Baseball splits with McCook on Friday

Submitted by JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team registered its first win of the new season in a split of a doubleheader with McCook Community College on Friday at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff.

John Timmins, a freshman from Bellevue, pitched the Cougars to a 5-1 win in the first game. Timmins allowed just one hit and no earned runs in five innings of work to notch his first collegiate win. He struck out three and walked three.

WNCC coach Mike Jones couldn’t have been happier with the pitching performance by Timmins.

“For being a freshman, and it being his first collegiate start, I was impressed,” Jones said. “I thought he was very aggressive with his fastball and he mixed in his off-speed pitches when he needed to. He really took control of the game on the mound, and we played a solid defensive game behind him.”

Jason Palser and Ernesto Punales both pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Timmins.

Offensively in the game for WNCC, Keeton Krause went 2-for-3 at the plate. Pablo Garcia finished with two runs batted in. The Cougars totaled seven hits.

Trailing 1-0 after three innings, WNCC ignited for four runs in the bottom of the fourth to go in front for good. The Cougars added an insurance run in the fifth.

McCook managed to bounce back and salvage a split with a 13-5 win in the second game.

WNCC moved out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning before McCook plated a pair of runs in the second to pull even. The Indians then took control by scoring crooked numbers in the fourth through sixth innings. McCook plated four in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

“Game two was an early-season ball game where we made a lot of mistakes,” Jones said. “Not so much physical mistakes, but more mental mistakes. I hope we can learn from those mental mistakes and get better as we go forward with our season.”

McCook out-hit WNCC 12-5 in the contest. Manny Menocal went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four runs batted in, while Rylan Harding went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three runs batted in.

Five different Cougars accounted for WNCC’s five hits. They included Krause, Cameron Snyder, Anthony Apadaca, Anthony Delgado, and Ernesto Punales. Delgado’s hit was a double. Krause, Punales, and Ozzie Gonzalez all drove in a run. Gonzalez drew a pair of walks.

Challis Wright took the loss on the mound for WNCC. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and walked three in four innings. Cedric Desmedt pitched the final two innings out of the bullpen. He struck out two and allowed six hits.

Cory Borsh earned the win for McCook. He scattered three hits and struck out two in five innings of work.

WNCC, now 1-3 on the young season, will start a 13-game road trip next weekend with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday in Odessa, Texas. The Cougars will also make stops in Great Bend, Kan., and Trinidad, Colo., on the trip before returning home to host Lamar Community College on March 9.

Game One

McCook 001 000 0 — 1 3 3

WNCC 000 410 x — 5 7 1

WP — John Timmins (1-0). LP — Dusty Stevens.

Game Two

McCook 020 245 — 13 12 3

WNCC (1-3) 200 003 — 5 5 6

WP — Cory Borsh. LP — Challis Wright (0-1).

2B — Anthony Delgado.