The wins improved NCTC's record to 41-15 overall and 16-8 in conference with four regular season games left to play. Temple College is just ahead of the Lady Lions in the standings with an 18-8 record. NCTC is scheduled to host Temple Saturday. McLennan Community College has already clinched the conference championship. The Highlassies are currently 23-3 in conference play.
Finishing second in conference would guarantee NCTC a bye in the first round of the NJCAA Region V tournament, which will be held April 30 through May 2 in Denton.
Against Grayson, the Lady Lions used a four-run fifth inning to take the first game 5-2, then got a strong pitching performance from the conference's ERA leader to take game two 2-1.
In game one, North Central jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Katie Welborn smashed a solo home run to left.
It stayed 1-0 until the top of the fourth when Grayson's Hannah Pointer hit a solo homer of her own to tie things up. The Lady Vikings took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth as Leslie Fulton singled and later scored on a two-out single by Lauren Siple.
But NCTC came right back in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead. Lindsey Lacy had a one-out single and back-to-back Grayson errors allowed Amanda Birkheimer and Maureen Chunta to reach base. With the bases loaded, Katie Addison drew a walk, bringing home Lacy with the tying run. One batter later, Christin Robertson smashed a triple that cleared the bases and gave the Lady Lions a 5-2 lead.
North Central pitcher Katie Cowan took control from there. The sophomore got two strikeouts, two pop ups and a pair of groundouts to close out the game.
Cowan pitched all seven innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Grayson pitcher Kenna Terry allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits with 13 strikeouts and one walk.
At the plate for NCTC, Robertson was 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs, Welborn was 1 for 3 with a home run, and Lacy was 1 for 3.
For Grayson, Pointer was 2 for 3 with an RBI, Neely Cowen was 2 for 3, Siple was 2 for 4 with an RBI and Leslie Fulton was 1 for 3.
The second game of the doubleheader was a pitchers' duel between NCTC's Brysten Luster and Grayson's Audra Rhudy.
In the end, it was Luster (who leads the conference with a 0.72 ERA) who got the big hit from her team's offense to pick up the win.
Grayson struck first as Pointer walked in the first inning and Siple drover her home with a double to make it 1-0.
It stayed 1-0 until the fifth as the Lady Lions left the bases loaded in the first, left runners at second and third in the second and had runners at second and third with no outs in the third but could not score.
The offense finally got going in the fifth. Robertson led off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Welborn then smashed a double to right to score Robertson and make it 1-1. A sacrifice bunt by J.J. Addington moved Chunta - who pinch ran - to third. With two outs, Cheyenne Brown hit a single to left to score Chunta and make it 2-1.
The Lady Vikings threatened with two baserunners in the sixth, but they could not score.
Then in the seventh, Luster struck out the side to preserve the win.
Luster pitched all seven innings and allowed one run on just two hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks. Rhudy pitched seven innings for Grayson and allowed two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and one walk.
Offensively for North Central, Naa-Asheley Ollennu went 2 for 4, Addington was 1 for 1, Robertson was 1 for 2, Welborn and Brown were both 1 for 3 with an RBI, and Kristin Moyers was 1 for 3.
For Grayson, Pointer was 1 for 1 and Siple was 1 for 3 with an RBI.
