WNCC women's basketball team signs 10 players

Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball coach Dave Harnish is reloading for next season after signing 10 players with plenty of athleticism.

Harnish said he is pleased with the players who have signed so far.

“You are always excited about your new kids coming in,” Harnish said. “I really think we will be more athletic next year and a better team that will fit my style in terms of full court press. There were a lot of things we couldn’t do this year because we weren’t athletic enough and we really couldn’t defend well because we were too big.”

Next year’s class includes 10 players, seven of whom played the guard position.

“I think we addressed [with the recruits] from what we lacked last year and that was guard play. We really didn’t have a true point guard,” Harnish said. “We were able to do that with Samantha [Sanders] from Denver East and also Mykal Suggs from Minnesota. Both are pretty good kids that can play the point guard and they have good quickness and athletic ability.”

The 10 players Harnish has signed so far include Suggs, 5-foot-10 from St. Paul, Minn.; Sanders, 5-6 from Denver; Lisa Durden, 5-9 from Inglewood, Calif.; Leona Garrett, 6-0 from Imperial, Calif.; Shelby Jones, 6-0 from Loveland, Colo.; DaRachia Johnson, 5-9 from Thibodaux, La.; Kyra Verniel-Peterson, 5-9 from Lafayette, Colo.; Ashley Soucie, 5-11 from Basalt, Colo.; Brittany Macey, 5-8 from Northglenn, Colo.; and Samantha Scheiber, 6-1 from Parker, Colo.

Suggs played at Johnson Senior High and finished her senior season averaging 15 points a game. She had 14 double-figure games, including a season-high 23 points against Roseville. As a junior, she averaged 15.1 points and shot 46 percent from the field.

“She is versatile where she can play the two or three guard position. She can shoot the 3-pointer,” Harnish said. “I am surprised that we got her with her ability. She is very aggressive and very athletic. She can play all three guard spots.”

Harnish is also excited about Sanders, who played at Denver East in Denver. Sanders was second team all-state in 5A helping her East team to the state championships. Sanders finished with 17 points in the championship game against Legacy to help East end a 13-year state title drought.

Sanders averaged 13.5 points a game last season. She also averaged five rebounds a game and shot 57 percent from the field. Sanders was the Denver Prep League Player of the Year, as well as the Denver Post second team 5A.

“Sanders is hopefully what we were looking for in a guard. She has really good quickness,” Harnish said. “I think she is the best point guard in Colorado or if not, she is one of the top five. I am looking at her have a big year.”

Garrett played for Imperial High in California, where she averaged 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. She also had 3.5 steals and two assists a game. Garrett scored 473 points her senior season, including having three 30-plus games in the final five games of the season. Garrett scored 36 points against Calipatria. Garrett was also the All-Imperial Press Player of the Year.

“Leona is a very athletic kid, who can play inside and outside,” Harnish said. “She has good range and can score.”

Durden is another player that Harnish inked from California. Durden played at Redondo Union in Inglewood, where she played basketball and also ran track and field. This past year, Durden concentrated on track and field and was one of the top sprinters in the state.

“Lisa is a very good 3-point shooter and handles the ball well,” Harnish said.

Johnson comes from the same hometown as current men’s basketball player and volleyball player Joe and Kathryn Stock. Johnson played basketball and ran track and field at Thibodaux High. Johnson is one of four seniors to sign to play junior college basketball from her high school.

Johnson was also was a 35-foot triple jumper this past year.

“DaRasha is another two, three guard that is also good defensively,” Harnish said. “She gives us some speed and will help us on the front.”

Jones comes to WNCC after having a successful career at Loveland High School. Jones was a first team all-Front Range selection of the Loveland Reporter-Herald, where she averaged 12 points and four rebounds a game, while playing a forward position. Jones connected on 29 3-pointers last season.

Jones’ best game last season was a 24-point performance against Air Academy, where she was 15 of 16 from the free throw line. She also had two other 20-point performances.

“Jones plays hard on the court and also can play inside or outside,” Harnish said. “I like her work ethic, and she is very aggressive.”

Another Denver Post second team selection was Kyra Peterson. Peterson played at Centaurus High as a guard. She averaged 12.5 points and three rebounds a game. She also connected on 26 3-pointers, had 50 assists and 45 steals.

