The North Central Missouri College softball team made the most of a break in the weather on Friday, collecting a four-game sweep of Three Rivers Community College in a single day. NCMC picked up wins of 5-3, 13-5, 7-6 and 12-4 to push their overall record to 17-9 and their Region 16 mark to 4-2 on the season.
Game One
After two scoreless innings in game one, NCMC opened the scoring with back-to-back two-run innings in the third and fourth frames. NCMC would add an insurance run in the sixth and that was all the Lady Pirates would require, taking the game by two runs.
Jessica Stupar fired the first six innings and was the winning pitcher, allowing just two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three. Bailey Perkins worked the seventh, earning her first save of the season.
Madi Trump powered the offense, going two-for-four with a double and three RBIs.
Game Two
The Lady Pirates really got things going offensively in game two, racking up 13 runs on 15 hits, five walks and five Three Rivers’ errors. Trump was again the spark plug for North Central, going three-for-four at the plate with two doubles, a home run, three runs scored, four RBIs and a stolen base for good measure. Rachael Balke also had a three-hit game, scoring twice and driving in two more. Jaclyn Weydert had three hits, three RBIs and one run scored and Courtney Seymour was two-for-four with two runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases.
Allison Hilsabeck was the winning pitcher, throwing five and one-third innings, allowing five runs, two earned, on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. Perkins again took the game home, throwing the final one and two-thirds frames and allowing no runs on two hits.
Game Three
The most dramatic moment of the day came in game three. NCMC and Three Rivers were locked even at 3-3 after seven innings and 4-4 after eight. In the 10th inning, Three Rivers scored a pair of runs to take a 6-4 lead and appeared on its way to the visitor’s first victory of the day. Bethany Jacobsen had other plans, however, delivering a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th to complete a three-run inning for NCMC.
Jacobsen finished the game three-for-six with two RBIs. Seymour was four-for-five with two RBIs and two stolen bases and TeriAnna Mohler had three hits. Weydert added two hits and two runs scored while McKinley Hurley was one-for-two with three walks, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Stupar (8-5) was the winning pitcher, coming on in relief of Perkins. Stupar threw four innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits and striking out two. Perkins allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks in six innings of work.
Game Four
The sweep was anti-climactic as NCMC routed Three Rivers in the finale, 12-4. NCMC used a six-run second inning to take control and then added three in the fourth and three more in the sixth.
Balke was three-for-three with a run, RBI and two steals and Mohler was three-for-four with two RBIs and two runs. Trump was two-for-three with a double and three runs scored and Perkins was two-for-three with a double, run scored and two RBIs.
Hilsabeck (5-1) was the winning pitcher, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five. She threw all six innings in the contest.
NCMC will be in action twice this week, hosting the Central Methodist University junior varsity on Griffin Field in Trenton on Thursday and traveling to Creston, IA on Friday to face Southwestern Community College. Action in Trenton begins at 2 p.m. on Thursday with two games scheduled and Friday’s road doubleheader begins at 3 p.m.