Submitted by Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports
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After missing out on the Region IX playoffs a year ago for the first time in school history, the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team is back in the postseason where it belongs.
The Cougars, who posted an 8-8 record in their final 16 games of the regular season, managed to hang on to the No. 2 seed in the conference standings after earning a big win over Trinidad State Junior College on Sunday.
WNCC's reward for that is a first-round home playoff series against a streaking Northeastern Junior College ball club that ended the season winning eight of its final nine games. The first game of the best-of-three series will be held Friday at 3 p.m. at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff.
"Right now NJC is hot. They are red hot," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "They are playing their best baseball right now and peaking at the right time. We have to try and cool those guys off."
The series will continue with game two on Saturday at noon. A third and deciding game would also be played on Saturday if needed.
The winner will advance to the regional championship series against the winner of this weekend's other first-round series between Lamar Community College and Trinidad State Junior College. The title series will begin on May 8 at the higher seed.
For WNCC to have any chance of moving into the second week of the playoffs, the Cougars will have to come up with a way to slow down an NJC team that seems to have all the momentum in the world. One thing that looks to be in WNCC's favor is the success the Cougars enjoyed against the Plainsmen during the regular season. WNCC won four of the six contests, but dropped the most recent meeting just a week ago.
"They're a totally different team right now than they were in the middle of March," Jones said of NJC. "We beat them earlier in the year when they weren't playing so well. They've come a long way as a group since then. Baseball is a game of momentum and they have a lot of momentum in their favor right now."
WNCC will look to Tim Kupfner to try and slow down some of that momentum provided by the Plainsmen bats. Kupfner, who is 4-4 on the season, will get the start on the mound in Friday's opener. He pitched the Cougars to a big win over McCook Community College last week.
Jones' decided to start Kupfner in game one because of his ability to induce ground balls.
"When he's throwing the way he's capable of, he gets a lot of ground balls," Jones said. "That's what we're hoping he can do for us on Friday."
Victor Rubio, who pitched the Cougars to a 3-2 win over Trinidad State on Sunday to clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, is scheduled to start game two. However, Jones said Rubio will be on call Friday if needed.
"We're just taking it one game at a time," Jones said. "We're going to try and do everything we can to win every single ball game. If you can win game one, you're going to be in the driver's seat. You'll put a lot of pressure on the other team to try and beat you twice the next day."
WNCC's last appearance in the postseason proved to be a thrilling one as the Cougars won the regional tournament in 2007. After being forced to win a number of games in a row in the span of just a couple days, the region's coaches voted to change the tournament from a double-elimination format to the current format that takes just the top four teams.
The new format also allows the regional winner a few extra days off before competing in the district-playoff round.
"The format is a little different than the last time we were in the playoffs," Jones said. "But after having so much success in the tournament in 2007, and then having the down year last year, it feels real good to get back in the playoffs and have an opportunity to play in the postseason."
WNCC has been hit hard with injuries the last couple weeks of the season. A number of regular starters have been in and out of the lineup with various injuries. Jones credits his ball club for battling through the adversity to finish second in the conference standings.
"We definitely didn't end like we wanted to. We wanted to be playing a little bit better toward the end of the season than what we have been," Jones said. "I do feel fortunate to be the No. 2 seed. We really had to scrap, battle and come from behind in some of those ball games to get that seed. It was one of the goals that we were trying to accomplish and we were able to get it accomplished. But it wasn't easy. It was a tough road down the stretch."
Trinidad State, the No. 1 seed in the playoff field, won last year's tournament. The Trojans didn't seem to lose a beat this season and are a heavy favorite to handle Lamar in their first-round series this weekend in Trinidad, Colo.
"Trinidad is definitely the favorite," Jones said. "They have a great lineup and a couple solid pitchers. They definitely earned the No. 1 seed."
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