HIGHLAND — Snapping its winning streak on a road trip to northeast Kansas, the Cloud County Community College Thunderbird softball team split the series with Highland Community College.
In game one, the T-Birds lost 3-0.
The Scotties opened with one run in the first inning, and picked up two more runs in the fourth inning. Cloud would get runners on base (eight in total), but would not be able to bring them across home.
Brecken Whitney (6-10) was given the loss with three runs allowed on 10 hits with two strikeouts.
Bella Santin and Emalee Johnson each had two hits.
Harley Smith and Lilly Ellison each had one hit.
In game two, the T-Birds won 7-2.
In one of the more complete games of the season, the T-Birds’ offense and defense were on point from start to finish. The T-Birds scored with a solo run in the second inning on a Camille Stauffer home run. Two more T-Bird runners would score in the fourth with a two-run single by Maliyah Koster, and three runs in the fifth to make it a 6-0 game. Another solo home run by Stauffer in the seventh made it a 7-0 game, before the Scotties scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to avoid the shutout.
Paige Mahler (9-9) earned the win, giving up two runs scored on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Stauffer had three runs scored on three hits, two of them home runs.
Smith, Koster, Johnson, and Berkleigh Curtis each had one run scored on one hit.
Shaylee Keslar and Ellison each had two hits.
Hosting Hesston for a sophomore day doubleheader, the T-Birds swept the Larks to extend their winning streak to five, tied for their longest streak of the season.
In game one, the T-Birds won 3-1.
Cloud started the game off strong, scoring two runs to open the game with a two-run home run from Berkleigh Curtis and taking a 2-0 lead in the defensive-led affair. Hesston got on the board with one run in the fourth to make it a one-run game, but a T-Bird run in the sixth would give the T-Birds the 3-1 lead, and the defense held strong to take game one.
Brecken Whitney (6-9) earned the win with one run allowed on seven hits and three walks, with six strikeouts.
Emalee Johnson had one run scored on two hits.
Shaylee Keslar had a hit, with Bella Santin scoring a run.
In game two, the T-Birds won 8-0.
Scoring first, the T-Birds hit in one run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Cloud then scored six runs in the fourth inning, before closing the game with one run in the fifth to end the game early, 8-0.
Paige Mahler (8-9) earned the win, giving up two hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
Santin had two runs scored on two hits, both being extra base hits with a double and a triple, with two RBIs.
Hailey Garcia had one run scored on three hits with two RBIs.
Harley Smith, Maliyah Koster, and Camille Stauffer each had one run scored on two hits, with Stauffer having a home run.
