Softball | 5/6/2026 10:33:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College softball team opened its 2026 NJCAA Division 2 Plains District Tournament run with a 7-6 loss in ten innings to Kansas City Kansas Community College on Wednesday, May 6.

The T-Birds (19-20) will face Neosho County (18-26-1) in a 1 pm elimination game Thursday, May 7 after the Panthers lost to Cowley College by a final score of 4-0.

Kansas City Kansas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore designated player Kaitlyn Cowan connected on a two-run home run to left field.

The T-Birds evened things at 2-2 in the top half of the third when freshman outfielder Ava Boden homered to center field, scoring freshman Brooke Lougheed. The home run marked Boden's first of the season.

Cloud County added two runs in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Sophomore catcher Emalee Johnson led-off the inning with a walk. After sophomore first baseman Kendal Ratzlaff singled through the right side of the field, Lougheed reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Johnson. Boden kept the inning going with a two-out single to left-center field. Freshman pitcher Maddie Harold followed with a RBI single to left, scoring Lougheed, to give the T-Birds the 4-2 edge.

The Blue Devils made it a 4-3 game in the bottom half of the fourth inning when freshman outfielder Austyn Hartman scored on a RBI sacrifice fly by sophomore short stop Abryelle Hill.

The score stayed there until the top of the sixth when Boden tripled to right-center field to score freshman short stop Jaci Vonlintel, padding the margin to 5-3.

A fielding error on Cloud County led to Kansas City Kansas scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, trimming the deficit to 5-4.

The T-Birds pushed across a run in the top of the seventh. Sophomore outfielder Berkleigh Curtis doubled to left field, driving in freshman pinch runner Kadence Hall, to make it 6-4.

The Blue Devils stormed back to knot things once again in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore outfielder Sidney Sullivan hit a solo shot to center field, while a RBI ground out by sophomore outfielder Paige Smith scored sophomore pinch runner Grace Rothwell to tie the game at 6-6.

Cloud County left one runner stranded in both the eighth and tenth innings.

Freshman third baseman Maddy Crawford drew a lead-off walk to open the bottom of the tenth inning for Kansas City Kansas. Following a sacrifice bunt by freshman first baseman Marissa Temple, Crawford moved to third on a base-hit by freshman second baseman Mary Stephens. Sullivan then singled through the left side to score Stephens, giving the Blue Devils the 7-6 extra-inning victory.

Curtis took the loss as she pitched the tenth, giving up one run on two hits.

Harold started for the T-Birds, letting up five earned runs on 11 hits with three walks and five strikeouts through nine innings of work.

Boden went 3-for-5 with a home run and a triple to go along with a team-high three RBI and one run scored. Curtis recorded one hit, a double, with one RBI. Lougheed logged one hit, one RBI and two runs scored. Harold supplied one hit and one RBI. Vonlintel chipped in one hit and one run scored. Gardner and Ratzlaff notched one hit apiece. Hall and Johnson scored one run each.

Cloud County aims to bounce back Thursday against Neosho County. Earlier this season, the T-Birds split a doubleheader with Neosho County, falling 15-0 in five innings in the opener before bouncing back to claim a 13-3 five-inning win in the nightcap. Cloud County tallied 13 hits and registered five extra-base hits in their game two victory. Eight of the nine T-Birds in the starting lineup had at least one hit and all nine scored at least one run. The win snapped Cloud County's 17-game losing streak to the Panthers, dating back to 2019.