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| Tim Beard |
The Cougars received a stellar pitching performance from Tim Beard in game one as the Cougars scored four, late-inning runs to record the 7-2 win. WNCC received another strong pitching performance in game two from Gering's Carlos Palomo in recording a 5-1 win.
The two wins evens the Cougars' record at 8-8 and pushes the team to 2-2 in conference play. The two teams will be back in action for another doubleheader on Sunday.
"The pitching was real good today. Beard and Palomo had good starts for us and we played really good defense behind them," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "Our guys out of the bullpen were very good. McNabb came in late and slammed the door for us twice. Pitching and defense was real solid. Offensively, we found ways to score runs. It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to score runs. These were big wins for us. Going on the road and getting two conference wins is huge."
Defense and pitching played a huge part in Saturdays wins especially since McCook took a 2-non-conference win over the Cougars in February.
"We were really efficient with our defensive situations today," Jones said. "We really controlled the game. We didn't rush anything thing or we never panicked. We took out time and we got McCook to make some mistakes."
Beard kept the McCook hitters at bay in the opening game in his six innings on the mound. Beard's only hiccup on the day was the fourth when he allowed two runs as the Indians cut the Cougar lead to 3-2. Still, Beard was on top of his game, scattering four hits, walking one and striking out two.
Jones said after McCook made that mini-run, his guys really stepped up to the plate.
"McCook made a run on us, got some guys on base after seeing Tim for the second time through the batting order," he said. "But, we did a nice job of keeping things under control and once we got out of that inning, the offense really responded. Guys stepped up and we really got aggressive and were able to score some runs."
WNCC took an early lead in the second as Jake Vore scored on an infield error for the early 1-0 lead. WNCC added two runs in the fourth on just one hit. All the damage came with two outs as VOre scored on a 2-out single by Paul Singh. Jake Montoya also came around to score o the hit.
After McCook cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the frame, WNCC added a single run in the fifth and then opened up the contest with three runs in the seventh. Camilo Baldelomar started the inning with a double followed by Reiner Alamberry earning a walk. Both runners scored on a Rainer Tiel triple. Tiel later scored on a Nelson Quintero double for the 7-2 lead.
WNCC slugged out eight in the win with Singh and Baldelomar each recording two hits. Singh went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Baldelomar went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Tiel had just one hit in the game, but had two RBIs and a run scored as well.
Game two saw the Cougars take control earl and never looked backed really. WNCC scored single runs in the second and fourth innings before scoring two runs in the fifth for a 4-0 lead. WNCC held a 5-0 before McCook scored a single run in the sixth inning.
Once again, pitching and defense played a major role in the second-game victory. Palomo went 3 2/3 innings in tossing a one-hitter. Palomo did walk four while striking out one. Trevor Kreisel followed with a two-inning pitching performance, allowing a single run before Terry McNabb came in a slammed the door shut on the Indians.
Offensively, several players recorded found success at the plate. Singh led the way with a 2-for-3 game and an RBI from his lead-off spot. Jake Montoya had the only extra base hit in the game with a fifth-inning triple that scored Josh Bride. Montoya came around to score later on a Singh single to put the Cougars up 5-0.
What really set the tide for the Cougars in the doubleheader sweep was their speed on the base paths. The Cougars recorded 11 stolen bases on the day. After swiping only two bases in game one, WNCC highjacked nine bases in game two. Quintero had four stolen bases as the sophomore infielder went 4 of 5 on the base paths. Singh and Alamberry each collected two stolen bases, while Kevin Sanford had one.
Jones is hoping for the same king of success in Sunday's doubleheader. He said Carlos Luzon will get the nod in game one and Jeff Schmitt will start game two in Sunday's doubleheader
Jones said getting two more conference wins on the road will be huge.
"We got two wins today and if we are able to come out with two more wins tomorrow [Sunday] and go 4-0 on the road in conference this weekend, that would be huge," he said.
WNCC 010 210 3 -- 7 8 0
McCook 000 200 0 -- 2 4 2
WP -- Tim Beard; 2B -- Camilo Baldelomar, Nelson Quintero; 3B -- Rainer Tiel.
Second Game
WNCC (8-8) 010 121 0 -- 5 6 2
McCook 000 001 0 -- 1 4 2
WP -- Carlos Palomo; 3B -- Jake Montoya.
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