“She is an extremely good 3-point shooter,” Harnish said. “She plays hard and shoots the ball very well. She had over 50 threes for her career.”

Another Colorado product is Ashley Soucie, a 5-11 forward. Soucie is the niece of former Cougar Danielle Stott, who played for Harnish in 1995-97. Soucie missed last season because of a new injury but has the same drive on the court that Stott had when she played for the Cougars.

“She was a guard in high school and I like her smarts and her basketball IQ,” Harnish said. “She plays outside and can handle the basketball.”

Two more Colorado recruits include Brittany Macey and Samantha Scheiber. Macey played at The Pinnacle Charter High School, where she earned Denver Post 3A honorable mention. Macey also played in the Colorado all-state basketball 3A game in March. She is also selected to play in the June 12 CHSCA all-star basketball game, along with WNCC recruit Kyra Peterson.

"Brittany is a quick guard that can penetrate to the basket real well," Harnish said. "She can create things off the dribble."

Scheiber is a forward that will be counted on in the paint, who played for Ponderosa High School in Parker. Scheiber averaged 7 rebounds, six points and had 29 steals as a senior. She had a season-high 14 rebounds against Gateway, and had 10 rebounds in a loss against state-champion Denver East.

"Samantha will make a name for herself for rebounding and her defensive ability to play inside," Harnish said. "She is a kid that plays hard."

Harnish said that rebounding was one of the team's weaknesses last year and with Scheiber along with the other forwards; they answered that need.

"We were a terrible rebounding team last year and with Leona and her athletic ability and her ability to rebound, and with Shelby from Loveland and Samantha from Ponderosa, we addressed the rebounding needs," he said. "We still have one scholarship open and we are looking for a big kid that can play inside.

"We have six or seven new guards coming in so that is going to help. So, we really need someone with a little bit of size to post up on the block and score for us. We are just waiting around for the best kid that can do that."
The Cougars home the season with three straight home games, beginning with Little big Horn College on Nov. 5. They will then face Hastings College junior varsity on Nov. 6 and Lamar Community College on Nov. 9.

WNCC baseball ends season with loss to Central Arizona

Submitted byBy JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

LAMAR, Colo. - The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team had its season come to an end in the second day of the NJCAA Western District Tournament Friday in Lamar, Colo.

A day after suffering a heartbreaking, last at-bat loss to No. 2 College of Southern Nevada, the Cougars might still have been stinging as they dropped a 17-4 setback to No. 11 Central Arizona College.

"It was a bad combination of us not being ready to play and Central Arizona hitting on all cylinders," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "I do think [Thursday's] game took a lot out of us, but we just didn't play well. We made two errors on the first two batters of the game. Central Arizona jumped on us early and they didn't let up."

WNCC finished its season with a record of 24-39. The Cougars saved some of their best baseball for the postseason by claiming the No. 2 seed in the Region IX playoffs. WNCC beat Trinidad State Junior College in the opening round of the playoffs before finishing runner-up to Lamar Community College. The second-place finish in the regional playoffs qualified the Cougars for the Western District Tournament.

"It was great to play in the Western District Tournament," Jones said. "We really gave it a good shot [Thursday]. Unfortunately, we didn't have much fight in us today.

"It's been a year of some ups and downs. We had a really slow start, but the guys were able to preserve and get through it. They really turned it into a good season down the stretch. It was fun to compete against some of the best teams in the nation down here this week."

In eliminating WNCC from the tournament, Central Arizona pounded out 13 hits and blasted five home runs.

After scoring five times in the top of the first inning, Central Arizona went on to score seven times in the next three innings to build a 12-2 advantage. The Cougars plated two runs each in the first and fifth before Central Arizona put the game away with five runs in the sixth.

WNCC finished the game with seven hits.

Elvis Garcia hit a two-run home run in the fifth for WNCC. Jason Sloan led the Cougars offensively by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Jared Baros added a double.

All three of those sophomores played their final game in a Cougar uniform Thursday.

"This has been a great group of sophomores for us," Jones said. "They have really been the core for us the past two years on two solid teams. We're definitely going to miss some of these guys. We're thankful that they put in so much hard work to help the program."

