WNCC volleyball gets two more recruits in Gering's Schmidt and Colorado's Austin

Giovana Melo continues bringing in the talent for next year’s Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team.

The latest members for next year’s team include Gering’s Sierra Schmidt and Ariel Austin of Woodland Park, Colo. Schmidt is a 5-foot-4 setter/defensive specialist, while Austin is a 5-11 rightside left-handed hitter.

Both are excited to be joining a nationally-recognized program like WNCC.

“I choose WNCC because their program has been so successful for so long,” Schimdt said. “I played for Chris Green for club volleyball and now since Coach G is here, it will be that much better.”

Melo has seen Schmidt progress as an athlete through the years, first when Melo was a player here and watched her as a youngster at volleyball camps, to this year when Schmidt was the starting setter.

“I have been watching her since I have been playing here and I remember her being a little girl and coming to the camps then, as well as coming to our camps this year,” Melo said. “I have been watching her in high school and I think she brings a lot of energy. She works really hard for everything she does. It helps to have a player like that in the program. She pushes everybody and that helps the program get better.”

Schmidt will be the third Gering graduate on the team next year, joining her former teammates Whitney Roth and Brooke Blomenkamp. Schmidt said that should make the transition to college that much easier.

“[Having them here] didn’t influence my decision but it made it that much better since they will be there with me,” she said. “I am just really excited to come here. I want to be part of a team that is able to go far, and even if I don’t get to play, I am still honored to be part of that team. “

Melo said it will be advantageous in having at least three local players on the team.

“This past year Whitney and Brooke have made a difference in our program, and I am sure Sierra is going to add to that,” Melo, who just finished her first year at the Cougar head coach last fall leading them to a third place finish at nationals, said. “They are going to get a long together because they have known each other for a while. It just adds to the chemistry of the program.”

Even if Schmidt hadn’t decided to play sports in college, she said she was still leaning on attending WNCC.

“This was my main choice for a college, sportswise,” she said. “If I wouldn’t have came here for sports, I probably would have went here anyways. I was also looking at UNL and UNK just for school.”

Schmidt had a standout career at Gering, helping them to a 15-15 record which included winning six straight matches. Schmidt finished her senior seasons as one of the top in the state, earning Class B all-state honorable mention, a Star-Herald All-Region selection, Western Conference all-conference and the Twin City Invitational all-tournament team.

Schmidt finished the season with 78 kills, 630 assists, 181 digs, 25 solo blocks, 42 aces and was an 82 percent server.

Melo also has signed a talented rightside hitter in Austin, who was a 3-year letter winning and senior captain in volleyball at Woodland Park High, just west of Colorado Springs. Austin has also gone to state in track and field in the triple and long jumps.

Austin said this college felt right when she visited.

“The college was small and it felt like a great fit for me,” she said. “I felt welcomed when I came to visit because there were a couple of athletes that greeted me when I arrived.”

Austin said she was surprised initially when Melo paid her a visit during a club practice.

"I had club practice and Coach Giovana came to watch. When my practice was done, she gave me a packet with information,” she said. “She wanted me to come and visit.”

Austin, who was also looking at attending Hutchinson Community College, Southeastern Louisiana University and Lamar University, brings a lot of talent to the Cougar lineup. Austin has played volleyball since the seventh grade and also for the Colorado Juniors club team, where they went to nationals in Dallas and placed 33^rd. She currently is playing club volleyball for the 18 Kevin for Colorado Juniors, and just got back from the Las Vegas Invitational where the team placed 9^th out of 164 teams.

WNCC baseball drops home opener to Colorado State

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team saw their runs at a premium in their home-opener at Cleveland Field, dropping a doubleheader against Colorado State University club team.

The Rams utilized a one-hit pitching performance from Bobby Moller in a 6-0 win in game one, and then used a 4-run fifth inning to take the nightcap 6-4.

WNCC coach Mike Jones said his team didn’t perform like they did in a five-game series against Barton Community College over the weekend.

“I thought we showed up and played with more intensity in the second game. I thought we had better at bats and Sam Diaz pitched a good ball game. We just made a couple mistakes behind him and we didn’t bounce back after making those mistakes. We kind of let those mistakes defeat us. We need to do a better job of keeping our head up even though we make a few mistakes and not let them beat us like that.”

The big difference in the second game was a fifth inning where Colorado State scored four times with two outs. During that inning, the Rams finished with three hits and took advantage of two costly WNCC errors. The big hit in that inning was a 2-RBI double by Mike Roberts.

“That inning was the big difference in the ball game. We had two plays in that inning where we could have put a stop to it. We should have came back into the dugout with a 2-1 lead and maybe tied 2-2,” Jones said. “We are going to make mistakes. We are a young ball club and it is early in the season. Those things will happen. I would of liked us to rally together a little bit more and come back and get back in the ball game offensively.”

WNCC started the second game strong, plating two runs in the first inning. Josh Parker, a freshman from Canberra, Australia, and Eric Garcia scored on singles by Alex Arias and Anthony Paniagua.

The lead stayed that way until the fourth inning when Colorado State sliced the lead in half, 2-1, before taking a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning. WNCC came right back in the bottom of the fifth to score a run. Parker started the rally with a one-out single. Garcia then walked to put two runners on. Parker then scored on a single by Ronald Miller to bring the Cougars back to 5-3.

Colorado State added an insurance run in the sixth inning only to watch WNCC make a comeback. Parker reached base by taking advantage of an error. Scottsbluff’s Trace Marsden followed with a pinch-hit single to left field. Miler then scored Parker with a groundball to cut the lead to 6-4.

“We did get some guys on base late in the game,” Jones said. “We got some guys on base in the fifth inning, the sixth inning and the seventh inning. But we just couldn’t come up with that big hit.”

Sam Diaz took the loss, going 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and fiving up four hits. Diaz also struck out two and issued five free passes. Luis Orta worked the rest of the contest, allowing one run and five hits. Orta also fanned four batters.

WNCC managed just six hits in the game. Parker finished the game 1-for-3 with three runs scored, while Marsden went 1-for-1.

The opener was all Colorado State as The Cougars were held without a hit until a fourth-inning lead-off single by Jason Sloan. In fact, Moller controlled the Cougar hitters, striking out seven in six innings of work, while walking four.

WNCC’s Armani Gonzalez took the loss, going five innings and allowing five runs on six hits. Gonzalez struck out two and issued five free passes to the Rams’ batters. Rodil Martinez finished the contest, throwing two innings and giving up one run on two hits.

The Cougars, 4-7, will open up Empire Conference action this weekend when they travel to Trinidad State Junior College for a doubleheader on Saturday and one game on Sunday. Trinidad enters the contest with a league best 8-5 record, after topping Dodge City Community College 9-4 and 13-1 on Tuesday.

Jones said his team needs to bring their A game to the field.

“I am not sure how we are going to respond to that yet,” he said. “I am concerned about our intensity at times. I am concerned about our desire to win at times. When the conference games comes, maybe we will flip a switch and play a little bit better.”

Game One
CSU 104 001 0 – 6 8 0
WNCC 000 000 0 – 0 1 2
WP – Moller; LP – A. Gonzalez; 2B – CSU (Jake Fox).

Game Two
CSU 000 140 1 – 6 8 1
WNCC 200 010 1 – 4 6 3
WP – Childs, LP – Diaz; 2B – CSU (Roberts).

WNCC men fall to North Platte

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball saw their six-game winning streak halted Tuesday evening as the hands of North Platte Community College.

WNCC and North Platte battled tooth and nail in the second half after the Knights held a 38-30 halftime lead. The Cougars had a chance to force overtime tied at 67-67, but a NBA 3-point attempt by Scott Bamforth rained in the basket and then bounced out to preserve the win for the Knights.

It was the first road for the Cougars since Dec. 6 when they lost to Northwest Wyoming at the Eastern Wyoming tournament. Even with the loss to North Platte, WNCC wins the sub-region with a 5-1 record, while North Platte gets the No. 2 seed in next month’s regional tournament with a 3-3 sub-regional mark.

The Cougars played the contest without Larry Brown, who turned an ankle. Still, WNCC battled North Platte, out-rebounding the hosts 34-27. Tarell Clark pulled down eight rebounds, followed by Francisco Cruz with six and Danny Smith with five.

WNCC knocked home seven 3-pointers, in shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc. Scott Bamforth finished with three treys, while Cruz had two.

Cruz led the team with 19 points followed by Bamforth and Sedrick McBounds with 13 and Smith with 10.

North Platte was paced by Ragland with 22 points, followed by Brenten Brown with 12 points.

The Cougars will look to get back on the winning track Saturday when they host Northeastern Junior College in the final regular season game. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in the contest that will honor the three departing sophomores.

WNCC (23-6) 30 37 – 67
North Platte (21-7) 38 32 – 70
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Lloyd Hickinson 3, Tarell Clark 6, Saul Torres 1, Danny Smith 10, Scott Bamforth 13, Francisco Cruz 19, Sedrick McBounds 13, John Bright 2.

WNCC women pick up win No. 23 over Otero Junior College

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team connected on eight 3-pointers and used a smothering second half defense in registering their seventh straight win in collecting a 68-37 win over Otero Junior College Tuesday night at Cougar Palace.

The Cougars sank six first-half 3-pointers, including three from Shaquilah Davis in running to a 32-20 halftime lead. Davis finished the game with 22 points and four 3-pointers, including 13 in the first half.

WNCC coach Dave Harnish said the first half play was key, especially how they shot the ball on the evening.

“We shot the ball early to get up by 18 and then we got to a point where we let them back in the game because we kept shooting threes and stopped penetrating,” he said. “I thought the second half we had better balance to where if we had to go up with a shot, we took it, and if we not we penetrated. I thought the balance of shots was better in the second half.”

WNCC converted on 46 percent from the field, including 40 percent (8 of 20) from the 3-point area. Amber Kistler buried two treys, while Stormye Everett and Lorena Medeiros each had one 3-pointer.

