Lady Indians snag two Region IX wins in New Mexico

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The McCook Community College softball team swept a pair of games Tuesday to open the four-game series with Luna Community College. MCC won 10-9 in 10 innings in Game 1 and took the second game 11-4.

MCC came back from a 5-4 deficit in the seventh inning to force extra-innings in Game 1 and scored four runs in the 10th inning to hold off the Lady Roughriders.

"That first game was a battle. Easily the longest softball game I have been a part of," said MCC Coach Mike Mendenhall. "The game could have gone either way but hats off to the girls for never giving up."

After trailing 3-1 after one inning of Game 2, the Lady Indians scored 10 unanswered runs as freshman Sadie Kahl (Calgary, Alberta) struck out eight hitters in the complete-game win and helped her own cause with two hits. Freshman Lexi Knapp (Berthoud, Colo.) doubled three times in the win.

"We got down early in Game 2, but we looked much more comfortable at the plate so I knew we would put up some runs," said Mendenhall. "After the first inning Sadie settled in and threw a great game."

Luna goes to 14-17 and 1-5 in Region IX play.

MCC improves to 20-4 and 2-2 in the region.

The two teams will play two more games Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. (CT).

GAME 1 – McCook CC 10, Luna CC 9 (10 innings): After two outs in the first MCC took a 1-0 lead on consecutive singles by Andie Suhai (Medicine Hat, Alberta), Lexi Knapp and Sadie Kahl.

Luna got a two-out home run in the bottom of the second from Angelica Ortiz to take a 2-1 lead off MCC starting pitcher Ella Covill-Marter (Queensland, Australia). Ortiz entered the series as the top-ranked slugger in the National Junior College Athletic Association with 28 home runs, 88 RBIs, 150 total bases in 29 games and a 1.579 slugging average.

Freshman Laila Gutierrez (Seminole, Texas) tied the game 2-2 with a leadoff home run in the third. The Lady Indians took a 3-2 lead in the fourth with the help of a two out Luna error.

Suhai led off the fifth with a double and scored on a single by Knapp to put MCC up 4-2.

The Lady Roughriders got a two-run home run by Alyssa Garduno to tie the game and went up 5-4 on a two-out single in the sixth inning.

MCC came back with a two-out rally in the seventh. Kahl doubled, freshman Anna Elliott (Calgary, Alberta) drew a walk and sophomore Brylee Dean (Gering) delivered a clutch two-run double to put MCC up 6-5. Luna put the game to extra innings with a pair of singles and a wild pitch with two outs to knot the game at 6-6

Freshman Ayana Goodwin (Broomfield, Colo.) singled to lead of the MCC eighth and a Luna error put runners at first and third base but a lineout doubleplay ended the offensive momentum. In the bottom of the inning, Covill-Marter walked the leadoff hitter but escaped from the inning after striking out the next two hitters and inducing an inning-ending popout.

Both teams went out in order in the ninth and the tie-breaker rule went into effect to start the 10th with a runner on base. Covill-Marter bunted to third base and reached on a single. Goodwin singled home the runner to put MCC up 7-6. Gutierrez singled home Covill-Marter then after one out, Suhai's RBI-single gave MCC a 9-6 lead and a two-out single by Kahl made it 10-6.

Luna scored a pair of runs on an error in the 10th inning and made it a 10-9 game with a sacrifice fly. Covill-Marter got a flyball, then allowed a single to put the tying run at second and winning run at first but came up with a strikeout to end the game. It was her 11th of the game. She picked up the complete-game win allowing 11 hits walking three and allowing six earned runs.

Suhai, Kahl and Goodwin led the MCC offense with three hits each.

GAME 2 – McCook CC 13, Luna CC 4: Andie Suhai hit a two-out solo home run in the first to put MCC up 1-0 but in the bottom of the inning Luna took a 3-1 lead with a single, an MCC error and a three-run home run by Angelica Ortiz.

The Lady Indians reclaimed the lead in the second with an RBI-double by Anna Elliott, an RBI-single by freshman Angela Banzet (Surrey, British Columbia) to tie the game 3-3, an RBI-double by Laila Gutierrez and an RBI-single by Ayana Goodwin (Broomfield, Colo.) to put MCC in the lead 5-3.

Lexie Knapp doubled to lead off the third and scored on a two-out RBI from Rocio Mascorro (freshman, Brownsville, Texas) to give the Lady Indians a 6-3 advantage.

MCC broke the game open with three in the fifth inning as Knapp again led off an inning with a double and scored on an RBI single from Sadie Kahl. A Luna error gave MCC an 8-3 lead when Kahl scored and Gutierrez hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 9-3 MCC lead.

Knapp doubled with one out in the sixth and Brylee Dean hit an RBI groundout to put MCC up 10-3. A leadoff triple by Elliott and three walks in the seventh put MCC up 11-3.

Kahl allowed a run in the seventh but picked up the complete-game win allowing four hits, three walks and two earned runs in seven innings. She struck out eight hitters and had a two-hit game at the plate.

Knapp led the MCC offense with three doubles, Mascorro and Elliott both had two-hit games as MCC outhit Luna 13-4.