Another sophomore, Armani Gonzalez, took the loss on the mound for WNCC. Gonzalez struck out three and allowed six hits in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Central Arizona (44-19) 524 105 - 17 13 0
WNCC (24-39) 200 020 - 4 7 4
LP - Armani Gonzalez.
HR - Elvis Garcia. 2B - Jared Baros.

WNCC baseball team losses heartbreaker to No. 2 Southern Nevada

Submitted By JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

LAMAR, Colo. - The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team gave second-ranked College of Southern Nevada all it could handle before suffering a 9-8 heartbreaker in the opening day of the NJCAA Western District Playoffs Thursday in Lamar, Colo.

With the score tied 8-8 and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Southern Nevada scratched out the game-winning run to thwart WNCC's valiant upset bid.

"It was a great college baseball game," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "Our guys played their guts out. We really played as well as we could. Unfortunately, we just made a couple errors that hurt us and gave them some runs. It was a great ball game."

WNCC will try and keep its season alive today when it battles No. 11 Central Arizona College in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Lamar Community College beat Central Arizona in Thursday's other tournament game.

Southern Nevada jumped to an early lead against WNCC when Bryce Harper blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. Harper is projected to be one of the top picks in this year's Major League Baseball Draft. Many scouts have the power-hitting catcher going first overall in the draft.

Jones said all of the attention Harper is receiving is well deserved.

"He just hit a monster shot in the first," Jones said. "After that we tied him up pretty good. He hit a couple ground balls to second base and we hit him inside with a fastball once. He knows what he's doing and he's a strong hitter. There's a lot of power in his swing."

After falling behind early, WNCC quickly answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second to knot the score at 2-2.

The Cougars then ignited for five runs in the top of the fourth to grab a 7-2 advantage. However, Southern Nevada rallied back to take an 8-7 lead by scoring two runs each in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.

WNCC managed to even the score at 8-8 with a single run in the top of the eighth before Southern Nevada scored the game winner in the ninth.

Jones said he was proud of the effort put forth by his ball club against one of the top teams in the nation.

"We weren't intimidated and we never backed down," Jones said. "We made some great plays defensively, Tim Beard pitched a good ball game for us and we had some good at-bats. I'm extremely proud of the guys. It just shows the character of our guys and our program."

Beard started the game on the mound for WNCC and allowed six earned runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out four. Julio Davila took the loss on the mound for the Cougars.

Offensively, Josh Parker led WNCC with four hits and two runs batted in. Three of Parker's four hits were doubles.

Camilo Baldelomar finished with three hits and scored a run, while Jared Baros had two hits and drove in two. Shane Wade added a double. WNCC out-hit Southern Nevada 13-8.

Against Central Arizona today, WNCC will send sophomore Armani Gonzalez to the mound. Gonzalez is 1-1 in the postseason.

"He's been really good for us in the postseason," Jones said of Gonzalez. "He's really stepped up. We expect nothing but his best effort again [today]."

WNCC (24-38) 020 500 010 - 8 13 4
Southern Nevada (47-13) 200 220 201 - 9 8 3
LP - Julio Davila.
HR - Bryce Harper. 2B - Josh Parker (3), Shane Wade.

WNCC softball falls at national tournament

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team dropped two contests at the NJCAA national softball tournament Thursday, ending their season with a 43-21 record.

The Cougars found the going tough against Miami Dade College sophomore Erika Bennett as she struck out 16 in a 7-0 win. WNCC was then eliminated in a tightly contested contest against Temple College 5-1.

Even with the two losses, the Cougars still kept their heads up, realizing that they were just one of 16 Division I softball teams to make the national tournament.

“We played good and we left it all on the field,” sophomore Brittany Chacon said. “No one gave up and we wanted to win at least one game. We just left it all on the field and played our hearts out.”

The Cougars goal of winning came up short with the two losses on Thursday, but this team proved that that they are one of the top 16 teams in the nation.

The big thing that wasn’t going the Cougars way on the day was their offense. WNCC managed just six hits on the day, even though they had plenty of opportunities to score.