Otero shot 30 percent from the floor, and were out-rebounded by the Cougars 40-34. A big reason for Otero’s poor shooting was the Cougars’ patented defense, which is ranked among the nation’s top 10.

“ We went to a match-up zone and we haven’t played it much this year and I thought it was an excellent job,” Harnish said. “They are a team that really hurt us off of penetration the last time we played (Otero won xx-xx). The match-up zone really helped us take their penetration away and force them to shoot from the outside. I thought it was a solid defensive effort all night.”

The Cougars asserted themselves quickly. Everett hit the first 3-pointer to put WNCC up 6-2. Kistler followed with a long-range shot with 14 minutes left in the opening half. Then, Davis lit up connecting on three 3-pointers to push the Cougars’ lead to 30-13.

The second half belonged to Everett as the freshman scored 11 points, including seven of the team’s first 10 points. After Everett’s strong start, Kistler and Davis connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 48-23 with six minutes gone in the second half.

Otero, on the other hand, had trouble scoring in the second half. The Rattlers’ first field game came on an old-fashioned 3-point play from Alex Dunn with 17 minutes left. WNCC held Otero scoreless for the next five minutes and the Rattlers didn’t score double-digits in the half until five minutes left in the game on a 3-pointer by Megan Cowden.

WNCC had just two players hit the double figure scoring column, led by Davis with 22 and Everett with 17. Medeiros finished the game with nine points followed by Kistler with eight. Kistler also added four assists, while Everett and Davis each had three steals. Tawny Drexler led the team with seven rebounds.

Otero was led by Bailey Wilkins with 11 points, followed by Dunn with eight points.

WNCC, 23-6, will have one more regular season game left as they host Northeastern Junior College Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Plainswomen earned a 52-50 win over the Cougars last month in Sterling, Colo., on a last second shot.

Saturday will also be sophomore appreciation day as WNCC says goodbye to seven sophomores – Drexler, Medeiros, Davis, SeLina Ysac, Michelle Lighthall, Juliana Bassetto and Caley Fisher.

After Saturday, the Cougars will host the Region IX tournament March 6-10. WNCC earned a first round bye and will play Sunday, March 8 at 5 p.m. against the winner of the Western Wyoming Community College and Northwest (Wyo.) College game. The complete bracket can be located on the Region IX website at regionix.wncc.net.

Otero (20-7) 20- 17 – 37

WNCC (23-6) 32 36 – 68

OTERO JUNIOR COLLEGE

Heather Andersen 1, Rachelle Tialavea 4, Ashley Jelly 2, Bailey Wilkins 11, Alex Dunn 8, Angie Andemucio 1, Kari Ameling 2, Mielinda Perry 2, Megan Cowden 6.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Amber Kistler 8, Lorena Medeiros 9, SeLina Ysac 2, Shaquilah Davis 22, Stormye Evereett 17, Janae Willis 3, Tawny Drexler 5, Ashley Burns 2.

Three-pointers: WNCC 8 (Davis 4, Kistler 2, Everett, Medeiros); Otero 4 (Cowden 2, Wilkins, Tialavea).

WNCC's Melo receives honor from AVCA

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Giovana Melo received a special honor from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The AVCA announced its Thirty under 30 awards and Melo was one of 30 assistant or head coaches from high school to NCAA Division I to be selected. In fact, Melo is just one of two junior college head coaches to make the “Thirty under 30” special recognition. The other junior college head coach is Caitlin Faulk of Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Melo never thought she would receive this kind of recognition this early in her coaching career.

“It is an honor to be receiving this award. I am proud to be representing our program and school,” Melo said. “It is pretty exciting but the recognition should not be just mine. I would have not done it without my assistant Nicole [Gonzalez] and my players, who worked really hard to have a successful season, which allowed me to even get nominated for this award.”

Melo was dominated for the award my former Missouri State-West Plains coach Trish Knight. Knight is now in the NJCAA Hall of Fame and just recently accepted the head coaching position at Texas Tech.

“It is special to be nominated by a Hall of Fame coach for the honor,” she said. “She is an excellent coach and has had an extremely successful program at West Plains in many years. I remember when I played she was already their coach and always got them to the final four at Nationals. That is probably a big reason why now she is moving on to be a D-I coach. It is an honor to be nominated by someone like her.”

Melo just completed her first season as the head coach for the Cougars, guiding them to a 59-4 record and a third place finish at the national tournament. WNCC finished third with a thrilling five-game win over Iowa Western Community College.

Melo started her collegiate volleyball career has a setter for the Cougars under former coach Chris Green back in 2001 and 2002, earning second team NJCAA All-American honors her freshman year and first team All-American honors her sophomore year. She helped guide the Cougars to an 104-14 record in two seasons, including a third place finish at nationals in 2001

“I knew she [Trish Knight] remembered me from when I played because she came and talked to me on our first tournament at Iowa Western,” she said. “After that, we have talked in tournaments, meetings, etc. We are not that close, we just have a normal coach's relationship. I have always had a lot of respect for her and her team.”

After WNCC, Melo went on to play for Arizona State University, where she played two seasons, before tearing her ACL in her senior season for the Sun Devils and had to use a red-shirt season. She earned PAC-10 All-Academic honors in 2005.

Melo came to WNCC in April after two years as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Arizona State.

In the February/March issue of the AVCA magazine “Coaching Volleyball,” Melo said she is taking it slow up the coaching ladder. Melo is just 27 years old.

“I don’t have long-term goals for my career in the sport because I want to take it slow,” she said. “I am just starting as a head coach this year and I still have so much to learn. It is such a huge change to go from a player to a coach. I never thought I would be a head coach as soon, and here I am enjoying every minute of it.”

Melo is currently recruiting for next year’s team and she has some holes to fill since she loses three sophomores – Fatima Balza, who committed to Penn State, Nayka Benitez, who committed to Creighton, and Paloma Alvarez, who will make her college decision in the next month.

So far Melo has signed two players for next season in Emily Hoehn of Kearney Catholic, a 5-foot-6 libero, and Ariel Austin, rightside hitter from Woodland Park, Colo.

The complete list of the AVCA Thirty over 30 listing includes, Lindi Brankowski, assistant coach at Austin Peay State (NCAA DI); Brittany Baum, assistant coach at Wittenberg University (NCAA DIII); Ben Boldt, assistant coach at University of Alabama (NCAA Di); Ryan Campbell, assistant coach at Cornerstone University (NAIA); Caitlin Faulk, head coach at Broward College (JUCO); Becky Fletcher, head men’s and women’s coach at Sunytt (NCAA DIII); Kyle Gamble, assistant coach at Iowa Western Community College (JUCO); Todd Garvey, head coach at Mercy Academy (high school); Chris Gaskill, assistant coach at University of Iowa (NCAA DI); Kelly Greapentrog, head coach at St. John Fisher College (NCAA DIII); Emily Hawthorne, head coach at Zionville High School (high school); Kristina Hernandez, head coach at Hofstra University (NCAA DI); Michael Johnson, assistant head coach at Cal Poly (NCAA DI); GTretchen Killebrew, assistant coach at Seattle University (NCAA D!); Matt Martin, assistant men’s coach at Loyola University-Chicago (NCAA DI and DII); Giovana Melo, head coach Western Nebraska Community College (JUCO); Stephanie Moreno, assistant coach at University of San Diego (NCAA DI); Kelly Morrisroe, assistant coach at Eckerd College (NCAA DII); George Mulry, head coach at Longmeadeo High (high school); Vince Muscat, head coach at Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (high school); Coley Pawlikowski, head coach at North Park University (NCAA DIII); Jessy Roy, assistant coach at Lynn Unviversity (NCAA DII); Lauren Sauer, assistant coach at University of Kentucky (NCAA DI); Jamie Skadeland, head coach at Colorado School of Mines (NCAA DII); Eric Snyder, head coach at Stonehill College (NCAA DII); Holly Strauss-O’Brien, head coach at University of Connecticut (NCAA DI); John Titus, head coach at Parsippany High (high school); Christy Utnage, assistant coach at Xavier University (NCAA DI); J.T. Wenger, assistant coach for UCLA men (DI); Lettie Wilkes head coach of Belmont Abbey College (NCAA DII), and in memoriam David Hildebrandt, head men’s and women’s coach at Elms College (NCAA DIII), who died in a camping accident this summer.

WNCC baseball picks up fourth win, splits with Barton County on Monday

Submitted by By Jeremy Woznick, Scottsbluff Star-Herald

GREAT BEND, Kan. - The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team continued to show flashes of its offensive firepower in earning a doubleheader split against Barton Community College on Monday in Great Bend, Kan.

The Cougars pounded out an 11-7 win in game one before dropping a 13-7 setback in game two. In Sunday's action, WNCC and Barton also split a doubleheader. Barton won 3-0 before WNCC rebounded with a 10-1 win in game two.

WNCC ended its five-game, three-day road trip with three wins. The Cougars are now 4-5 on the season heading into their home opener on Wednesday against the Colorado State University club team at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.

"All in all it was a good five games for us," WNCC coach Mike Jones said of his team's trip to Kansas. "I'm pleased with the progress we're making as an offensive team. We continued to put up some runs and I thought our offensive production has been good over the last five games. We played real well the first game [Monday] and in the second game unfortunately we made way too many defensive mistakes and lost momentum in the ball game."

In game one, WNCC plated seven runs in the third inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by Jason Sloan's three-run double.

After Barton closed within 7-4 at the end of five innings, WNCC scored three more times in the top of the sixth and added another run in the seventh to pull away.

Scottsbluff High School graduate Trace Marsden went 3-for-3 at the plate for the Cougars. Marsden drove in three runs and finished with a double. Aurelio Monteagudo went 2-for-4 with a run batted in while Sloan drove in five.

Tim Kupfner collected his first win of the season on the mound for the Cougars. Kupfner (1-0) went all seven innings. He allowed 11 hits and struck out eight.

