WNCC,
who fell 11-1 in the opening contest, needed at least one victory to make the
playoffs. And the Cougars’ gutsy comeback was what sent the Cougars into the
playoffs.
“This
is a huge win. It shows what we are as a team and shows how well we can work
together and overcome everything,” Ostergard said. “We have been able to
overcome everything this whole season, which is big for us. We are going to
carry it on into the playoffs and do our thing in the playoffs.
“Now,
in the playoffs, we have to just keep what we are doing. We have to stay
focused in practice. This is a big win, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We
have to stay humble, stay as a team, work hard, and just get things done.”
Ostergard
said that the key was staying focused and not giving up.
“Coach
[Mike Jones] always told us that we will mess up, make mistakes, and bad things
will happen because it is baseball,” he said. “We just have to overcome it and
he said someone has to step up and I am glad that I was able to do that for our
team.”
WNCC
will face No. 1 seed Northeastern Junior College in the first-round, best
2-of-3 series that starts Friday in Sterling at 2 p.m. The other first-round
pairing has No. 2 Lamar Community College hosting No. 3 Otero Junior College. WNCC opens the playoffs on Friday at 2 p.m. in
Sterling, Colo.
WNCC
is actually playing some of its best ball right now, having won six of their
last seven contests, including taking four games from McCook Community College
on Saturday and Sunday.
Ostergard
said they are playing well right know.
“This
stretch of wins shows what we have been made of the whole season,” he said. “We
have been struggling the whole year and winning those last five games before
today [Monday} were big confidence boosters.”
WNCC
needed just one win to make the playoffs and after they dropped the first game
to NJC 11-1, things didn’t look peachy. The second game, however, the Cougars
put a totally different team on the field.
NJC
opened the second game with two first-inning runs, but WNCC quickly tied the
game in the bottom of the inning on Ozzy Gonzalez 2-run home run.
WNCC
opened up the contest with a five-run third inning to take a 7-2 lead. Anthony
Delgado led off the third with a solo home run. Nick Vanthillo followed with a
double. Cameron Snyder came through with a 2-run double. After two outs, WNCC
scored two more runs on a JT Core single.
NJC
would come back to grab a 10-7 lead with four runs each in the fourth and fifth
inning. WNCC, however, wouldn’t panic as they responded with three runs of
their own in the fifth on just one hit, Ostergard’s base-loaded, two-out double
to tie the game at 10-10.
WNCC
retook the lead 12-10 with two runs in the sixth and it all started with
Vanthillo reaching base after a dropped third strike throw that went bad. Vanthillo would later score the go-ahead run
on an errand throw. Alex Michaud would then drive in the 12th run
with a single.
NJC
made a seventh rally, scoring once, but Grant Piccolli game in to get the save
and send the Cougars into the playoffs.
Cedric
Desmedt picked up the win on the mound, going just 2 1/3 innings in relieve of
starter John Timmins and reliever Challis Wright. Desmedt allowed four hits and
three runs, while striking out two. Piccolli got the final two outs in allowing
just one hit.
WNCC
pounded out 10 with five extra base hits. Core led the way with a 3-for-3 game
with two RBIs and two runs scored. Vanthillo, Snyder and Ostergard all had
doubles in the game, while Delgado and Gonzalez had home runs. Ostergard finished
the game with three RBIs.
In
the opening game, the Cougars managed just two hits in the contest. The only
run was scored by Michaud, who scored on a Gabriel DeLa Rosa single in the
second inning.
WNCC
earned their playoff spot because of what they did over the weekend at McCook,
taking all four games. On Sunday, the Cougars won 14-3 and 6-3 to keep their
hopes alive.
In
Sunday’s games, Gering’s Grant Rimington picked up both wins. The right-handed
sophomore went six strong innings and received plenty of offensive support in
the 14-3 first game. Rimington also got the win in the second game, pitching
the final three innings in relief.
Sunday’s
first game saw Nick Vanthillo finish with five RBIs on three hits, including
two doubles and a home run as the Cougars. Vanthillo was one of three Cougars
to finish with multiple hits. Anthony Delgado had three runs scored along with
a double and two RBIs, while Ozzy Gonzalez had a double and RBI. Gabriel DeLa
Rosa had the only other extra base hit, a home run.
The
second game was tighter, but the Cougars prevailed. WNCC pounded out 11 hits,
including three with two hits each. Delgado went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a home
run; Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, and Michaud was
2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Garcia had a double in the game as well.
Monday’s Games
First Game
NE Colorado 203
33 – 11 14 0
WNCC 010
00 – 1 2 2
LP – Nick Vanthillo; 2B – Anthony Delgado.
Second Game
NE Colorado 200
440 1 – 11 11 4
WNCC 205
032 x – 12 10 5
WP – Cedric Desmedt, S – Grant Piccolli; 2B – Vanthillo,
Cameron Snyder, Zach Oxtergard; HR –
Delgado, Ozzy Gonzalez.
Sunday’s Games
First Game
WNCC 060
323 -- 14 9 0
McCook 020
100 -- 3 8 2
WP -- Grant Rimington; 2B -- Delgado, Vanthillo 2,
Gonzalez; HR -- Vanthillo, Gabriel DeLa Rosa.
Second Game
WNCC 122
010 0 -- 6 11 2
McCook 110
100 0 -- 3 6 0
WP -- Rimington; 2B -- Alex Michaud, Pablo Garcia; HR --
Delgado, Gonzalez.
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