“Overall we had good times and we bad times,” sophomore pitcher Taylor Anderson said. “We came here the underdogs and we really proved ourselves. We went seven innings against some elite teams. This is the best in the nation and we came here and went all seven innings with them. We had opportunities to score, and our pitching staff did really well. That is all we can really do.”

Anderson, who recorded one of these six hits in the Temple game, said playing in the national tournament was something that she will cherish. Anderson transferred to WNCC this year and had just one year of eligibility. She owes everything to the team for the ride she received to play among the elite.

“I did well this year and I am glad I did,” she said. “I met coach [Winn-Ratlif] a week before school started and it is a blessing, I would have to say, because nobody else wanted me and coach did. She saw something in me that no one else did. We went to nationals. We are a bunch of misfits, but we proved ourselves completely today that we can hang with the best, and we are one of the best.”

The Cougars just couldn’t get any breaks on the day. In the team’s opener against Miami Dade, Bennett was sizzling in the circle striking out four of the Cougar’s first four batters. The Sharks then scored a lone run on an error to go up 1-0.

WNCC didn’t let the Sharks’ lone run stop them as they had a prime scoring opportunity in the second inning. With one out, Jacqui Cappuccilli walked. Ashton Hughes then beat out an infield single. WNCC couldn’t capitalize on the scoring chances.

That was all the base runners WNCC would get the rest of the game as Bennett recorded 15 straight outs. The loss pushed the Cougars to the loser’s bracket against No. 11 Temple College. Temple lost a first-round contest against Blinn College 8-7 in nine innings.

This game was a tight contest. Temple jumped on top with two runs in the first inning on two hits to take a 2-0 lead. WNCC sliced the lead in half as Hughes blasted a solo home over the left field fence.

Temple added two more runs in the third inning on three hits and a couple errors. The Leopards had opportunities to break the game open, but the Cougars’ came up big defensively as they recorded a force out from Jordan Schoepflin to Hughes at home before Schoepflin snagged a line drive.

WNCC had another prime scoring chance in the fourth inning as Schoepflin reached base on a fielder’s choice. Cappuccilli then singled to left field, but WNCC left both runners stranded.

WNCC had base hits in the last three innings, but just couldn’t string enough base hits together on the night.

Temple finished the game with nine hits and five runs, while the Cougars had just five hits and three errors.

Even though the Cougars fell short of their goal at the national tournament, the team remained up beat once they whipped the tears from their eyes.

“Before our season even started and when we stepped on campus, we said we were going to be Region IX Champions and go to the national tournament,” Chacon said. “We wrote it down on something that was very important to us and looked at it every day. We accomplished that goal.”

Chacon said no one can take away from the season that they had this season.

“We had our ups and downs this season, but we’ve gotten better,” she said. “We have great players and great talent. Coach Winn told us that we will leave a mark at WNCC. I can’t picture a season without these girls. We did great and I don’t think there were any other words that you could put it.”

Anderson, who took the loss in the first game and then finished the second game, said they just fell short.

“Our main goal was to make nationals. Being here is great. We didn’t care who we were playing, we just needed to go all out. There was nothing else that we could do,” Anderson said. “We just needed to execute more and get our bats going. But, also, the other pitchers are great here, too. It is alright. We held our own and I am proud of the team.”

Game One
WNCC 000 000 0 – 0 1 5
Miami 105 010 x – 7 10 1
WP – Erika Bennett; LP – Taylor Anderson.

Game Two
WNCC (43-21) 010 000 0 – 1 5 3
Temple College 103 100 x – 5 9 1
WP – Samantha Meyer; LP – Stephanie Townsend; 2B – Temple (Yesenia torres); HR – WNCC (Ashton Hughes).

Cougar softball ready for national tourney

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team’s road to a national tournament begins Thursday when they face Miami Dade College.

The No. 14-seed Cougars, 43-19, face off against the No. 3 Sharks (46-7-1) at 12:30 p.m. at the Canyon Softball Complex in St. George, Utah. The winner advances to a 7 p.m. contest against the winner of the Blinn College (44-9) and Temple College (33-20) game, while the losers of the two games fall into the loser’s bracket with a 4:30 p.m. contest.

WNCC is playing in their second national tournament in three years. In 2008, the Cougar women went 0-2 at Plant City, Fla. This year’s team is not content of just playing two games and going home; they want to make a statement that they belong.