WNCC's offense continued to sizzle at the start of game two. After plating a run in the top of the first, the Cougars scored four times in the second to hold a 5-0 advantage. However, Barton plated a run in the bottom of the second before tying the game at 5-5 by scoring four runs in the fourth.

WNCC took back the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth, but Barton exploded for six runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Barton added two insurance runs to its total in the sixth.

"We jumped out to an early lead," Jones said. "We made a couple errors in the fourth inning that gave them their four runs. We took the lead again later, but then our bullpen couldn't hold it for us.

"We've got some things to work on, but I think we've shown a lot of good things so far this season as well."

Barton out-hit WNCC 13-8 in the second game. WNCC made four errors defensively.
Gustavo Sanchez took the loss on the mound out of the bullpen. David Castle started the contest and was credited with a no decision. Castle allowed four runs and struck out three in four innings of work.

Josh Parker, Elvis Garcia and Dallas Liptac all finished the game with two hits and two runs batted in each. Parker also had a double.

After being shut out in Sunday's first game, the Cougars responded with a 14-hit attack to win game two. Alex Arias paced the WNCC offense in the game by going 4-for-4 with a triple, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Ronald Miller went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and three runs scored. Also collecting multiple hits in the game were Marsden and Sloan. Both totaled two hits each.

Ben Doran earned the win on the mound. He allowed one run on five hits in six innings of work. Doran struck out two.

In Sunday's first game, WNCC totaled just four hits. Anthony Paniagua led the way offensively by going 2-for-3.

Enrique Gonzalez took the loss on the mound. The freshman righthander allowed just five hits and struck out four in six innings of work.

Sunday
Game One
WNCC 000 000 0 - 0 4 3
Barton 000 111 x - 3 5 1
LP - Enrique Gonzalez (0-2).
Game Two
WNCC 204 000 4 - 10 14 0
Barton 100 000 0 - 1 5 0
WP - Ben Doran (1-0).
3B - Alex Arias. 2B - Anthony Paniagua, Shane Wade.

Monday
Game One
WNCC 007 003 1 - 11 9 0
Barton 001 030 3 - 7 11 3
WP - Tim Kupfner (1-0).
2B - Jason Sloan, Trace Marsden.
Game Two
WNCC (4-5) 140 020 0 - 7 8 4
Barton 010 462 x - 13 13 1
LP - Gustavo Sanchez (0-1).
2B - Josh Parker.

College and high school girls basketball games on tap for Tuesday at Cougar Palace

It will be a college and high school girls basketball doubleheader at Cougar Palace Tuesday evening.

The Western Nebraska Community College women, who ran their record to 22-6 and secured the right to host next month’s Region IX tournament, will face Otero Junior College at 5 p.m. Then, after the women’s basketball game, the Class B, District 6 girls high school tournament will begin with a first-round contest between Gering High School and Ogallala High School, slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

The Cougar women have been playing solid basketball, winning their last six contests. WNCC topped Northeast Nebraska 74-57 on Friday, coming back from a 19-point second half deficit to win by 17 points. WNCC then bounced McCook 80-51 on Saturday.

The Rattlers come into the contest 20-6. The two squads have meet twice times this season. The squads split contests at La Junta, Colo., with WNCC winning the December game 72-49 and Otero winning the January encounter 63-51.

The high school game will see two squads with plenty to play for. The winner advances to the semifinals against the No. 1 seed Alliance Bulldogs at 6 p.m. at Cougar Palace. Gering enters the contest 8-14 and losers of six of their last seven games. Gering came up big, however, on Thursday night, when they topped Scottsbluff 66-65 in overtime.

Ogallala comes into the district game with a 9-10 record, having beat Gering on Saturday 52-40. The Indians have won six of their last 10 games, including falling to 17-3 Holdrege in overtime 71-58.

WNCC softball splits games at Garden City; Cougars blast four home runs

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team blasted four home runs on the day as they split a double header with Garden City Community College Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars blasted three home runs in the e opener, including two solo shots from Katie Groves to earn a 5-0 win against the Broncbusters. WNCC wasn’t as fortunate in the second came, falling 7-4.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said they played well, but need to play well in both games.

“Game one of the Garden City game, I thought we played very well. We executed on offense and made no defensive mistakes,” she said. “Game two we lost focus and late in the game we tried to make a comeback.”

Kelsey Garner picked up her third win of the year in the opener, as the sophomore pre-season all-American struck out 11 and scattered seven hits in getting the win. Winn-Ratliff said it was nice to see Garner pitch well over the weekend.

“It was good to see Kelsey throw well and get some wins,” she said. “Offensively, we have to be able to execute at all times. But I saw some young ladies do some great things. Katie Groves and Sofia Gomez both did a great job at the plate for us this weekend.”

The Cougars quickly took charge in the opener as Kelly Pearson and Groves blasted back-to-back solo shots in the first inning. Sofia Gomez added to the hit parade in getting a double off the top of the fence for nearly a third straight home run.

Groves, a freshman from Bluffdale, Utah, added a solo shot in the third inning to put WNCC up 3-0. The Cougars added another run in the sixth inning. Alyssa Hickey led off with a single and scored on a double by Adena Hagen.

WNCC’s final run came in the seventh. Groves had a one-out double. Groves came around to score on a 2-out single by Garner for the final margin.

Groves paced the team with a 3-for-4 performance, including two home runs, a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Pearson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a run scored, while Adena Hagen went 2-for-3 with a single, double and a run scored.

WNCC started game two with the same offensive intensity as game one. Hagen, the starting centerfielder from Saskatchewan, Canada, led off the game with a home run. The Cougars and Garden City were tied at 2-2 after three innings before Garden City took a 7-2 lead.

WNCC tried some late inning heroics. Tiffany Lookabill started the inning with a single followed by Pearson reaching base on a fielder’s choice. Groves then walked to put two players on base. With two outs, Garner scored Pearson and Groves with a double to cut the lead to 7-4.

Hagen paced the team going 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk, while Tiffany Lookabill went 1-for-1. Garner went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Gomez finished the second game going 1-for-2 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Lauryn Smith had two stolen bases in the contest.

Casey Simpson took the loss in the circle, allowing three runs, nine hits and striking out one. Garner finished off the game allowing four runs, zero unearned, while striking out one and allowing two hits.

WNCC, 7-10, will be off for two weeks before facing Barton County on March 6 and then competing in the Cloud County Tournament in Concordia, Kan., March 7-8.

Game 1
WNCC 201 001 1 -- 5 12 0
Garden City 000 000 0 -- 0 7 0
WP -- Kelsey Garner; 2B -- Adena Hagen, Kelly Pearson, Katie Groves, Sofie Gomez, Lauryn Smith; HR -- Groves (2), Pearson.

Game 2
WNCC 101 000 2 -- 4 4 0
Garden City 101 014 -- 7 11 0
LP -- Casey Simpson; 2B – Garner; HR – Hagen.

WNCC baseball splits with Barton County on Sunday

GREAT BEND, Kan. -- The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team split a pair of games Sunday against Barton County Community College.

The Cougars, who won 10-4 against Barton County on Saturday, dropped the first game 3-0 before coming back to win the second game 10-1 behind a 14-hit attack.

WNCC quickly took control in the first game, plating two runs in the first inning and scoring four more in the third for a 6-2 lead. The Cougars scored the first-inning runs on three hits, including an RBI single by Alex Arias, and base hits by Jason Sloan and Ron Miller.

The Cougars scored their four runs in the third inning on four hits. Josh Parker led off the inning with a single. Miller and Arias followed with singles and then Shane Wade had an RBI double to put the Cougars up 6-1.

WNCC put the game away in the seventh inning with other four-run inning on four hits. Parker led off the inning by drawing a walk, followed by a single by Sloan and Miller. With one out, Arias tripled to score two runs and then Anthony Paniagua blasted an RBI double for the final runs of the game.

Arias led the Cougars from the plate, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a triple. Miller finished the game going 3-for-4, including three runs scored and two RBIs. Also collecting multiple hits were Scottsbluff’s Trace Marsden with a 2-for-4 day, Sloan going 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Ben Doran picked up the win, going six innings, while scattering five hits, allowing one run and striking out two.

In the opener, the Cougar bats were quite there, only managing four hits. Barton scored its three runs with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. WNCC, however, had a chance in the first inning to score first. Parker opened the game with a single and then stole second and advanced to third where he was stranded.

Paniagua led the Cougars with a 2-for-3 performance. The only other two hits came from the bats of Parker and Aurelio Monteagudo.

Enrique Gonzalez suffered the loss on the mound, going six innings, while scattering five hits. Gonzalez struck out four and walked three in a fine performance in the outing. Gonzalez was just the victim of three Cougar fielding errors.

WNCC, 3-4, will be back in action Monday with another doubleheader against Barton County. The Cougars will then return home for a doubleheader against Colorado State at Cleveland Field on Wednesday.

Game 1
WNCC 000 000 0 – 0 4 3
Barton 000 111 x – 3 5 1
WP – Matt Robertson, LP – Gonzalez (0-2).

Game 2
WNCC (3-4) 204 000 4 – 10 14 0
Barton 100 000 0 – 1 5 0
WP – Doran (1-0), LP – Michael Cotter; 2B – Paniagua, Wade; 3B – Arias.

WNCC women top McCook, earn right to host regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team entered this weekend needing three things to happen in order for the Cougars to host next month's Region IX tournament.

Part one of that equation happened Friday night as the team came back from a 19-point deficit to register a 74-57 win against Northeast Community College.

Saturday night, the Cougar women finished off the magic by registering an 80-51 victory over McCook Community College. The win gave the Cougars the right to host regionals after the team won the weekend games by the required margin of victory – 15 points – and then won the coin flip late Friday night. WNCC women's coach Dave Harnish said this team earned the right to host regionals, overcoming enormous odds.

