In the 2017 home opener for the Neosho County Community College softball team, the Panthers split with Rose State (Okla.) College on Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers fell 5-3 in the opening game. "I thought we should have taken both games," Coach Kim Alexander said. "We had a few little mistakes in the first game." A pair of errors and a two-run home run in the top of the third inning was the difference in game one. However, it was the Panthers who struck first in the home half of the first inning. Singles by Katelynn Stucky, Tiffany Ray and Robbie Summers drove in the game's first run. The visiting Raiders answered in the top of the second with a run, and it was the start of four unanswered runs by Rose State, including a two-run blast off the scoreboard in left center field in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, a pair of bunt singles to open the frame led to two more runs for the Panthers to cut the deficit to 4-3, but Rose State added one more run in the top of the fifth. Designated hitter Tiffany Ray went 3-for-4 at the plate to pace the offensive attack, while Stucky, Taylor Stepp and Saige Vandiver collected two hits each. Taylor Holtcamp was tagged with the loss after a six strike out, one walk outing over seven innings of work. "Taylor Holtkamp pitched well in game," Alexander said. "She did her job."

In the second game, it was Rose State who was on the scoreboard first, but the Panthers had the last say in this one as Neosho County earned its first win of the season, 4-3. "We were able to come back in game two. We were able to stay consistent all the way through the game," Alexander said. "We had some balls that were hit hard.Trailing 3-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth, the Panthers scored twice in the fifth and Stucky scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the fifth, a pair of hits went to right field, tying the game at three apiece before Stucky scored on a passed ball with two out in the inning. In the seventh, the defense shined with a diving catch by outfielder Kayla Osborne and catching a Rose State trying to advance to third base to end the game. Taylor McGuire paced the offense with a 2-for-3 game. Starting pitcher Abby Brickley went the distance for the victory. She didn't walk any or strike out any. "It was something we wanted to learn from in our first outing," Alexander concluded. "We didn't do things that we needed to do. We definitely got better after these last two games."

The Panthers (1-3) will square off with Rose State in Oklahoma City on Monday, Feb. 27. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.

Game 1:

RSC   0 1 3 0 1 0 0 – 5

NCCC  1 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 3

W – Hannah Pryce; L – Taylor Holtkamp

Game 2:

RSC  2 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 3

NCCC 1 0 0 0 2 1 x – 4

W – Abby Brickley; L – Catie Simmons