WNCC men take over top spot in region play

The Western Nebraska Community College moved on top of the Empire Conference standings after taking three of four games from Northeastern Junior College Sunday and Monday.

Sunday’s games in Sterling, Colo., saw the two teams split games with WNCC claiming a 7-5, 8-inning barn-burner in the opener before NJC earned a 7-1 win in the nightcap.

WNCC rebounded by sweeping a doubleheader Monday 2-1 and 6-4 to jump into first place in the conference race. The Cougars now control their own destiny in the bid to win the conference and host the Region IX tournament in May.

WNCC coach Mike Jones couldn’t be prouder of his team’s effort in moving into first place in conference standings.

“It feels really good leading the region. We played the best two teams in the conference to this point and we are on top right now,” he said. “I feel it will be in our hands from here on out. We will have to continue to play good baseball and nobody will give it to us. It is out there for us to take and we will have to play ball.”

One off the keys for the Cougars to gain sweep on Monday was good pitching. They received that from Greg Crow and Todd Stachura, both freshman. WNCC claimed the first game behind a stellar pitching performance by Crowe, the right-handed flame-thrower from Parker, Colo., who baffled the Plainsmen bats in scattering four hits while striking out four in seven innings of work.

“Going into this weekend, it was a pretty important series. We knew we had to get some good pitching. Greg Crowe came out and threw an outstanding game for us. He controlled their offense and shut them down and went the distance.

But, while Crowe was throwing a gem for the Cougars, NJC’s Ty Cardona was also causing havoc on the mound. Cardona allowed six hits while striking out three batters. The difference in the game was WNCC got clutch hits when needed to get the win.

“We got some really clutch hits. Carson Cook was clutch for us this whole weekend,” Jones said. “That is important. When you get guys on base, you have to find ways to get them in. We have been real good about that lately with a good offense that finds ways to score some runs.”

WNCC scored first as JayC Perez led off the second with a double. Three batters later, Chris Hook hit a ground ball that scored Perez with the first run of the game.

NJC tied the game in the fifth on a walk and a 2-oiut single by Mike Mendenhall. WNCC won the game in dramatic fashion in the sixth inning. With two outs, Richie Stewart hammered a double to right field. Stewart was the lifted for pinchrunner Alexis Gomez. After a walk to Perez, Carson Cook took the first pitch and lined it to the outfield to score Gomez with the go-ahead run.

Crowe then finished off the Plainsmen in the seventh inning with three gourndball outs and a double by Josh Warren.

Stewart paced the Cougars with two hits.

Stewart continued his torrid hitting in game two. The sophomore from Lincoln opened the scoring with a 3-run home run in the third inning for a 3-0 lead. Jones said that shot was crucial.

“That home run was really big for us. That put us up 3-0 and gave us a lot of momentum. Once we got that momentum, our team felt pretty confortable. They were able to come back and take the lead on us 4-3, but there was no panic in our dugout and on our team. We came right back out and put up three more runs.

In deed NJC came back scoring four times in the fourth inning on three hits and three walks. Most of the damage came with two outs as Warren hit a bases-loaded single to score two runs to give NJC a 4-3 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as WNCC came right back with a three spot in the bottom of the fourth. Gilbert Gonzalez started things with a single followed by a walk by Travis Lindhorst. Then, with two outs, Pedro Suarez delivered a 2-RBI single, followed by Stewart’s monster run-scoring double that put WNCC up 6-4.

Chris Cuadra then came in relief of winning pitcher Todd Stachura in the fifth inning and kept the Plainsmen at bay for two innings. Then, Dan Bauer closed the game picking up the save with quick work of NJC’s No. 3, 4 and 5 batters, including getting the final out on a slider that Danny Brock couldn’t hit for the final out.

WNCC managed 10 hits for the game. Stewart led the way with a 3-for-4 performance, including a double, home run, three RBIs and a run-scored. Suarez also collected two hits, including three RBIs and two runs scored.

In Sunday’s games, WNCC scored three times in the eight-inning to collect the win. Phillips Orta went six innings to get the no-decision while allowing four runs, seven strikeouts and four hits. Chris Cuadra earned the win by pitching the seventh, while Bauer picked up the save.

Suarez led the Cougars offensively with a 3-for-4 performance, including two doubles and a run scored. Perez and Cook each had two hits. Perez had a home run, two runs scored and a RBI, while Cook had a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored.

NJC scored three times each in the third and fifth inning to earn the 7-1 win in game two. Jeff McDonald picked up the loss on the mound going just four innings, while giving up five hits and striking out three.

Marco Moreno paced the Cougars with a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI in the third inning. The only other hits by the Cougars came from Suarez, Stewart and Gonzalez.

WNCC, now 14-16 overall and 9-3 in conference play, will return to action Thursday when they face Colby Community College before taking on McCook Community College Friday and Saturday in McCook.