“We are very excited to be at the national tournament,” freshman Megan Bourdon said. “I think it is a great opportunity. We were looking on the Internet of who we were going to play against and saw all the different schools from all over the country. Especially for me, being from Canada, I get to play teams from Miami, Arizona.”

Miami Dade will not be easy to upend. The Sharks finished second in the regular season polls. The Sharks are 6-2-1 in their last nine games, including dropping a 14-0 game to Chipola College in the Florida State Championship game.

The Sharks have two of the top three pitchers in the nation. Geovanny Nunez leds the nation with a whopping .36 earned run average. Nunez is 14-2 on the season with 108 strike outs and allowed just 17 runs. Just as impressive is Erika Bennett, who is third in the nation with a .46 ERA. Bennett is 19-1 on the season with 184 strike outs and allowed just 19 runs.

The Cougars are playing their best softball at the end of the season. Bourdon said after their Arizona spring break trip, this team has clicked. They went 3-9 over the 10-day spring break trip. Since then, they are 29-8, including winning 24 of their last 27 games.

“We have come a long ways since Arizona,” Bourdon said. “By us coming together as a team, we definitely made it happen. In Arizona, I doubt anybody was going to say we were going to win the regional championship, but we put it together and that is what it takes.

What makes this team special is that there really isn’t one player the team counts on to win a game – everybody had clutch game-winning hits or runs. Freshman Jordan Schoepflin was named Region IX player of the year and was the NJCAA player of the week in mid April. Schoepflin, from Arvada, Colo., is batting .392 with 58 runs scores, 57 RBIs and seven home runs.

Katie Groves, last year’s freshman of the year, is having another MVP season. Groves, from Bluffdale, Utah, is second in the nation in RBIs (86) and runs scored (89). She is batting .505 on the season with 15 home runs. She now has 32 home runs in her two-years at the college.

These two are just part of a team. In the Cougars’ 11-2 Region IX championship win on May 9, the Cougars erupted for eight seventh-inning runs. In that inning, Jacqui Cappuccilli, of Las Vegas, Nev., hammered her fifth home run of the season.

The Cougars have plenty of deep threats as just two of the active players have not hit a home run. Ashton Hughes has hit 11 home runs followed by Brittany Chacon and Bourdon with five each.

“That is it with our team that we are all equal and we have confidence in everyone,” Bourdon said. “In every at bat whoever goes up to the plate, I have no doubt that they can win the game for us.”

The Cougars are also a late-inning team as they have mounted comebacks from the fifth inning on.

“We never get down,” Bourdon said. “The sixth-inning is our inning. Hopefully we can make something happen at the national tournament and get a couple of wins.”

To get a couple of wins, though, the team needs to click on all cylinders.

“We need to have good pitching and hitting,” she said. “It seems like the defense is fine. Our defense has been pretty good the whole year. As long as we don’t think about the national tournament, we will be fine.”

Other first round games at the national tournament include No. 1 Salt Lake Community College, Utah, (59-3) against No. 16 Pitt Community College, N.C. (39-11); No. 8 Seward County Community College, Kansas, (47-12) against No. 9 Seminole State Community College, Okla., (43-12); No. 5 Yavapai College, Ariz., (50-14) against No. 12 Indian Hills Community College, Iowa, (33-22); No. 13 John A. Logan College, Ill., against No. 4 Wallace State Community College, Ala., (56-7); No. 3 Miami Dade College, Fla., (45-7-1) against WNCC (43-19); No. 6 Blinn College, Texas, (44-9) against No. 11 Temple College, Texas, (33-20); No. 15 Georgia Perimeter College, Ga., (28-13) against No. 2 Chipola College, Fla., (47-11); and No. 7 Chattanooga State College, Tenn., (51-12) against No. 10 Odessa College, Texas, (33-27).

WNCC games can be heard on KOZY 101.3 FM as well as the web at kozy1013.com. The games will also be video streamed on the Internet at PSBlive.com.

The championship game is slated for Saturday afternoon. Bourdon said they can make a run at the national tournament.

“I think we can. We just need to have confidence,” she said. “I think we are going in there scared a little bit, but as long as we are confident that we can beat anyone, we should be able to win.”

