a five-run inning. Finally having run support to work with, T-Bird freshman
Kiera Brack would retire six of the next seven batters on her way to allowing just one hit over the final three innings of action as the lead for CCCC never would be in trouble to pick up their fourth shutout win of the year.
Allowing just five hits while striking out four, Brack would earn her fifth win of the year as just one of the five hits would go for extra bases for Allen. On the offensive side of things, Cloud County would record seven hits but strand six base runners as Mayhew and Jones would finish as the lone T-Birds with extra-base hits.
What's Next?
Cloud County will look to carry to their recent stretch of strong play on the road on Monday, May 1st with a 2 PM doubleheader at Independence Community College. ICC has lost their last nine games and is 15-19 overall ahead of a home Sunday doubleheader against Hesston College on Sunday. The Pirates are scheduled to play eight games in the next five days to close out the regular season with games on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
