Indian softball team wins pair in 'Winter Dome'

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The McCook Community College softball team picked up a pair of wins Wednesday at the Presentation College "Winter Dome." MCC downed Iowa Western Community College 8-5 in the first game and topped Northeastern Community College 13-8 in the second game.

MCC improves to 5-1 on the season and will continue action in the dome on Thursday taking on Northeastern CC at 9:30 a.m. and then Iowa Western CC at 11:30 a.m.

GAME 1 – MCC 8, Iowa Western Community College 5: Iowa Western took a 1-0 lead with a solo home run by Katrina Bain but MCC responded with four runs in the third. A pair of MCC walks and a Reiver error knotted the game at 1-1. Taryn Jenkins (Aldergrove, British Columbia) delivered a two-run single to make it a 3-1 game and Rae VanMilligan (Marion, Iowa) bunted her home to put the lady Indians up 4-1.

Sophomore Camryn Laird (Pueblo, Colo.) led off the MCC fourth with a line-drive single to right field and later came home on an RBI-groundout off the bat of freshman Taylor Thein (West Branch, Iowa) to make it a 5-1 MCC lead.

Iowa Western scored twice in the fifth but MCC countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Jenkins singled to lead off the frame, followed by two MCC walks. She scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman Ashland Baca (Byers, Colo.) to make it 6-3 and then Laird drove home two runs on a single to right field to put the Lady Indians up 8-3.

Freshman Avery O'Neil (Ellsworth, Wis.) started the game and pitched into the sixth inning before she was relieved by Lana Armsbury (freshman, Omaha Westside). O'Neil (2-1) allowed five hits, five runs, three walks and she struck out five Reivers. Armsbury went one inning, allowing three hits and two walks, but no runs and one strikeout.

Sophomore Anna Wilcox (Victoria, British Columbia) entered the game in the seventh inning with bases loaded and one out and was able to induce a pair of groundouts to pick up her first save of the season.

Laird and Jenkins both had two hits to lead the seven-hit MCC offense and they both drove in two runs.

Iowa Western Reivers entered the game 2-0.

GAME 2 – MCC 13, Northeastern Community College 8: MCC's Ashland Baca drove in seven runs on a home run and two doubles as the Lady Indians spoiled the season opener for Northeastern.

The Lady Indians put three runs on the board in each of the first two innings, added four in the fourth and three more in the sixth to make a winner of Anna Wilcox (3-0).

Baca got the Lady Indians rolling in the first with a two-out, two-run double. Taryn Jenkins put MCC up 6-1 with a solo home run in the second inning. Baca came back with a three-run home run in the fourth to put MCC up 10-3.

Wilcox went six innings, allowed eight runs on 10 hits and she struck out three. Avery O'Neill threw one inning of shutout relief, allowing one hit and fanning three.

Jenkins and Rae VanMilligan both had a pair of hits for MCC. The Lady Indians stole six bases in the game including three from freshman Alexis Cortez (Aurora, Colo.).