STERLING, Colo. – Bryce Peterson had a career day as a Cougar as the sophomore from Brighton, Colorado, finished with three doubles and six RBIs to help the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team earn a 6-3 11-inning Empire Conference win over Northeastern Junior College Monday in Sterling, Colorado.
Peterson’s hot hitting saw the third-baseman smack two doubles that score three runs each to help the Cougars move to 15-10 in conference and 24-28 overall. NJC falls to 10-15 in conference and 24-25 overall.
WNCC and NJC will have three more games this weekend. The Cougars will host NJC in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. at Cleveland Field and then travel to NJC for a 9-inning game on Saturday to close out the regular season.
For Wednesday’s contest, it was a pitcher’s dual as starting Cougar pitcher surrendered two first-inning runs and then shut out the Plainsmen with five strong innings registering six strikeouts.
Myttchel Pollock went four innings in giving up one run with four strikeouts to get the win while Ashton Ross came in and got the save by pitching the 11th inning in getting a big strikeout.
Offensively, the Cougars pounded out 11 hits including six doubles.
Peterson was the big hitting star going 4-for-6 with three doubles and six RBIs. The three doubles ties a school record for most doubles in a game with Damon Brabson (2003) and Michael Felton (2021).
Ross and Dylan Harris each had two hits. Ross had two doubles while Harris had two singles with two runs scored.
NJC plated two runs in the bottom of the first on two singles, a hit batsman, and an error.
After that the Cougar defense didn’t allow a run until the ninth.
WNCC couldn’t get a run across for the first six innings even though they left runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth inning.
In the seventh, Calvin Johnson earns a walk followed by a single by Harris. WNCC loaded the bases with just one out as Hunter McCollum drew a walk for Peterson. Peterson then took the first pitch and sent it off the wall in right field to score all three runs for the 3-2 lead with this second double of the game.
WNCC took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. That was when NJC got the tying run on a solo home run that went down the leftfield line and over the wall close to the foul pole to tie the contest.
WNCC just got one on in the 10th inning but couldn’t do anything. NJC put two runners on with just one out. With the winning run on second base, Pollock got a big strikeout after the batter had fouled off four balls for the second out and then got a line-out to leftfielder Oikawa for the final out to force a second extra inning.
In the next inning, WNCC loaded the bases as Johnson walked, Harris gets on a bunt fielders’ choice, and then McCollum singles. With no outs, Peterson walked to the plate and scored three runs with his third double of the game to put the Cougars on top 6-3.
Ross came in to toss the 11th and got the save as he threw just six pitches and got three outs for the Cougar winner.
WNCC 000 000 300 03 – 6 11 1
NJC 200 000 001 00 – 3 6 0
WP – Myttchel Pollock; S – Ashton Ross.
2B – Kensei Oikawa, Ashton Ross 2, Bryce Peterson 3.