"It was a little unexpected. I thought we played well the last two or three weeks. We have been practicing a lot better," he said. "Other than that game we should have won done at Sterling, we have played well the last two or three weeks. Knowing that going into this weekend playing well, I thought we had a chance. To have it happen is kind of a surprise in the way it did. We had to come together and win both games by 15 and then win the coin flip. One of those three things could have went down, but everything came in our favor. It is a good achievement for the girls because they worked hard the last two or three weeks. I am very proud of accomplishing this."

Saturday's game wasn't a perfectly played game for the Cougars. A big contributor to that was the team didn't have the normal legs that they had on Friday because of how hard they had to play to comeback to beat Northeast. Saturday, however, the women left little doubt who the superior team was.

"The key tonight was the first half. It was important for us to jump on them early and get a lead at halftime, which took a lot of relief off," Harnish said. "We played terrible in the second half. It was a situation where I think we were tired from the night before and we lost some of our legs and not getting back on defense. Luckily, we played a very good first half, got the big lead, and were able to keep that."

McCook's Britney Bunker made an early 3-pointer to keep the Indians in the game, down by one, 4-3. After that, the Cougars heated up, going on a 17-0 run to race to a 21-4 lead. The Cougars used a strong inside game and outside shooting from Caley Fisher, who canned two 3-pointers and a trey by Stormye Everett. Amber Kistler finished off the run with an offensive putback.

McCook never could put together back-to-back buckets in the first half as WNCC raced to a 43-16 lead.

McCook played better in the second half scoring 35 points, including 11 from Bunker in that period. WNCC, however, continued flexing it's offensive muscles with an inside-outside game that was unstoppable. SeLina Ysac buried three 3-pointers in the second half and Lorena Medeiros had a trey to help keep the margin of victory over the 15 points the Cougars needed to host regionals.

Five Cougars finished in double figures led by Shaquilah Davis with 16 points, Kistler with 12, Ysac and Everett with 11, and Tawny Drexler with 10. All 10 Cougars saw action and scored in the contest.

McCook was paced by Bunker's 20 points. No other McCook finished with double-digit scoring.

Harnish said the team didn't shoot the ball well, but they got the win. That was the most important part.

"I don't think we shot the ball well overall. The second half was a sloppy second half," he said. "The bottom line was that we had to win by 15 and regardless what the stats showed, the girls went out and did that. Winning the coin flip was huge. That all doesn't mean we won the regional tournament, but it is nice to be able to host it and play on your home court now."

WNCC will next be in action Tuesday evening when they entertain Otero Junior College at 5 p.m., followed by the last regular season home game against Northeastern Junior College Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Region IX tournament begins March 6 and runs for five days.

McCook 16 35 – 51
WNCC (22-6) 43 37 – 80
MCCOOK
Michelle Price 7, Kylie Berry 2, Keri Novacek 3, Britney Bunker 20, Emmalee Fladland 9, Skylar Johnson 3, Julia Hale 4, Tara Wille 1
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Amber Kistler 12, Lorna Medeiros 5, SeLina Ysac 11, Shaquilah Davis 16, Stormye Everett 11, Janae Willis 2, Tawny Drexler 10, Caley Fisher 8, Ashley Burns 1, Juliana Bassetto 4.

NCC men fight back for 79-75 win over McCook

The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team captured its sixth consecutive win, coming back from a 10-point deficit to topple McCook Community College 79-75 Saturday night.

The win was the Cougars 23^rd of the season, but more importantly keeps the Cougars unbeaten in the East Sub-region with one sub-region game left to go – Tuesday night at North Platte Community College.

WNCC men's coach Brian Joyce said it is hard to go undefeated in any sub-region.

"That is a hard thing to do and no other team in our region has done it so far. We have a chance on Tuesday to go undefeated. That is not an easy thing to do for sure," Joyce said. "North Platte is always tough to beat at home and they have had one of the best records all year of anybody in our region. I think it will be a good game, a competitive game, and I think our guys are excited to go on the road and play."

For much of the contest Saturday night, it looked as if McCook were going to spoil the Cougar's run of an undefeated sub-region. McCook completed dominated the last 15 minutes of the first half. WNCC held a 13-11 lead early on a Larry Brown 3-pointer. After that, Alonso Lewis drilled a trey to put McCook up 14-13.

The Indians pushed the lead to nine points with 3:50 to play in the half on a Ronnell Grant bucket and were up 46-37 with under 30 seconds to play before Brown made a bucket to send the Cougars into the locker room trailing 46-39.

McCook led by as much as 12 points in the second half and actually held a 6-point lead with seven minutes to play. WNCC finally woke up as Danny Smith sliced the lead to one point, 64-63 with just under six minutes to play. Scott Bamforth than gave the Cougars their first lead of the game with two free throws since early in the first half, 66-65.

The lead jockeyed back and forth as McCook held a 73-70 lead on a DeShawn Howard bucket. WNCC came roaring back as Brown hit a clutch field goal and the Bamforth scored his fifth 3-pointer of the game to put WNCC up 75-73 with a minute to play.

McCook tied the game at 75 on two Ronnell Grant free throws, but Chris Hamblin scored with 22 seconds to play and after McCook missed a shot, Brown was fouled with 4.9 seconds to play and hit the clinching free throws.

"McCook did a really good job coming in here and playing hard and taking it at us," Joyce said. "Last night's game took a little bit out of us so it took a little while for us to get going. I think our depth was a big factor tonight. We push our guys so hard in practice so that they are not so stressed out in a game and I think in pressure situations, our guys really concentrate and handle things how we work in practice. I thought our guys did a really good job when the pressure was on in making decisions."

WNCC had two players in double figures, led by Bamforth's 23 points. Francisco Cruz finished with 14 points while Brown had 13.

WNCC will next be in action Tuesday when they travel to North Platte, before finishing the regular season with a home contest against Northeastern Junior College on Saturday at 3 p.m.

McCook 46 29 – 75
WNCC (23-5) 39 40 – 79
MCCOOK
Javoun Martin 3, Trey Mosby 16, Alonzo Louis 11, DeShawn Howard 11, Ronnell Grant 16, Ray Robinson 10, Marcus Landry 2, John Hill 6.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Lloyd Hickinson 2, Tarell Clark 7, Chris Hamblin 8, Scott Bamforth 23, Francisco Cruz 14, Sedrick McBounds 3, Larry Brown 13.

WNCC softball splits doubleheader with Seward County

LIBERAL, Kan. - The Western Nebraska Community College softball team split a doubleheader at Seward County Community College on Saturday in Liberal, Kan., claiming game one in eight innings 7-6, before dropping a 10-2 setback in game two.

"We battled back to get a win against their No. 1 [pitcher] in the first game," WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said. "It was a win that was a very good for our ball club. But in the second game, we couldn't maintain any consistency. We have to learn to be more consistent."

WNCC had plenty of offensive heroes in the first-game win as the Cougars belted 12 hits in a game that saw the Cougars pick up some clutch hits.

The Cougars trailed 5-2 entering the sixth before plating three runs to tie the game at 5-5. Both teams scored a run each in the seventh. The Cougars' Atencio got the base hit that put WNCC up 6-5 before Barton tied it in the bottom of the frame. The Cougars took control in the eighth. Hagen led off with a single and scored on a Katie Groves base hit for what proved the winning run.

Adena Hagen and Sofia Gomez both went 3-for-5 at the plate. Gomez drove in a pair of runs with three singles, while Hagen finished with two singles, two runs scored, a double and a stolen base. In addition, Kelly Pearson went 2-for-5 with a home run, while Tonya Atencio went 1-fo2 with an RBI.

Kelsey Garner picked up her first win of the season in the circle. The sophomore allowed four earned runs and struck out nine in eight innings.

WNCC couldn't muster any offense in the second game, totaling just seven hits. Hagen, Groves, Atencio and Casey Simpson each collected a single, while Gomez went 2-for-3 with two singles,

Freshman Casey Simpson took the loss in the circle, allowing four earned runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. Stephanie Townsend allowed two earned runs and struck out three in relief.

WNCC, now 6-9 on the season, will be back in action Sunday with a doubleheader at Garden City Community College.

WNCC baseball defeats Barton County easily with 5-run first inning

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

GREAT BEND, Kan. - A five-run, first-inning outburst sparked the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team to a 10-4 win over Barton County Community College on Saturday at Lawson-Biggs Field in Great Bend, Kan.

The Cougars, who earned their second win of the season with the decision, led 8-0 through five innings before putting things on cruise control the rest of the way.

"It was a good win for us," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "It was great to get on top early and really settle in early in the game."

Victor Rubio evened his record at 1-1 by registering the win on the mound. Rubio didn't allow an earned run in six innings of work. He struck out four and scattered four hits. Three other Cougar hurlers tossed an inning each in relief of Rubio. Both Rodil Martinez and Armani Gonzalez struck out two.

"Victor competed well for us," Jones said. "He did walk some guys, but he threw a lot more off-speed pitches and really battled for us out there. We played good defense behind him."

The WNCC offense gave Rubio plenty of run support early. In their five-run first inning, the Cougars received a two-run double by Alex Arias and a two-run single by Scottsbluff High School graduate Trace Marsden.

The Cougars plated one run in the second and two more in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead. WNCC's final two runs came in the eighth and ninth innings. Ronald Miller and Jason Sloan both had run-scoring hits.

WNCC finished the game with 11 hits. Josh Parker, Sloan and Arias all collected two hits each. Elvis Garcia and Aurelio Monteagudo both scored three runs. Arias drove in four runs, while Miller and Marsden both drove in two.

It was the second straight game that WNCC put up double-figure runs. The Cougars scored 20 runs in a win over Pratt Community College earlier this week.

"The offense has been kind of a surprise," Jones said. "I knew we had the potential to be a strong offensive team, but I didn't expect us to be scoring runs like this so early."

WNCC, which has won its last two games, will be back in action against Barton County today. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for noon. Jones said Enrique Gonzalez and Ben Doran will get the starts on the mound today. Gonzalez is 0-1 on the season while Doran earned a no decision in his first start.

