The first season for Steve Richman as head coach of the North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates came to a end on Tuesday afternoon, with a 12-4 loss to Three Rivers sending NCMC home with a final record of 31-18.
After winning a first-round game on Friday against St. Charles, NCMC, and the rest of the Region 16 schools, had to wait three days, as heavy rains in the mid-Missouri area in and around Columbia put a halt to the tournament (played at Battle High School).
On Tuesday morning, in a 2nd-round winner’s bracket game, Jefferson Colelge scored three runs in the top of the 7th inning to beat North Central, 8-5. The Lady Pirates, who committed three errors in the loss, blew a 4-2 lead after four innings, with the Vikings scoring 3 in the 5th and 3 more in the 7th for the win.
Aubrey Nelson had a home run for the Lady Pirates offense, with Amber Austin adding a double, run scored, and RBI. Georgia Gibler and Rachael Balke both had two hits, while McKinley Hurley had two steals and scored twice.
Kelly Warford pitched the first 2 1/3 innings for NCMC, with the Pattonsburg native leaving with a 3-2 lead. Allison Hilsabeck took the loss, going the middle 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs (all earned), falling to 17-9. Jefferson’s three spot in the 5th inning gave the Vikings a 5-4 lead, with NCMC tying the game at 5 with a 6th inning run.
Breann O’Reilly pitched the final two innings of the game for the Lady Pirates.
The loss dropped North Central to the loser’s bracket, where the Lady Pirates gave up the first 5 runs of the game (including four in the top of the 2nd inning), in a 12-4 loss to the Three Rivers CC Raiders.
Hilsabeck pitched three innings and took the loss, ending her season with 17 wins and 10 losses. The Lady Pirates scored twice in the 2nd inning and two more in the 5th inning. Bethany Jacobsen had two RBI’s and a double for NCMC. Kelly Warford, McKinley Hurley, Brittney Buell, and Jaclyn Weydert scored in the final game of the spring for Lady Pirate softball.
