Cloud County Softball Concludes Home Slate by Dropping Pair to Independence

Stranding 17 base runners over the course of two games, the Cloud County Community College softball team closed out the home portion of their 2024 season by falling to Independence by scores of 5-2 and 6-3 at the CCCC Softball Field in Concordia, Kansas on Tuesday, April 30th.

Unable to take advantage of opportunities to push runs across in potential momentum-shifting moments of each contest, Cloud County is now 16-27 overall and 2-18 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference while Independence improves to 15-22 overall and 6-14 in the KJCCC.

Game One:
Working around a one-out single and two out walk in the top of the first to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard, the T-Birds saw a leadoff single and one-out double put two runners in scoring position before back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and have an opportunity to take an early lead gone to waste. Another stranded base runner for CCCC in the bottom of the second allowed ICC to use a bunt single in the top of the third and RBI double to break a scoreless tie and go up 1-0 after scoring the lone run to be plated in the first four innings of play.

The Independence lead grew from one to four in the top of the fifth as two Cloud County errors coupled with three hits allowed three unearned runs to come across and give the Pirates their largest lead of the game. Back-to-back infield singles for the T-Birds in the bottom of the fifth saw Madyson Buescher beat out a ground ball hit to the shortstop followed by a bunt single from Jillian Artiges that saw both runners take two additional bases on a throwing error that put CCCC on the scoreboard. Following a strikeout, Cloud County pushed across another run on a fielder's choice to cut the Independence lead in half until a strikeout and groundout that ended the T-Bird threat. Two quick outs by ICC in the top of the sixth were followed by a solo home run to center field by nine-hole hitter Kaelyn Faulk as the Pirates got one of the two runs allowed back in the next half-inning while allowing just one hit to Cloud County over the final two innings of play to take a three-run victory in the doubleheader opener.

Seven hits for CCCC was offset by 10 strikeouts from T-Bird batters with only Artiges finishing with multiple hits in the game by going two-for-three with a run scored. The only extra-base hit of the game was recorded by Pinneo as Cloud County was unable to come up with a timely hit in a game that saw only two of the seven runs score as earned runs.

Game Two:
Avoiding the slow start that put the T-Birds in a four-run deficit before getting on the board in game one, CCCC allowed two Independence runs on three hits in the top of the first before responding with three straight hits to begin the bottom of the first with Pinneo driving home Kaitlynn Baca on an RBI double down the left field line to go along with an RBI groundout from Kiera Brack to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the second inning. Both teams stranded base-hit singles in the second before seeing ICC make the most of a leadoff walk to push across a go-ahead run on a one-out RBI single with CCCC avoiding any more damage by working out of a bases-loaded jam with an inning-ending popup to second base.

Having already battled back from a two-run deficit, Cloud County was again able to match the scoring efforts of the Pirates in the bottom of the third by using a Pinneo leadoff double and Camille Stauffer single to put runners on the corners for a Brack RBI single to tie the game at 3-3. Just like ICC however, the T-Birds left the bases loaded with back-to-back strikeouts ending the threat that CCCC had put together with their best chance to take the lead in the game having come and gone. The 3-3 tie was short-lived as Independence used an infield single followed by another base hit to put two runners on and score a go-ahead run on a wild pitch with a tag being applied at home by Stauffer coming down just after Pirate runner Emily Wedel had touched the plate safely. An RBI single followed the wild pitch to give Independence a two-run inning to go up 5-3 with the Pirates pushing across another run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

Needing to start a rally to try and cut into the ICC lead, Cloud County was unable to record a hit in the bottom of the fifth and was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth with the game remaining a 6-3 Independence lead going into the final inning of play. Keeping the Pirates from adding to their lead by working a one-two-three inning defensively, CCCC took advantage of an ICC fielding error to put a base runner on followed by a two-out single from Harley Smith to bring the game-tying run to the plate before having the game end on a groundout in front of home plate ending the potential rally for the T-Birds.

Despite having each of the top six batters in the lineup record at least one hit, CCCC was once again hurt by strikeouts with eight punchouts from Independence pitcher Gabriella Simpson leading to another 10 stranded base runners. Pinneo led all players with a three-for-four effort and drove in one run while Baca went two-for-four in the leadoff spot with Brack driving in a team-high two runs on one hit.

What's Next?
In an effort to avoid forecasted inclement weather on Thursday afternoon, Cloud County has shifted their 2024 season finale road doubleheader at number 19-ranked Neosho Community College to Wednesday, May 1st with a 1 PM start at the Neosho Softball Complex. Neosho ascended into the most recent NJCAA Division II Softball poll this week while holding a 35-14 overall record with a 16-4 mark in the KJCCC after having won seven of their past eight games to move into second place in the Jayhawk Conference standings.