The teams will play another doubleheader on Monday before the Cougars return home to host their home opener on Wednesday at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff against the Colorado State University club team.

WNCC (2-3) 510 200 011 - 10 11 1
Barton County (3-4) 000 001 210 - 4 10 5
WP - Victor Rubio (1-1). LP - Herrera.
3B - J. Hoefler. 2B - Josh Parker, Ronald Miller, Alex Arias.

WNCC women come back from 19-point deficit to beat Northeast by 17

The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team, behind a smothering second half defense that held No. 22 Northeast Community College to just six points in the final seven minutes, kept its hopes alive in hosting the Region IX tournament Friday night at Cougar Palace.

The women’s team knew they had to win by 15 points against the Hawks. Early in the second half, Northeast held a 19-point, 45-26 lead. That didn’t matter as the Cougars came storming back to capture a 17-point, 74-57 victory.

The WNCC women now need to win by 15 points Saturday night against McCook Community College to force a tie with Northeast. Tip-off for the games is slated for 5:30 p.m. If the Cougars win by 15, then the results of the coin toss that was conducted later Friday night, will be revealed to see who hosts next month’s Region IX Tournament.

While the women still have hopes of hosting the regional tournament, the Cougar men wrapped up the No. 1 seed from the East Sub-Region with a 62-54 win over Northeast. The win keeps the Cougars unbeaten in sub-region play at 4-0 as well as winners of 19 of their last 22 games. With the No. 1 seed, the Cougars now they will face the North No. 4 seed, which is Dawson Community College, in next month’s regional tournament.

The women’s contest, however, was the more intense contest as the Cougars dug deep to not only get the win, but win by 15 points. WNCC coach Dave Harnish said his team buckled down on defense in the second half and got the job done, something that made Harnish smile after the game.

“It was such a big hole, being down by 19, and we were just playing to get better for the regional tournament and not thinking about the score,” he said. “What transpired the last 15 minutes of the game is huge. The girls have to be proud and they are very excited. It at least puts us in a tie with them and it will come down to a coin flip if we win by 15 against McCook.”

The Cougar women could have packed their bags and folded, but they didn’t. Harnish is proud of that fact because they stepped up their defense enormously.

“The first half looked a lot like when we played down there [a 60-33 loss]. We didn’t shoot the ball very well and we certainly didn’t defend very well and gave 20 points to [Jasmine] Lovejoy in the first half,” he said. “At halftime we talked about being more solid. The big thing second half is we made some shots and that encouraged us and got us going and we defended well. It was certainly a great half and a great effort to be down by 19 and win by 17. It was a huge comeback.”

Shaquilah Davis was a huge reason the Cougars made the unbelievable comeback, scoring a game-high 26 points, 22 points in the second half. The other key was holding one of the region’s top scorers, Lovejoy, in check in the second half. Lovejoy went off for 20 of the Hawk’s 35 first half points. In the second half, Lovejoy nailed a 3-pointer less than two minutes in the second period and then was held scoreless the rest of the way.

“We have been doing that, playing good defense, the last couple of weeks. It was a little uncharacteristic of us not to play that way. It was a big game and maybe they were a little bit nervous, but in the second half we were relaxed and played the way we have been playing the last couple of weeks.”

After Northeast took the 45-26 lead, the Cougars went on an 22-4 run that was led by Davis scoring 10 points, Amber Kistler getting four points, Lorena Medeiros scoring five points, including a clutch 3-pointer, and SeLina Ysac starting the run with a trey.

WNCC finally tied the game at 51-51 on a Davis 3-pointer with 8:52 to play. Davis gave the Cougars their first lead of the game with other 3-pointer with six minutes to play at 56-54. WNCC kept playing strong defense, holding the Hawk’s defense to just three points in the final six minutes.

In the meantime, the Cougars knew they needed to win by 15 points, and they finally led by 15 points with 29.6 seconds to play on one of two Stormye Everett’s free throws. WNCC added to the lead as Amber Kistler nailed two technical foul shots to put the Cougars up 71-54.

Northeast came right down the court and Elisha Foley drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 14.7 seconds to play. It was the first points for the Hawks in over six minutes of action. WNCC’s Kistler, Everett and Caley Fisher nailed clutch free throws to preserve the 15-point win.

Davis was just one of three Cougars in double figures, finishing with 26 points, three 3-pointers and 9 of 13 from the free throw line. Kisterl finished with 12 points, while Everet had 10 points. Tawny Drexler led the team in rebounding with nine boards as the Cougars out-rebounded the No. 22 team in the nation 46-43.

The Cougar men also put three players in double figures. Scott Bamforth finished with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, followed by Francisco Cruz with 12 points and Sedrick McBounds with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The men’s contest was tight for another reason besides a team trying to win by 15 points. This one was for a victory. The Hawks battled the Cougars from start to finish. WNCC led 28-27 at halftime, but watched Northeast come out of the locker room, grabbing a 33-28 lead. WNCC fought their way back, tying the game at 33-33 on a McBounds trey, and then taking the lead at 35-33 on a Chris Hamblin dunk.

The Cougars widened the lead to seven points, 52-45, on a Bamforth 3-pointer. Northeast would quit, slicing the lead to one point, 53-52 on a ChaMar Wilson 3-pointer with 5:40 to play. The Cougars defense buckled down, holding Northeast to just two points the rest of the game – the points came with 14.8 seconds to play by Thomas Colbert.

The big reason for the Cougar’s win was rebounding. WNCC out-rebounded the Hawks 56-36. That was something that pleased WNCC head coach Brian Joyce.

“We wrote two things on the board in the locker room, keep them out of the paint and limit second shots. That was our goal to out-rebound them,” he said. “The 22 offensive rebounds tells for one that we didn’t shoot very well [only 30 percent from the field].

“I thought they [Northeast] did a good job here controlling the tempo, especially on the road. I thought our guys made some plays in the second half to give ourselves a little bit of a cushion and then finish the game.”

Both teams will be back at Cougar Palace tonight when they host McCook Community College in sub-region contests. The women’s contest tips off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s. It will be the men’s second to last home game of the season.

Women’s Game
Northeast (24-6) 35 22 – 57
WNCC (21-6) 25 49 – 74
NORTHEAST
Stephanie Robinson 5, Jasmine Lovejoy 23, Elisha Foley 9, Whitley Smiley 4, Raelene Buschow 2, Chaundera Riley 14.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Amber Kistler 12, Lorena Medeiros 5, SeLina Ysac 9, Shaquilah Davis 26, Stormye Everett 10, Janae Willis 8, Tawny Drexler 3, Caley Fisher 1.

Men’s Game
Northeast (15-15) 27 27 – 54
WNCC (22-5) 28 34 – 62
NORTHEAST
DeAndre Jones 12, ChaMar Wilson 8, David Taylor 4, Seth Wendt 8, Andrew Lyle 5, Rashad Allison 5, Julio Rodrigues 8.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Tarell Clark 5, Chris Hamblin 7, Scott Bamforth 18, Francisco Cruz 12, Sedrick McBounds 10, Larry Brown 8, John Bright 2.

WNCC home baseball games this weekend cancelled

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball home opener scheduled for this weekend has been postponed because of snow still on the field.

The Cougars, 1-3, were scheduled to host Dawson Community College in doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. Because of the cancellation, the Cougars will now battle Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan., in a 3-day series. The Cougars and Barton County will have one 9-inning game on Saturday, followed by doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday.

The Cougars will then return home for a game Wednesday against the Colorado State University Club team. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.

Skate with the Cougars this Sunday, Feb. 22

Skate with the Cougars will be held Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Playhouse Skate and Fun Center.

The event will run from 4-5:30 p.m. for Gering students and from 5:30-7 p.m. for Scottsbluff students. Students from outside the area can attend either session.

There will be pizza and autographs during both sessions. Admission will be $3 per person and $2 skate or blade rental. Individuals can also bring their own skates, blades, scooters or skateboards. All admission costs will be donated back to the WNCC Athletic Club.

Cougar volleyball, basketball and soccer players will be in attendance. The softball and baseball teams will be out of town competing in games.

For more information , contact the Playhouse Skate and Fun Center at 632-5996, or WNCC athletic director Jennifer Pedersen at 308-635-6798.

WNCC splits with Pratt Community College

PRATT, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team showed some offensive power Tuesday, splitting a pair of games from Pratt Community College.

WNCC lost the first game 11-4, but rebounded with a 20-10 thumping of Pratt in game two.

“We have a lot of offensive potential,” WNCC coach Mike Jones said. “Over the weekend, we were trying too hard. We were being over aggressive and we were making aggressive mistakes, which is good. You can be aggressive and make those mistakes, but once we become more disciplined, we will be a powerful offense.”

The Cougars, after dropping two games to No. 25 Seward County Community College on Monday, are pleased to get won number one under their belt.

“They are happy to get that first win under their belt. They understand we have a lot of things to work on,” Jones said. “We knew coming in we were going to make a lot of mistakes early. They are away of the mistakes that we made and they understand we have things to fix. Overall, they are happy to get the first win and I think they will be happy to get back to work and play a little better next weekend.”

The second game, in particular, saw a different team on the field. The team put up 20 runs on nine hits. Only two of the hits were extra base hits, including a fourth inning lead-off home run by Alex Arias. The other extra base hit came from Aurelio Monteagudo.

Monteagudo led the team from the plate, going 4-for-5, including four RBIS. Arias went 1-for-2 with a home run.

Guernsey, Wyo., graduate David Castle picked up the win in relief of Armani Gonzalez. Castle went three innings, striking out three and allowing just two hits.

“David did pitch really well,” Jones said of the right-handed freshman hurler. “He came in and put a stop to their rally and really took command of the game.”

In the opening game, WNCC took an early lead over Pratt, leading 3-0 after two innings in the 9-inning game. Pratt struck back scoring single runs in the third and fifth inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Pratt opened up the game in the seventh inning when the Beavers scored nine times to take a 11-3 lead.

