WNCC baseball set to open season this weekend and Monday at home

                  The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team is hoping to capitalize on its momentum from a year ago as they head into this weekend’s season opener.

                The Cougars finished last season second in Region IX with a 24-36 but were 15-10 in regional play. WNCC coach Mike Jones anticipates that the success of last season has boiled over to this year.

                “Last season’s success has given us a quiet type of confidence,” Jones said. “The guys are pretty well grounded. We got off to a terrible start a year ago and it is nice this year that the guys are a little bit experienced with how they deal adversity and not putting so much pressure on themselves, and understanding that we have a long ways to go before playoffs start.

                The Cougars will open the season at home this weekend when they host Colorado University Club Saturday at 3 p.m. with one 9-inning game. The baseball team will then face Colorado in a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m. The team will then host McCook Community College on Monday at 1 p.m. in a 9-inning game. Sunday’s and Monday’s locations will be in Gering or at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff.

                “The team looks pretty and they are anxious to play,” Jones said. “Right now our pitching is a little bit ahead of schedule compared to the hitting and defense.”

                WNCC boasts a host of key players that return from a year ago both on the mound and in the field, including No. 1 pitcher Tim Beard, along with infielders Camilo Baldelomar and Nelson Quintero, and outfielder Kevin Sanford.

                “We do have a lot of key players back from a year ago,” Jones said. “We have Tim Beard who won a lot of games for us on the mound as a freshman. We are counting on him to do some really good things this year again. At the same time we don’t want him to feel a great deal of pressure, but we expect good things from Tim along with Camilo, who played a lot for us as a freshman a year ago. He struggled offensively last year, but going through that adversity will make him a better hitter this year. And same goes for Kevin Sanford, who played for us in the outfield. He is much better and improved.

                “Some of the new guys that we brought in include Jake Montoya will probably be our number one catcher. He will have to handle the staff and catch for us a lot. He will also have to produce for us offensively. I think Max Brennen will play a multiple of positions for us. He is a very hard competitor. I really like his work ethic and what he brings to the team.”

                Jones said this weekend’s starting rotation will include Beard and freshman Jeff Schmidt of Cheyenne, Wyo., getting the start the first day and then Palomo and freshman Terry McNabb of Davidson, Saskatchewan the second day.

                Jones said the two freshmen starters Schmidt and McNabb have proven themselves during the fall season and the early part of the spring practices.

                “They pitched really good for us during our fall scrimmages and have been good early in their bullpen sessions,” Jones said. “One comes from a really good Cheyenne program and the other comes from a very competitive Canadian program.”

                Half of WNCC’s 28 rostered players are pitchers and Jones is excited about all 14 throwers.

                “I think our pitching staff depth looks really good. We have multiple guys that we can go to. I am comfortable with all the guys on staff right know in that they can come in and throw strikes and compete for us. That is really nice as a head coach to have multiple of guys that we can count on.”

                Of the pitching staff, however, only five are returners. They include Beard of Canberra, Australia; Carlos Palomo of Gering; Joel Perez of Miami, Jacob Stutzman of Wood River, Neb.; Carlos Luzon of Caracas, Venzuela; and John Bravard of Lyons, Colo.

                While pitching seems to be a definite positive, Jones also said the team speed  a definite plus.

                “There is a lot of team speed this year,” he said. “If we can get on base enough, they might steal more bases than any team I have ever had. We’ve had teams put up huge stolen bases in the past, but we are deep with speed’ we just have to find ways on base.”

                Once everything falls into shape, Jones is expecting good things from his group of hard-working players.

“They are a good group of guys and I like their work ethic,” he said. “They have been dedicated this entire year so far to get themselves in shape and getting better throughout all their skills. They work extremely hard and it should pay off down the road.”

                Jones said the team wants the season to begin. After this weekend’s contests, they will head to Barton Community College next weekend before returning home for a Feb. 23 contest against Colorado State University.

“The guys are ready to play. They are getting sick of me, that is for sure,” Jones said. “They just want to go out and put on the uniform and play. I completely understand that. I want them to go play also. That is definitely where the attitude is right now. They are chomping at the bit, they want to get out there and play. I want us to play and if we make mistakes, we will learn from them. That is the only way that you learn. Let’s go out there and make some mistakes so we can get better.”