WNCC Miller glad to be back on the diamond after a couple years away from the game

Western Nebraska Community College’s Rich Miller is aiming to get back to the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament once again after being away from the game for a couple of years.

And, Miller knows the recipe it will take to compete at that national level after spending a year at Elgin Community College in Chicago.

“I was on a World Series my freshman year and to be honest with you, we have a better offense then my team did that went to the World Series,” Miller said. “It [pitching, defense and offense] all has to work at the same time. That is what we did real well my freshman year; we worked together all the time. But, we have more talent on this team and we can do things. I think we really can go far, especially if we get a playoff spot and everybody is geared up for the playoffs. If our backs are against the wall, I think we will play our best.”

The Cougars backs are against the wall to make the Region IX playoffs. Unlike years past when all the teams made the playoffs, this year only the top four teams earn a berth. Right now, the Cougars are setting fifth after a 5-6 record last week. That what makes Sunday and Monday’s home games with Otero Junior College crucial.

“I think for us being in the five hole, we are in the best position possible for our team to come together. We have a lot of young kids on the team. We have 22 freshmen and four out of our nine starters are sophomores,” Miller, who grew up in Chicago before moving to Denver a couple of years ago, said. “The biggest thing about college ball is experience; knowing the game, playing it right, and we have grown so much as a team from the time we got here in the fall to even last weekend. We just need to continue to grow and continue to get better and I think we will be playing our best baseball come playoff time. I think we can scrap off some wins now, get into the playoff picture and go from there.”

Miller is just the guy to help lead the team to a second-straight Region IX title after competing at that level a couple of years ago for Elgin Community College.

“We played well against Trinidad and got some big wins. Then the last couple of series that we played in, we struggled a little bit by not pitching too well and not hitting that great,” he said. “But, on the up slide, we have three series here at home with all being conference games and we have a chance to get back into the race. It was a big slide from two weeks ago when we were sitting in second, so we are looking to make up some ground and get back in the race and make the playoffs.”

After Sunday and Monday’s games against Otero, the team will travel for two games at McCook before finishing conference play at home against Lamar Community College in a four-game series and then Northeastern Junior College in a doubleheader.

"We are not out of the race yet. There is a lot of season left with 14 conference games. We can get back into this and the future is pretty much in our hands,” Miller said. “We have a very strong offense. Our pitching has started to throw a little bit better. We got some nice starts from some guys like Jackson Salazar, Kyler Edgehouse, and Todd Stachura. But, our offense is most definitely the most powerful point of this team. We can score a lot of runs. If our pitching is good enough to manage the game, our offense should be able to get some wins for us.”

Miller is one of those offensive weapons for the Cougars. The sophomore catcher is batting above a .350 batting average and has provided a lot of zing in the clean-up spot. But, what makes this season extra special for Miller is that he is just glad to be back on the diamond.

“Most people don’t get excited about school again after taking a couple years off. Most people go to school and then when they decide they are done, they are done,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to get the drive back and want to play again. This is a good program and a good school and glad to be in it.”

In fact, it is even more interesting how Miller ended up at WNCC. Danny Sheridan, who was recruited by Jones in the summer, was working with Miller at a Denver-based training facility when Sheridan asked Miller to go and try out.

“He [Sheridan] said he was going to Western Nebraska Community College as an outfielder, and I said good luck to you, hopefully you will do well,” Miller said. “This was three weeks before school even started, and he came back and said, ‘Rich, are you interested in trying out at this school in Scottsbluff.’ I said, ‘I might give it a shot.’ I tried out, gave it a shot and coach told me I was a talented guy and he would love to have me. That is it. I originally had no plans to come back.”

Now, Miller is looking to continue his playing career and the one school that has eyes on the talented catcher is Mesa State University in Grand Junction, Colo., the home of the NJCAA College World Series.

Miller is one of the leaders on a young team this season. The Cougars returned just four players back from last year’s Region IX championship team. Currently, the Cougars are 18-19 overall and fifth with a 8-10 in conference play.

WNCC coach Mike Jones said that finding someone of Miller’s talents late last summer has been a pleasant surprise. In fact, Miller said it was by chance that he even ended up coming back and he loves the game one again.

“To be honest, this is more then what I expected. The program is great and I like coach Jones a lot,” he said. “I like our field. I like my teammates. I like the school a lot. When I first got here, I thought this is a small school, small town and there wouldn’t be very much to do. But, to be honest with you, it has built relationships. It has built as all closer to each other. I like it a lot“The school and town are real close. The people in town really follow sports around here a lot. We are almost really treated like a Division I school and people know me. I walked into a store the other day and some gal said, “Hey, I saw you in the paper the other day. Don’t you play for the Cougars.” I said, ‘Holy cow.’ It is amazing and awesome how you are treated here. I am real excited to be back.”