“They strung together eight hits and they earned it,” Jones said. “We just couldn’t get an out in that inning.”

Freshman Ben Doran started the game and through really well before being relieved after five innings. Doran allowed nine hits and struck out two. Josh Parker came in and took the loss from the bull pen.

Offensively, Elvis Garcia was the only Cougar with multiple hits. Garcia went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a home run. WNCC had just six hits compared to the Beaver’s 14.

Jones said they had ever opportunity to score more runs in the first game, but couldn’t do it.

“The first game Ben Doran pitched a real good ball game as a starter and we were playing good defense behind him,” he said. “We should have put up a few more runs than we did. Overall, game one we played pretty well. I just expected us to score a few more runs.

“Game two we came out and showed more discipline on offensive. We got a lot more selective with the pitches we were swinging at and that created a lot of walks. We walked a lot and then we got good pitches to hit, we put good swings on it. We made a lot of progressive.”

Game One
WNCC 210 000 001 – 4 6 2
Pratt 001 010 90x – 11 14 4
LP – Josh Parker. HR – Elvis Garcia

Game Two
WNCC (1-3) 060 741 2 – 20 9 4
Pratt 300 142 0 – 10 13 3
WP – David Castle (1-0); 2B – Aurelio Monteagudo; HR – Alex Arias.

WNCC baseball team drops season-opening doubleheader to Seward County

Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Scottsbluff Star-Herald

LIBERAL, Kan. - After having its season opener pushed back three days because of poor weather, the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team finally opened its 2009 campaign on Monday against 25th-ranked Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kan.

The Cougars dropped both games of the doubleheader. Despite a furious rally attempt, WNCC lost game one 9-6 before falling 7-4 in game two. WNCC will be right back in action today at Pratt Community College. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for noon.

"It's about what we expected," WNCC coach Mike Jones said of Monday's opening games. "We didn't play very well defensively and our pitchers made a lot of mistakes by leaving a lot of good pitches over the plate. Offensively we were overly aggressive, we tried to do way too much and we didn't stay very disciplined at the plate. But it was our first day out. We expected the guys to be a little anxious and try a little too hard. That's basically what led to a lot of the mistakes that we did make."

After falling behind 7-1 in game one, WNCC erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to close within 7-6. However, Seward County pushed across a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.

Jason Sloan paced WNCC offensively in the game as he went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. He also connected on a pair of doubles. WNCC finished the game with seven hits.

"We put together a really good rally there in the sixth, and we even had the bases loaded when the inning ended," Jones said. "We put together some good at-bats, but unfortunately we came up just a little short."

Victor Rubio took the loss on the mound in the opener. He struck out one and gave up six hits in 4 2/3 innings of work.

The Cougars were again forced to play from behind in game two as Seward County scored four runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 advantage. WNCC cut the lead in half with two runs in the third before the home team plated three more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-2 lead. WNCC scored its final two runs in the top of the fifth.

Offensively in the game, both teams collected seven hits. However, WNCC was plagued with five errors defensively.

Ronald Miller led the Cougars offensively by going 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in. Sloan and Trace Marsden both had doubles in the contest, while Jared Baros went 1-for-3 and drove in a run.

Enrique Gonzalez took the loss on the mound. He gave up seven hits and struck out three in four innings of work.

WNCC (0-2) will send a pair of freshman right-handers to the mound today in Ben Doran and Armani Gonzalez.

The Cougars were scheduled to finish their Kansas road trip on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Barton County Community College. However, Jones said those games have been postponed.

Game One
WNCC 000 015 0 - 6 7 2
Seward County 120 132 x - 9 8 1
WP - Holub. LP - Victor Rubio (0-1).
2B - Jason Sloan (2).

Game Two
WNCC (0-2) 002 020 0 - 4 7 5
Seward County 043 000 x - 7 7 3
WP - Stevens. LP - Enrique Gonzalez (0-1).
2B - Trace Marsden, Sloan.

WNCC men, women topple Eastern Wyoming College

Photo courtesy of Holley Roth

What a difference two halves make for the Western Nebraska Community College men. The Cougars trailed 45-43 at halftime and then used a 20-5 run in the second half to capture their 21^st win of the season with a commanding 91-71 win over Eastern Wyoming College Saturday at Cougar Palace.

In the women's contest, the Cougars placed five players in double figures and out-rebounded the Lancers 60-26 to registering their 20^th win of the season with a 90-60 win Saturday.

WNCC men's coach Brian Joyce was pleased with how his team performed in the second half to pick up the win, allowing EWC just 26 points in the final 20 minutes.

"I told them at halftime that we don't learn how to get stops, we are not going to win games," he said. "We shot 60 percent in the first half and you can't shoot any better than that, but we gave up 55 percent from the field and in the second half we did a lot better job in terms of playing defense. That was the biggest issue."

The Cougars won the defensive stop category 37-27 and the other big reason for the Cougar's win was the fight they had inside, recording a number of tip-ins as well as out-rebounding the Lancers 38-26. Chris Hamblin led the team with six boards, while Sedrick McBounds and Larry Brown each had five.

"I thought Chris really set the tone and I thought this was one of his best games. He ends up with 18 points, but it is just the little things that he does is what makes us successful," Joyce said. "He is such a selfish player. He cares about our team and if our team continues to think about the group rather then individuals, we are hard to beat."

WNCC definitely had plenty of balance scoring, placing four players in double figures. Bamforth finished with 20 points and three 3-pointers, while Cruz and Hamblin each had 18 points, followed by Sedrick McBounds with 10.

EWC had just two players record double-digit scoring. Lance Korell had 13 points, while Arunas Simanavicius had 12 points.

The game was definitely a dogfight as the WNCC and EWC men hooked up in a dogfight in the first half with neither team gaining more than a four point lead. WNCC held a 29-25 lead on a Scott Bamforth trey midway through the first half, but the Lancers came roaring back, taking a 31-29 lead with 6:12 to play on a Winston Harris 3-pointer.

Both teams stayed close until with 5.5 seconds remained as Billy Butler nailed two free throws to give the Lancers the 45-43 lead going into the locker room. EWC shot 55 percent from the floor in the opening half and connected on 7 of 15 3-pointers. WNCC wasn't shooting too bad, either, shooting 60 percent from the field and connected on 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.

The second half was the telling story for both teams. WNCC sizzled the nets for 64 percent shooting and connected on four 3-pointers. The Lancers were on the opposite end. EWC couldn't buy a bucket, shooting just 29 percent from the field and did not bury one 3-pointer on nine attempts in the second half.

The big difference in the contest, however, was that 20-5 run. EWC just pulled ahead 48-46 on a free throw by Butler with three minutes gone in the period. Bamforth came down the court and got a tip-in to start the run.

From there, the Cougars played lights out as Bamforth connected on two 3-pointers, Larry Brown hit a 3-pointer that banked in, and Chris Hamblin had a monster dunk. When it was all said and done in the crucial run, the Cougars held a 68-53 lead with 12:33 to play.

The contest wasn't over, though, as the Lancers sliced the lead to 12 points at 72-59 on a Leo Morris bucket. WNCC quickly stopped the momentum-turning Lancer plays as Francisco Cruz recorded an old-fashioned 3-point play and then Tarell Clark had an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Cruz to put WNCC up 80-59 with eight minutes to play.

WNCC never let the Lancers get any closer in getting their 21^st win of the season.

In the women's game, WNCC also had five players in double figures, paced by Stormye Everett's 18 points, followed by Shaquilah Davis with 17, Tawny Drexler with 14, and Lorena Medeiros and Janae Willis with 12 points each. Drexler also finished with a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds.

Drexler, who also led the team with three steals, said this team is starting to find their groove offensively.

"I think we came out strong in the first half and did what we needed to do on defense. Then the offense came with the defense. In the second half we got a little sloppy," Drexler said. "We finally found our offense, thank God, and come together as a team."

EWC coach Tom Andersen said they couldn't match the Cougars' inside game. WNCC out-rebounded the Lancers 60-26, led by Drexler's 12 boards and SeLina Ysac's 11.

"I thought we played hard both halves. We executed better the second half," Andersen said. "The big difference in the game is we shot poorly and they shot very well, as well as the huge for them on the rebounding. If you can't rebound, you have to shoot pretty good and we didn't shoot well. We have to hit some threes to be effective and we had a few in a row in the second half, which got us a little bit momentum."

The Lancers, who connected on 9 of 37 3-pointers for the game, were led by Noelle Jones with 16 points. Jones buried four 3-pointers. WNCC, though, was deadlier from beyond the arc, burying 9 of 15 long-range shots. Everett, Davis, Medeiros and Ashley Burns each collected two treys each. Burns' second trey was a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half to give the Cougars a 49-24 halftime lead.

The second half was a better played by both teams. The Lancers, who shot just 25 percent in the first half, shot 33 percent for the final 20 minutes. Jones did most of the damage scoring 14 of her team-high 16 points in that quarter.

WNCC, however, continued scoring at will as the Cougars went on a 12-0 run midway through the final frame to open up a 70-40 lead. Janae Willis and Medeiros scored four points during the run.

The Lancers still had a little bit of fight, going on a 11-4 run to slice the deficit to 74-49, but Drexler added three points to stop the run. Then, when SeLina Ysac buried a 3-pointer with three minutes to play, any hopes of a comeback was extinguished.

EWC was paced by Jones with 16 points followed by Danielle Brown with 14 points.

EWC women will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Northeastern Junior College. The Lancer men will host Laramie County Community College on Tuesday in a key sub-region contest.

The Cougar men and women will have a week off before hosting sub-region games on Friday against Northeast (Nebraska ) Community College and the McCook Community College on Saturday.

