Last week’s district tournament marked the final softball game for seven seniors on the squad. They included, from left, Andrea Page, Jade Allen, Sydney Vetter, Lauren Gockley, Emma Ferguson, Stevie Johnson and Whitney Hopp. (Courtesy photo by Billie Jo Benge)
The umpire calls Emma DeGrasse safe as CCV’s catcher loses the ball at the plate. DeGrasse’s run was one of four scored by the Longhorns in their district opener. (Courtesy photo by Billie Jo Benge)
Softball team goes 1-2 in district play
Chase County’s softball team picked up one of its four wins of the season in district play last week in Chadron.
The Longhorns put together a complete game in the first round of the play-back bracket with a 11-5 victory over Minden.
Coach Denise Smith said the bats came alive for the Longhorns with 14 hits to Minden’s seven.
Defensively, the Longhorns played error-free ball, which makes a huge difference Smith said.
Lead-off batter senior Lauren Gockley reached base four of five trips to the plate and scored three of the team’s 11 runs.
Freshman Morayah Cupp went 3-5 with a pair of singles and a double, driving in two runs and scoring one herself.
Pitcher Sydney Vetter struck out three and walked only five in the win.
CCV
The Longhorns opened the tournament against second-seeded CCV, a consolidated team that includes Cairo Centura and Central Valley (Greeley-Wolbach and North Loup-Scotia).
Smith said the Longhorns played them close, falling 4-8, to fall into the play-back bracket.
“It was a good game for us. We played much better than a seventh seed,” she said.
The Longhorns led 2-0 on a bases-loaded single by Andrea Page, good for two RBIs.
CCV went up 4-2 in the bottom half of the inning, aided by two doubles, a single and a walk.
The third inning proved to be crucial both offensively and defensively.
In the top of the inning, the Longhorns loaded the bases on three consecutive two-out walks.
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