Story by Heather Johnson - Area Public Information Specialist
The North Platte Community College Knights Softball Team lost the lead late in a 12-5 defeat to Lamar Community College Wednesday.
The first game of the home doubleheader was tied at four with Lamar batting in the top of the eighth when Lamar’s LisaMarie Begay doubled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring one run.
The Knights struggled to put runs on the board and had a tough time defensively containing Lamar, giving up 12 runs.
They fired up the offense in the second inning, when Jordan Young, of Johnstown, Colo.,
singled on a 3-2 count, scoring one run.
The Knights totaled six hits. Young, Madisyn Hamar, of Chadron, and Jace Cundiff, of El Dorado Springs, Mo., each managed two hits for the Knights.
The Knights fought back in the second game after falling by five runs in the fifth inning. The comeback fell just short, in an 8-6 defeat.
The Knights were right in it until the eighth inning. The Knights scored five runs on error in the sixth inning and a home run by Cundiff in the seventh.
They had the game knotted up at six in the bottom of the seventh inning when an error scored them one run. Altogether, they notched four runs in the seventh inning.
Contributing NPCC batters included Cundiff and Essence McRae, of Las Vegas, Nev., who all drove in runs.
Young was in the circle for the Knights. The righthander lasted eight innings, allowing three hits and seven runs while striking out two.
The Knights tallied eight hits and one home run on the day. Cundiff went yard in the seventh inning.
Cundiff, Kirsten Greenwalt, of Aurora, Colo., and Zoey Bredleau-Beehler, of Portland, Ore., all had two hits each to lead the Knights.
The team is now 6-24 on the season.
“On a day most teams would have folded, we played, and we showed how tough we are when we play together and for each other,” said NPCC Knights Softball head coach Janelle Higgins. “Lamar is a good team, and we took them to extra innings both games. We just lost focus in the top of the seventh of game one and couldn’t refocus quick enough to pick up the win. Game two, they could have rolled over in the sixth, but they chipped away and again played hard for each other. We didn’t get the wins, but these were definitely wins for us today. I am very proud of how hard we worked together today in the elements and never gave up on each other.”
The Knights were originally scheduled to play Southeast Community College on Saturday. However, due to concerns about the weather, those games have been moved to 1 and 3 p.m. Monday at the Dowhower Softball Complex in North Platte.
The home doubleheader planned for April 29 against Northeastern Junior College has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.