Women's Game
EWC 24 36 – 60
WNCC 49 41 – 90
EASTERN WYOMING
Michelle Flaherty 2, Alex Leake 1, Koel Noel 8, Jessica Martinez 8, Noelle Jones 16, Jessica Brown 9, Danielle Brown 14, Ashlee Hudson 2.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Amber Kistler 4, Lorena Medeiros 12, SeLina Ysac 6, Shaquilah Davis 17, Stormye Everett 18, Janae Willis 12, Tawny Drexler 14, Ashley Burns 7.

Men's Game
EWC 44 26 – 71
WNCC 43 48 – 91
EASTERN WYOMING
Billy Butler 8, Jacarri Culberson 4, Lance Korell 13, Edsel Vila 2, matt Pritchett 7, Leo Morris 7, Arunas Simanavicius 12, Andrija Zivkovic 1, Greg Patterson 3, Caleb Moore 7, Winston Harris 7.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Lloyd Hickinson 1, Tarell Clark 8, Daniel Smith 2, Chris Hamblin 18, Scott Bamforth 20, Francisco Cruz 18, Sedrick McBounds 10, Larry Brown 6, John Bright 4, Ali Djim 4.

Cougar softball team finishes Texas tourney 3-3

DALLAS -- The Western Nebraska Community College softball team went finished the Cowtown Classic going 2-3 in the 2-day tournament in Dallas over the weekend.

The Cougars opened pool play Friday dropping both contests, 15-10 to Ranger College and then falling 5-0 to Vernon College. The Cougars followed that by going 2-1 in bracket play. They opened the tournament portion of the tournament with a 7-1 win against No. 4 ranked Midland College, followed by a 14-3 beating of Trinity Valley Community College. They then lost to Northern Oklahoma 11-0 to end their tournament run.

In the pool play game against Ranger, Christy Degano took the loss in the circle. Offensively, Katie Groves went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a RBI and a double; Sofia Gomez went 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI; and Alyssa Hickey went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Against Vernon, Garner took the loss from the circle, giving up nine hits, three walks and striking out just three. Offensively, the team had just three hits in the blanking.

The No. 10 Cougars started bracket play late Friday evening and upended pre-season ranked No. 4 Midland College as freshman Casey Simpson picked up the win in the circle, going the distance. Offensively, Garner had the hot bat for the Cougars, slapping a grand slam, her second home run of the season. Garner went 1-for-3 in the game with four RBIs.

Also for the Cougars against Midland, Adena Hagen went 1-for-1 with a run scored and three walks; Groves went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases; Gomez went 2-for-4 with a run scored; and Hickey went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Against Trinity Valley Community College out of Athens, Texas, Stephanie Townsend picked up the win, going five innings and allowing four hits and striking out three.

Offensively, Hagen went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three singles. Also for the Cougars, Megan Burditt went 1-for-1 with a run scored; Groves went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two singles; Garner went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a double; and Hickey going 2-for-3 with a runs scored, an RBI and two stolen bases.

The Cougars then were eliminated from the tournament with an 11-0 lose to Northern Oklahoma as Simpson suffered the loss in the circle. Simpson gave up 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.

Offensively, Gomez went 2-for-3 with two singles, while Tonya Atencio went 1-for-2 with a single.

WNCC (6-8) will return to action next weekend when they travel to Seward County Community College and Garden City Community College.

WNCC soccer team will have all-you-can-eat chili supper Feb. 20 during the Cougars games with Northeast Nebraska

The Western Nebraska Community College soccer teams are hosting an all-you-can-eat Chili Supper on Friday, Feb. 20 from 5-8 p.m. in the Cougar Den on the WNCC campus. Tickets are $5 each and children 4 and under are free. You can get the tickets from any college soccer player or Coach Todd Rasnic. They are also available at the door.

The Cougar men and women's basketball team will be playing Northeast (Neb.) Community College in a key sub-region match that evening beginning at 5:30 p.m. as well.

Besides the chili feed, there will also be a raffle for several items, including a picture from James Mathis Photography, soccer fleece blanket, windbreaker jacket from Scottsbluff Screen printing, soccer brag book, soccer photo album, birthday party from The Playhouse Skate and Fun Center, Adidas soccer backpack and more. The Raffle tickets are $1.00 for 1 or 6 for $5.00 and you can get them from the Cougar soccer players or coach Rasnic.

WNCC softball goes 1-2 in Cowtown Classic

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team went 1-2 in the first day of the Cowtown Classic in Dallas, Texas, Friday.

The Cougar women dropped both of their pool play games in the afternoon, falling 15-10 to Ranger College and losing 5-0 to Vernon College. That moved the Cougars into a bracket contest against Midland College, a team that head coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said is good. Midland is pre-season ranked No. 4 in the nation, while the Cougars are ranked No. 10.

In that contest, the No. 10 Cougars upended the No. 4 preseason ranked Midland 7-1. Freshman Casey Simpson picked up the win in the circle, going the distance. Sophomore Kelsey Garner had the hot bat for the Cougars, slapping a grand slam, her second home run of the season. garner went 1-for-3 in the game with four RBIs.

Also for the Cougars, Adena Hagen went 1-for-1 with a run scored and three walks; Groves went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases; Gomez went 2-for-4 with a run scored; and Hickey went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Midland College contest didn't finish until after 11 p.m. MST time.

In pool play action against Ranger, Christy Degano took the loss in the circle. Offensively, Katie Groves went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a RBI and a double; Sofia Gomez went 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI; and Alyssa Hickey went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Against Vernon, Garner took the loss from the circle, giving up nine hits, three walks and striking out just three.. Offensively, the team had just three hits in the blanking.

WNCC will now face the winner of the Independence Community College and Trinity Valley Community College game at 10:30 a.m.

WNCC and EWC tangle in Highway 26 battle; Hoops for Hunger night as well

The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's basketball teams will entertain Eastern Wyoming College Saturday evening and they hope to keep their season going in a positive direction.

The contests will tip off at 6 p.m. for the women's game and the men's contest at 8 p.m. It is also Hoops for Hunger night where patrons will receive $1 off their admission price when they bring in a food item, which will be donated to the Scottsbluff and Gering food pantry.

The Cougar men, 20-5, will be looking to keep playing well. WNCC earned honorable mention status in this weeks' NJCAA national poll. WNCC enters the contest winners of 17 of their last 20 games. The Cougars are coming off a 72-57 win against Casper College on Tuesday. WNCC has also won 10 of their last 11 games.

WNCC and EWC already faced each other once this season and the Cougars earned a tough 89-82 win at Torrington, Wyo., back on Nov. 25. The Lancers are coming off a defeat to Central Wyoming College 90-56 on Thursday night.

The Cougar women, who are 19-6 on the season, are starting to find their groove after losing three of four right after the holiday break. The Cougar women are heading into the contest with the Lancers on a four-game winning streak.

WNCC has scored over 80 points in three of those wins, including an 87-55 win against Lamar Community College 87-55, Eastern Wyoming 81-38, and McCook Community College 83-41. On Tuesday, WNCC topped Casper College 68-67 on the road.

The Cougar women will have four more home games to finish out their season.

WNCC softball team picks up two wins over Friends College J.V.

WICHITA, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team picked up two wins Thursday by downing Friends College junior varsity 7-1 and 14-1 behind two home runs from freshman Katie Groves, of Bluffdale, Utah.

Game one saw Kelsey Garner, who verbally committed to Troy University earlier in the week, pick up the win by striking out seven and allowing three hits in the 7-1 win. Stephanie Townsend finished off the game striking out three and allowing five hits.

Offensively, Groves went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a stolen base and a 3-run home run. Kelly Pearson went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI, while Brittany Chacon finished the contest going 2-for-2 with two singles.

WNCC kept its bats alive in the second game, slamming in 14 runs. Groves finished the game going 1-for-2 with three runs scored, two RBIs, two walks and a 2-run home run. Groves also just missed a third home run of the day on a ball that was caught at the fence in her final at bat.

Tonya Atencia also came up big, going 2-for-4 from the plate. Atencio had two singles, a run scored and a RBI. Lauryn Smith finished the contest with a 2-for-4 performance, including four runs scored and a triple, while Garner went 1-for-2 at the plate.

Casey Simpson picked up the win in the circle, going three innings, while scattering three hits, striking out three and walking three. Christy Degano finished the contest in relief, striking out three.

WNCC (3-5) will next be in action Friday and Saturday when they compete in the Cowtown Classic in Dallas. The Cougars will face Ranger College and Vernon College in pool play action followed by bracket play on Saturday.

WNCC men pick up 20th win of the season with win over Casper

CASPER, Wyo. - The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team posted its 20th win of the season on Tuesday with a convincing 72-57 road win at Casper College.

The Cougars bolted to a 46-24 lead at the half before putting it on cruise control the rest of the way.
Tarell Clark ignited for a game-high 21 points to lead WNCC in scoring. Clark was 7 of 9 from the floor and shot 7 of 10 from the foul line.

Three other Cougars scored in double figures. Larry Brown scored 15 points, Scott Bamforth scored 12 points and Francisco Cruz had 11 points. Brown was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line and Bamforth was 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.

WNCC shot 42 percent from the field in the game and was 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Brown grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Cougars on the glass. Daniel Smith and Cruz both pulled down six boards while Sedrick McBounds grabbed four.

WNCC collected 11 steals in the game and forced Casper into 20 turnovers. Langston scored 12 points to lead Casper in scoring. Robert Mayes added 10 points. WNCC will next be in action at home on Saturday against Eastern Wyoming College.

WNCC 46 26 - 72
Casper 24 33 - 57
WNCC
Tarell Clark 21, Daniel Smith 5, Chris Hamblin 2, Scott Bamforth 12, Francisco Cruz 11, Sedrick McBounds 5, Larry Brown 15, John Bright 1.
CASPER
Daniel Armah 7, Brian Ridgeway 5, Langston Banks 12, James Hayden 3, Elsworth Porter 5, Jeremy Lovelady 3, Marshall Kelly 9, Curtis Malone 2, Robert Mayes 10, Abner Kamps 1.

