Longhorn softball on the run as season quickly winds down

The Chase County softball team will play 14 games in the next 14 days as the end of the season quickly approaches.
Last week, CCS hosted Gering and Bayard Tuesday then Chadron Friday.
This week started off with games at home against Hershey, which were followed up by games at Cozad Tuesday. A trip to Ogallala this Thursday and games at Bayard Saturday to round out the week.
Next Tuesday the Longhorns travel to Southern Valley/Alma. On Sept. 28 CCS will be in Holyoke and Sept. 30 the team will be in Alliance.
Chase County expects to head back to northern part for districts in Chadron Oct. 2. The Cardinals currently lead the C-10 district which also includes Hershey and Bayard.
Last Tuesday, CCS started off the triangular with a 0-20 loss to Class B No. 7 Gering. After Gering beat Bayard 13-1, the Longhorns lost their game against Bayard 0-17. Jasmine Johnson, Athziry Valenzuela and Yesi Ruiz each reached base in the second inning, but CCS was unable to score any runs.
Chase County dropped both games of its doubleheader with Chadron Friday, losing the first game 1-12 and the second game 0-16.
Johnson singled for CCS in game one. In game two, Katelyn Stamm singled, Hailey Markee doubled and Johnson hit a triple.
Head Coach Denise Smith said the some little things went right for the team with a couple good defensive plays and some hits.
The Longhorns couldn’t get their bats going in game one against Hershey Monday, but in game two, CCS started off with a bang. Brooke Schilke led off the first inning for Chase County with a double and scored on a triple by Stamm. A triple by Johnson brought Stamm home. After those two runs, the Longhorns’ only other hit of the game was a single by Schilke in the third inning of the 2-20 loss.
Looking back on the week, Smith said CCS has usually been making contact at the plate and forcing the other team to play defense.
When the Longhorns have been able to get runners on base, its been a struggle to get them around to score, Smith added.
The team also battled injuries and illness through the week.