Plainswomen Fall to Cougars But Rise Against Knights

Apr. 29, 2019, Sterling, Colo. — In a two-day, four-game series beginning with the Western Nebraska Cougars then finishing with the North Platte Knights, the Northeastern softball team struggled against their opponents. The Plainswomen lost both to the Cougars but split against the Knights on the road. 

The first series against the Cougars did not go how the Plainswomen wanted as they lost 15-0 and 12-4. In the first game, the Plainswomen held the Cougars to two runs in the first but then struggled as Western Nebraska put up seven in the second. From there the Cougars kept adding runs while Northeastern struggled to get their bats going as they were only able to get two hits for the entire game. The lack of hits led to Northeastern's 15-0 defeat. 

Game two was better in the sense of having more hits in the game and scoring some runs, but the Plainswomen still could not match the Cougars play. Western Nebraska started the game by taking a 5-0 lead before Northeastern broke the ice in the third, making it a 6-3 game. Although they scored one run in the fifth, Northeastern needed more to overcome the deficit and lost 12-4. 

The next day featured a new opponent as the Plainswomen traveled to North Platte, Neb. to play the Knights. Last time these teams played here in Sterling, the Plainswomen had no problem scoring runs as both games ended early due to run rules. This series was much different as the Nights were able to catch a break and win the second game. 

The first game of two, Northeastern began things early by scoring three runs in the first, then added one in the third and four in the fourth. The final runs came in the fifth when Northeastern scored two, enforcing the run rule ending it 10-0. 

North Platte outhit the Plainswomen 14 to 10 which led to Northeastern's 8-7 defeat. Despite taking the 1-0 lead in the opening inning, the Plainswomen allowed the Knights to score two and take the 2-1 lead. The game exchanged hands throughout the game until the bottom of the fifth when the Knights tied it 6-6. Northeastern broke that tie in the sixth by scoring one run. Leading 7-6 over the Knights, Northeastern needed to buckle down defensively to defeat their opponent. The Knights had other plans and scored to overtaking Northeastern giving them the 8-7 win. 

Northeastern has one more series left to be played in their regular season as they will travel to Scottsbluff, Neb. to play against the Western Nebraska Cougars on Wednesday, May 1. Gameday and times could change with the incoming weather.