WNCC women earn 1-point at Casper

Submitted By JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

CASPER, Wyo. - In a place that's annually one of the toughest places in Region IX to get a road win, the Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team escaped with a 68-67 victory over Casper College on Tuesday night in Casper, Wyo.

It certainly wasn't easy as the Cougars went up 68-65 when sophomore SeLina Ysac scored on an offensive-rebound putback with 22 seconds left in the second half. WNCC had a chance to ice the game just seconds later, but a missed free throw allowed the Thunderbirds one last opportunity with six seconds remaining. Casper's last-second shot rained in at the buzzer, but it came from just inside the 3-point line.

"This has always been a tough place to get a win and tonight was no different," WNCC assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said. "It was a tight game all the way and we're fortunate to get out of here with a win."

WNCC trailed Casper by a score of 38-35 at the half before outscoring the T-Birds 33-29 in the second half.

Sophomore Shaquilah Davis poured in 21 points to lead WNCC in scoring. Davis was a sizzling 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and connected on a key trey late in the game to keep the Cougars in front. Davis was joined in double figures by Amber Kistler with 13 points and Janae Willis with 10.

Kistler also proved lethal from behind the 3-point line as she finished the game connecting on 3 of her 5 triple tries. Also for the Cougars, Caley Fisher drained a pair of treys to finish with eight points. WNCC finished the contest shooting 42 percent (9 of 21) from behind the 3-point arc while Casper shot 26 percent (5 of 19).

Overall, WNCC shot 40 percent from the field and was 7 of 13 from the foul line.

Tawny Drexler and Kistler paced the Cougars on the glass with seven rebounds each. Ysac totaled five boards, while Davis and Willis each collected four.

WNCC finished the game with 11 steals defensively and forced Casper into 19 turnovers.
The Cougars also benefited from a strong bench effort in the game as WNCC's bench outscored Casper's 28-8.

Samira Van Grinsven paced Casper in scoring with 23 points. Josie Stewart tallied 16 and Dana Seth added 15.

The victory improved WNCC to 19-6 on the season, while the loss dropped Casper to 20-6. The Cougars have won three straight games after dropping two in a row to open the second semester.

WNCC will be back in action on Saturday at home against Eastern Wyoming College.

WNCC (19-6) 35 33 - 68
Casper (20-6) 38 29 - 67
WNCC
Amber Kistler 13, Lorena Medairos 5, SeLina Ysac 4, Shaquilah Davis 21, Stormye Everett 3, Janae Willis 10, Tawny Drexler 3, Caley Fisher 8.
CASPER COLLEGE
Emily Elliot 3, Samira Van Grinsven 23, Dana Seth 15, Wendy Walker 4, Kerstin Minchow 2, Josie Stewart 16, Ewa Urbanowska 4.

WNCC baseball season opens up this weekend in Kansas

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team has dreams of capturing another Region IX title like they did in 2007. The team, however, will need to gain experience in the early going to accomplish that goal.

That dream of another regional title will begin this weekend when the Cougars travel to Kansas to face Seward County Community College on Friday, Pratt Community College on Saturday and Barton County Community College on Sunday.

WNCC coach Mike Jones said the focus of this weekend is just to play some baseball.

"Right now the main focus is let's just get on the field, and get ourselves accustomed to the speed of the game because the college game is so much faster than the high school game," Jones said. "It will be important for us to get out there and get involved. We are going down into Kansas where they had a lot of nice weather. They are going to be more prepared then we will."

The pitching rotation for this weekend will see sophomore Victor Rubio of Miami and freshman Sam Diaz of Florida City, Fla., throwing on Friday. Saturday's starters will find Enrique Gonzales, a freshman from Miami, and Ben Dorn, a freshman from Calhan, Colo., against Pratt. Sunday's starters will include Armani Gonzalez, a freshman from Miami, and David Castle, a freshman from Guernsey, Wyo., against Barton County.

Jones is excited with the young arms that will throw for the Cougars this season.

"The pitching looks pretty good," he said. "[Besides the starters], we also have two left-handers [Gustavo Sanchez, a sophomore from Canabobo, Venezuela, and Rodil Marintez, a freshman from San Pedro Sula, Honduras] coming out of the bullpen in middle relief. We also have Marco Jiminez, a sophomore from Miami, and Josh Parker, a freshman from Canberra, Australia, to close. Right now we have a plan for this weekend; we will see how it works out."

The Cougars definitely need the early series of games to get experience under this year's squad, which features a roster of 23 freshmen and only seven sophomores. Jones, however, is excited with the talent level of his young squad.

"We are a very young ball club and the guys are excited to get things started," he said. "Right now, we are young with quite a few freshmen that will be in our starting line-up. We are going to rely on the few sophomores that we have to provide the leadership early in the season."

The Cougars youth will really be seen with the position players. The only sophomore among the infielders is Aurelio Monteagudo, from Miami. Monteagudo, who played right field a year ago, will see some time at first base this year.

The other infielders are all newcomers to the Cougar program. Jones said Alex Arias, a freshman from Miami, is slated to start at third base; Parker at shortstop, Oscar Rodriquez, a freshman from Miami, at second base; and Elvis Garcia and Monteagudo sharing time at first base. Trace Marsden, a freshman from Scottsbluff who played for the WESTCO Zephyrs, will see time at either third base, short stop or second base.

"We have nice depth on the infield," Jones said. "We have very athletic guys that can play multiple positions. Then again, it is all freshmen except for Aurelio at first base."

The outfield positions will be made up of Anthony Paniagua, a transfer sophomore from Miami, in left field; Jared Baros, a freshman from Erie, Colo., in center field; and Ronald Miller, a freshman from Miami, in right field. Brady Sanchez, a freshman from Sedgewick, Colo., who played for the Buckley Bombers out of Chappell, can play all three positions as well.

The catchers also have some depth. Jason Sloan, a freshman from Canberra, Australia, is slated to start behind the plate. Jones said Sloan has shown great leadership skills for being a freshman. The other catchers will include Shane Wade, a freshman from Erie, Colo., and Dallas Liptac, a sophomore from Scottsbluff.

Jones said there is plenty of depth at the positions on this year's team that could make this an exciting team to watch.

"We have some depth and we have some versatility," he said. "We don't want to have a lot of guys sitting on the bench, so position-wise we have our main guys and then we have back-up guys. We also have Vince Rouse, who is a back-up infielder, who has had some shoulder problems and won't be back for another month."

Other position players on the team include Evan Ljunghag, a freshman from Littleton, Colo.; and Jake Hoover, a freshman from Bellevue.

Other pitchers on the roster include Luis Orta, a freshman from Bolivar, Venezuela; Tim Kupfner, a freshman from Superior, Colo.; Cesar Perez, a sophomore from Miami; Joel Pormeluau, a freshman from Plymouth, Minn., and Eric Bissonette, a sophomore from Chadron.

The defense will definitely be a strength for the team this season, but offensively, they should be O.K. Jones said they won't be as offensive-minded like a year ago, but they will score runs.

"I don't think we are going to be an offensive team like we were a year ago where we will score eight or nine runs a game," he said. "I think we will be a defensive team, where we will pitch well enough and play good defense to keep the scores down. We will probably score five or six runs a ball game to come out with some victories. We are not going to put a lot of pressure on ourselves offensively."

And, if everything comes together, Jones is hoping his team can capture another Region IX title like in 2007 when the Cougars went 30-29. Last season, WNCC finished 22-27 and failed to make the Region IX playoffs.

"Only time will tell for sure if we can repeat 2007," he said. "We are inexperienced and it will be tough for these guys to go out there and grab a bunch of victories early. We might take our lumps a little bit early and that will be good for the freshmen. It will all depend on how they will handle that. They will be faced with some tough ball games early and if we can use it as learning experience, I think it help. If we get frustrated, it will be a different road for us. I think we can get back to the 2007, but only time will tell."

After this weekend's road games, the Cougars will open up the home season Feb. 21-22 at Cleveland Field against Dawson Community College. Jones is hoping the weather cooperates. After the Dawson game, the Cougars will be at home Feb. 25 against Colorado State.

"We are going to try to play some home games in February. We will see what happens," he said. "If we get weather like we had this past week it will be fine. We are still trying to get some snow to melt off of Cleveland Field. Dawson will come in. I don't know a lot about them, but hopefully we can get some nice weather and play some ball in Scottsbluff."

2009 Baseball Schedule
February
13 – at Seward County C.C., Liberal, Kan.; 14 – at Pratt Community College, Pratt, Kan.; 15 – at Barton County C.C., Great Bend, Kan.; 21-22 – Dawson Community College; 25 – Colorado State Club; 28 – at Trinidad State J.C., Trinidad, Colo.
March
1 – at Trinidad State J.C., Trinidad, Colo.; 3 – at Colorado State Club, Ft. Collins, Colo.; 7 – Lamar Community College; 8 – Otero Junior College; 10 – McCook Community College; 14-15 – at McCook Community College; 17 – at Neosho Community College, Coolidge, Ariz.; 18 – at Gateway Community College, Meza, Ariz.; 19 – at South Mountain C.C., Phoenix, Ariz.; 19 – at Chandler-Gilbert C.C., Chandler, Ariz.; 20 – at Glendale Community College, Glendale, Ariz.; 21 – at University of Arizona Club, Chandler, Ariz.; 22 – at Central Arizona College, Coolidge, Ariz.; 25 – Colorado State Club; 28-29 – Trinidad State J.C.; 31 – at Northeastern Colorado, Sterling, Colo.
April
1 – at Colby Community College, Colby, Kan.; 4-5 – at Otero Junior College, La Junta, Colo.; 7 – at Colorado State Club, Ft. Collins, Colo.; 10-11 – Northeastern Colorado; 15 – McCook Community College; 18-19 – at Lamar Community College, Lamar, Colo.; 22 – at Northeastern Colorado, Sterling, Colo.; 24-27 – Rain Make-up Dates.
May
1-2 – at Region IX Playoffs; 8-9 – at Region IX Championship; 14-16 – at Western District Championships