Bison girls drop season-opening softball games

HASTINGS -- The scores from the Monday, Aug. 23 season-opening games for the McCook High School girls softball team might have been a bit deceiving.

The Bison girls traveled to Hastings to face Norris and Beatrice in a battle of the state's top-ranked Class B teams at the Bill Smith Softball Complex. McCook dropped a 7-2 decision to Norris in the opening game, then the Bison were blanked by Beatrice, 8-0, in five innings in the nightcap.

McCook took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Norris, but the winners came back to tie the score in the third inning, then scored three runs in the fourth to take control.

Norris pounded 12 hits, but the Bison hurt their chances by committing six errors. McCook head coach Jason Cochran thought the score would have been much different if his team could have played error-free, as Norris capitalized on the Bison miscues.

Erin Premer led McCook in the opening game with a pair of hits. Amanda Einspahr and Kelsey Gillen added a hit each.

Gillen pitched the entire game for the Bison in the opener, as she registered four strikeouts.

Beatrice broke open a scoreless game in the fifth, scoring all eight of its runs, helped by two McCook errors.

The Bison could not manage a hit against Beatrice.

Gillen allowed four runs on just two hits in 4 2/3 innings of work. Coach Cochran put his two freshman pitchers, Madison Elder and Alli Sheets, on the mound in the final inning.

Despite the two losses, Coach Cochran was optimistic about his team's performance. Cochran said all the miscues committed by his team are "fixable," and he thinks his team will recover.

Lexington traveled to Hastings to complete the four-team double-dual format. Lex lost 12-0 to Beatrice, then dropped a 9-0 decision to Norris.

Back to Hastings

McCook returns to Hastings Thursday, Aug. 26, for another pair of tough games against two Omaha schools. The Bison face Omaha Skutt Catholic at 4:30 p.m., and Omaha Gross Catholic at 6:15 p.m. North Platte will also be in Hastings Thursday to face Gross and Skutt.

The Bison will also compete in the Holdrege Invitational Saturday, Aug. 28, playing Hastings and the host Dusters in pool play early Saturday.