The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team kept it's Region IX post-season hopes alive despite splitting with Otero Junior College on Saturday at Cleveland Field.
In the opener, Gering's Carlos Palomo tossed six strong innings in leading the Cougars to a 6-2 victory. The second game saw the Cougars battle back to tie the game before falling 12-7 in eight innings.
The Cougars are now just a game out of sole fourth place after McCook dropped four game over the weekend to Trinidad and Lamar. The top four teams from the Empire Conference qualify for the regional playoffs. WNCC also has only swept one opponent this season in a doubleheader and that was McCook back on March 12. WNCC coach Mike Jones said that they fell short in getting two wins, but they are still fighting for that final playoff spot.
"The first game we played really well and we keep getting better. We are making progress and I am just hope it is not too late in the season to make a playoff spot. We still have a chance," Jones said. "We still have the chance. McCook needs to lose games and you hate to think that you need help from somebody, but if we play well next weekend, we will make it."
WNCC played exceptionally well in the opening game as they turned three double plays and received a strong pitching performance from Palomo. Palomo went six innings, giving up four hits, while walking six and striking out two.
Offensively, WNCC managed just six hits, but the hits came when they needed them. The Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning as Alliance's Jake Peltz scored on a sacrifice fly.
Otero came back to take a 2-1 lead in teh third inning only to see the Cougars tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth.
WNCC took the lead for good in the fifth with a four-run, four-hit inning that saw nine batters step into the batter's box. Kevin Sanford started the rally with a single followed by run-scoring singles by Nelson Quintero and Reimer Alamberry to grab a 6-2 lead.
Alamberry paced the Cougars with a 2-for-3 game with two singles and a RBI. Quintero went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI. Peltz had four plate appearances but was walked twice and hit by a pitch twice. He had a run scored and a RBI.
Jones said that this team is starting to show some fight in staying in games like it showed in the first game as well as the second game even though they fell in the eighth inning.
"We did a great job of battling back and getting the game to even," he said "We made some nice plays to hold them to give our offense a chance to catch up. Then, it just got away from us in the eighth inning. It wasn't anyone's fault or mistakes; Otero just stepped up and put together a couple good swings and got the win."
The second game saw Otero's Zack Mang hit for the cycle. Mang had a two-run home run in the first inning to help the Rattlers to a 4-0 lead. He followed with a single in the fourth and a run-scoring double in the fifth. Mang's big hit, though, was in the eighth inning as led off with a triple and came in to score the go-ahead run on a single up the middle by Jeremy Trujillo.
Up until the eighth inning, WNCC battled back to tie the game twice and had opportunities to win. After Otero's 4-run first inning, the Cougars had a four-run third inning to tie score. Alamberry had a big 2-out run scoring single followed by a single by Camilo Baldelomar. Sanford had the big hit, ripping a double down the right field line to score two runs.
Otero came back to go up 7-4 with runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth. WNCC tied the game in the fifth with three runs on five hits. Sanford had a big 2-run double down the left field line to score Alambarry and Baldelomar. Sanford came in to score two batters later on a single by Jake Vore.
Carlos Luzon started the game for the Cougars and went four innings in giving up six runs and six hits. Jeff Schmitt of Cheyenne, Wyo., finished the game in getting the loss, going four innings and giving up five runs.
WNCC finished the game with 12 hits. Sanford went 2-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored. Also getting multiple hits were Alambarry and Baldelomar with two singles and two runs scored each.
Jones said that his team is finding ways to score and that is what they definitely did against Otero.
"We are not showing a whole lot of power, but we are showing better swings and consistent swings," he said. "We are an offense that can get guys on base and create a lot of scoring opportunities. We are getting a lot of discipline at the plate and getting better at recognizing pitches."
WNCC, 15-29, will finish the regular season next weekend when they face six games in three days. The Cougars will host Trinidad State Junior College on Friday and Saturday before hosting Lamar Community College on Sunday.
"We have six games in three days and it will be tough," Jones said. "It will not be easy. It will really extend our pitching staff and it will be hard on the guys to stay focused for six games in a row. I think we will do the best we can."
First Game
Otero 002 000 0 -- 2 4 2
WNCC 100 140 x -- 6 6 1
WP -- Carlos Palomo, LP -- Kellen Quintana.
Second Game
Otero 400 210 05 -- 12 14 2
WNCC 004 030 00 -- 7 12 1
WP -- Dylan James, LP -- Jeff Schmitt; 2B -- WNCC (Kevin Sanford 2, Paul Singh), Otero (Leandro Perez Nunez, Christian Lujan 2, Zack Mang, Greg Mendoza; 3B -- Otero (Mang); HR -- Otero (Mang).
Region IX Standings
Team Conf. Overall
Lamar 22-4 39-13
Trinidad 17-9 34-18
Otero 14-12 31-19
McCook 9-16 22-24
WNCC 8-16 15-29
NE Colorado 7-20 19-32
Friday's Games
Trinidad 8, McCook 2
Trinidad 15, McCook 7
Saturday's Games
WNCC 6, Otero 2
Otero 12, WNCC 7 (8 innings)
Trinidad 7, NE Colorado 1
NE Colorado 7, Trinidad 4
Lamar 10, McCook 0
Lamar 6, McCook 0
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