COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Adrian Short struck out 10 and the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team scored five, 6th-inning runs to register the 8-5 win over Lamar Community College in the first-round of the Region IX Baseball Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
WNCC advances in the winner bracket and will play top-seeded Southeast Community College at 12 noon. The other first-round contest on Thursday saw No. 6 Northeastern Junior College top No. 3 McCook Community College 10-7. NJC advances to play a 3 p.m. contest against the No. 2 seed Otero College.
In an elimination game on Thursday, McCook eliminated Lamar 9-8. McCook moves on to play Friday at 6 p.m. against one of the second-round losing teams.
WNCC coach Mike Jones said it was a good team win with strong pitching and clutch 2-out hits.
“We had outstanding pitching from Adrian and Nick. Both gave a great job for us,” Jones said. “We played excellent defense behind them. Then, offensively, we had some really timely hits. We had a bunch of 2-out hits with guys in scoring position. It was a full team effort.”
The timely hits were key with the four innings the Cougars scored; they scored runs with 2-out hits.
“Those 2-out scoring hits were huge,” Jones said. “To be able to come up with 2-out hits like that with guys at second base and to get one run each time is huge.’
Jones said they will have to duplicate their performance from Thursday again on Friday when they face a talented Southeast team, who has won the regional tournament two straight years.
“We will have to play really good tomorrow (Friday) and get really good pitching from Val, play excellent defense,” he said. “Once again, we will have to have guys on base and get the timely hits. It will be important to just put it all together again.”
WNCC took an early lead and then trailed halfway through the contest.
The Cougars scored single runs in the first and fourth innings. In the first Bryce Peterson singled and scored on a 2-out single by Ashton Ross for the 1-0 lead.
WNCC made it 2-0 with a run in the fourth inning. Kensei Oikawa singled and came in to score on a Calvin Johnson 2-out single.
Lamar came right back in the top of the fifth, plating four runs on four hits and a walk, including a base-loaded triple for the 4-2 lead.
The Cougars got one back in the bottom of the fifth when Peterson walked and scored on a Ross 2-out single.
WNCC went up 8-4 in the sixth with five runs. It all started with back-to-back walks by Caleb Caciari and Oikawa. Mathieu Levesque loaded the bases with a bunt single. Hunter McCollum followed with a single to score one to tie the game and then Shintaro Inoue earned a walk to force the go-ahead run. Ross followed with a 2-out triple for the 8-4 lead.
Lamar came back with one in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough as the Cougars got the win.
WNCC outhit Lamar 10-9. Ross went 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBIs, while Peterson and Levesque each had two hits. Peterson scored twice along with Oikawa who scored twice.
WNCC’s pitching was huge as Short went six innings in scattering seven hits and allowing four runs while striking out 10. Nick Tremblay got the save, tossing the final three innings in allowing two hits, one run, and striking out four.
Lamar 000 040 010 – 5 9 0
WNCC 100 115 00x – 8 10 0
WP – Adrian Short; S – Nick Tremblay.
3B – Ashton Ross.
