Pratt, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team opened the season Saturday and Sunday against Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas, and went 1-2 in the two days.
The Cougars started Saturday with just one game and fell 10-1. Sunday’s action saw a stellar pitching performance from Lexi Butterfield and a 5-RBI game from Cheyenne Ausborn as the Cougars won game one 21-0. The second game on Sunday saw WNCC fall 26-7.
The two squads will be back in action Monday for another doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. MST.
Sunday’s first game saw the Cougars pound out 18 hits, including six doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Ausborn had the hot bat in the first game, going 4-for-4 with five RBIs, three runs scored, a double, and two triples.
Also collecting multi hits were seven other batters. Chayden Chong had a home runs with three RBIs and three runs scored, while Ashley Quinn had three RBIs with two singles and two runs scored. Bella Coffman also had three RBIs with two doubles and two runs scored.
Bailey Blanchard had two hits with a double, three runs scored, and a RBI; Butterfield had two hits with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored; Chloe Cronquist had a double with two RBIs and a run scored; and Emma Schweitzer had a double with two RBIs and two runs scored.
WNCC put the game away quick, scoring seven times in the first and third innings for a 15-0 lead.
The first inning saw Butterfield getting a run-scoring single for a 1-0 lead. That was followed by a 2-run triple from Ausborn. Chong then hits a 3-run home run for a 7-0 lead.
WNCC added a single run in the second on a Butterfield home run and followed that up with seven more in the third. The big hits were a Coffman 2-run double, a 2-run triple by Ausborn, and a run-scoring double by Cronquist for the 15-0 lead.
WNCC added three more in the fourth and fifth for the final 21-0 win.
Butterfield picked up the win with three strong innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Chong tossed the final two innings and struck out two and allowed no hits.
The second game saw WNCC start off where they left off in the first, scoring five first inning runs. Blanchard led off with a single followed by a run-scoring single by Quinn. Butterfield than scored Quinn on a triple and Butterfield came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Ausborn. The fifth run came from Coffman who doubled and scored on a double by Schweitzer for the 5-0 lead.
WNCC managed two more runs after that, but the Pratt bats came alive as they scored 11 runs in the first and 13 in the second for a commanding 24-6 lead.
WNCC finished with nine hits in the contest. Coffman and Quinn each had two hits. Coffman had a double and triple with a run scored. Quinn had two singles with two RBIs and a run scored. Schweitzer had a double with three RBIs.
Saturday’s contest saw WNCC get on the scoreboard first as Blanchard walked and scored on a fly ball by Coffman for the 1-0 lead.
After that, Pratt tied the game with a single run in the first and took the lead with another single run in the second. Pratt added six more in the third for an 8-1 lead and went on to win 10-1.
WNCC had just two hits in the contest from the bats of Quinn and Ausborn.
Ashley Quinn took the loss in the circle, going 4 2/3 innings in striking out two and allowing eight hits.
Saturday’s Game
WNCC 100 00 – 1 2 6
Pratt 116 02 – 10 8 1
LP – Ashley Quinn
Sunday’s Games
Game 1
WNCC 717 33 – 21 18 1
Pratt 000 00 – 0 1 2
WP – Lexi Butterfield
2B – Cheyenne Ausborn, Bailey Blanchard, Bella Coffman, Chloe Cronquist, Emma Schweitzer.
3B – Cheyenne Ausborn 2.
HR – Lexi Butterfield, Chayden Chong.
Game 2
WNCC 510 01 – 7 9 9
Pratt (11)(13)0 2x – 26 20 1
LP – Chayden Chong.
2B – Bella Coffman, Emma Schweitzer.
3B – Lexi Butterfield, Bella Coffman.
