The North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates have “shot out of the gates” quickly in the 2018 softball season, winning five straight games before a 8-5 defeat to the Park University JV to finish a Thursday afternoon doubleheader at Mark Griffin Memorial Field in Trenton.
North Central, on Thursday, won the first game against Park, by a score of 7-1, scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning and twice in the 4th inning, taking a commanding 5-1 lead at the time.
First baseman Kendra Holt was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Kaitlyn Marsh had a particularly strong game for the Lady Pirates, with three RBI’s, two hits, including a home run, and a run scored in four at-bats. Macie Bohannon added a triple, run scored, and RBI in the win. Marsh earned the pitching win for the Lady Pirates, improving to 3-0. Alex Miller had a 2-for-4 game with a pair of RBI’s.
In comments to NCMCPirates.com, Head Coach Steve Richman said the Lady Pirates looked “lethargic in both games”, adding that the team “played well defensively in the first game, but went complacent in game two, with the swings producing too many pop-outs”.
Next action for the Lady Pirates will be a home doubleheader against Ellsworth (Iowa) Community College on Sunday (March 4th). First pitch will be at 2 o’clock.
The Lady Pirates opened the 2018 season in dominant fashion on Monday and Tuesday, hammering North Arkansas College in four games over two days in Harrison, Arkansas. Final scores were 14-1, 14-2, 13-0, and 15-1.
In the four game sweep, North Central hit .514 as a team. Hannah Millsap was 8-for-10, Makayla Lamphier had 10 RBI’s, while Kaitlyn Marsh earned a pair of victories, throwing a total of 10 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out five. The other wins were earned by Alex Miller and Macie Bohannon.
North Central Missouri College men’s golf played at the Tyler (Texas) JUCO Spring Invitational last weekend, with the event shortened by one day due to heavy rains in the Lone Star State.
The Pirates shot a team score of 30 strokes over par, led by Scott Swayne’s one-over, good for a tie for 7th place individually. Jasper van der Zon shot 7 over, Lewis Hopkinson 10 over, Easton Klaver 12 over, Nate Swann 12 over, and James Gardner 14 over for the Pirates.
NCMC’s links team plays at the Evangel Spring Invitational at the Rivercut Course in Springfield, starting on Friday, March 9th.
The North Central baseball team went 1-3 on Monday and Tuesday, playing two games each day at Allen (Kansas) Community College. In the first game on Monday, Quinsly Balentien hit two homers for the Pirates, including a game-winning grand slam in the 7th, when NCMC scored nine runs. Lucas Hampton earned the win, with the final score 14-10.
The Pirates were outscored 52-31 and outhit 50-30 in the high-scoring four game series. North Central had nine errors over the two days, with pitching losses absorbed by Tristen Sewell, Blake Collister, and Brandon Whitehead.
Enrique Madera is sizzling at the plate in the early season for Donnie Hillerman’s team, going 7 for 12 at Allen CC, raising his average to .545.
The Pirates open NJCAA Division 1, Region 16 play this weekend, traveling to Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri to play the Cardinals. The doubleheaders will be played on Saturday (March 3rd) and Sunday (March 4th) at Hal Loughary Field.