National tournament notebook

** Two WNCC players or student assistants have been at the national tournament before. Student assistant coach Natasha Dypchey was a member of the 2008 Cougar team that went to the national tournament. Freshman Megan Bourdon also was at nationals in 2008, but she was watching her sister Lauren play for the Cougars. Bourdon said

“It was fun watching them, especially seeing how happy they were getting to play,” Bourdon said. “I know how happy she was and I am feeling the same way.”

Bourdon knows a little bit about the teams that will be there – they all are good.

“Seeing them play against those teams, I know there will be a lot better pitching, better hitters and everything at nationals,” she said. “We just have to be ready to go and have fun.”

** The Canyons Complex will not be new for several of the Cougar players as many have played at the complex in the past. The players that have played at the complex include Katie Groves (March 2008), Allie Alverson (March 2009), Jacqui Cappuccilli (June 2009), Taylor Anderson (March 2008 and July 2008), and Stephanie Townsend (July 2008).

WNCC baseball team opens district play on Thursday against Southern Nevada

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team is entering the West District Playoffs with nothing to lose. And, for the Cougars, that is a good thing considering who the Cougars open up with Thursday afternoon in Lamar, Colo.

The Cougars, 24-37, will battle No. 2 ranked College of Southern Nevada 46-13) and potential No. 1 major league draft pick Bryce Harper. The Cougars and Southern Nevada face off in the four-team district tournament at 3 p.m. The other game pits No. 13 Lamar Community College (47-10) against No. 11 Central Arizona College (43-18) at noon to open the tournament.

“There is no pressure on us,” sophomore pitcher Armani Gonzalez said. “We just need to go out and play our game. We really don’t have to play to anybody else; we just need to play our game and we should be fine.”

The Cougars definitely have their hands full as they enter the tournament against three 40-plus win teams. Gonzalez says that anything can happen in the tournament – the key is offense.

“We have been a team based on pitching and defense, so that is what we have to be solid at. We can’t be making errors and we can’t be walking people,” Gonzalez, who was the winning pitcher in the opening round playoff win against Trinidad State on May 9, said. “Most importantly, we have to get some timely hitting. The last game we played against Lamar on Saturday, it was that we didn’t hit, we just didn’t come up with the timely hit. We had situations where we could have scored and we just need to come up with the big hit in those situations. If we come up with a couple clutch hits here and there, we could upset some people.”

WNCC will have their hands full against Southern Nevada, who is ranked second in the NJCAA. Harper, a 6-foot-3 freshman catcher from Las Vegas is the real deal according to many Major League scouts. Harper is third in the nation in home runs with 23 in 180 at bats. Harper is batting .417 on the year with 71 runs scored and 68 RBIs.

Gonzalez said playing against the best can only bring out the best in them. He is looking forward to playing CSN.

“I think it will be a good opportunity for us to play against the best and a lot of people will be watching,” he said. “if you want to play you want to beat the best, so if that guy is the best, then we will play against him.”

The Cougars, even though they enter districts with a below record, are playing well themselves. The pitching staff has been the key for the Cougars success behind Tim Beard, Gonzalez, Rodil Martinez, JC Morales and Julio Davalo.

Beard is 9-3 on the season and is hoping to bounce back from a rough outing against Lamar last Friday. Gonzales, though, is hoping he stays on fire. He is 1-1 in playoff games, and despite him picking up the loss in the 2-0 loss to Lamar on Saturday, he has pitched well. Gonzalez said he goes out on the mound and leads by example.

“I just take it [pitching in the playoffs] as any other game even though it not,” Gonzales said. “I just try to lead by example and get the guys fired up. I figure if I can go in and get three outs, I will give my team a chance to score. That will then give us a better chance of winning.”

WNCC Is making its second appearance in the West Districts. The Cougars hosted the district tournament back in 2007 when Western Nevada Community College defeated Central Arizona College for the trip to the NJCAA World Series. Gonzales said that he would love to make that national tournament trip.

“We are pretty excited to be playing in the district tournament,” he said. “Even though we came up short for the regional championship we still can be the team that has gone the farthest and make it to the Junior College World Series.”

The losers of the first round will face each other in an elimination game on Friday at 11 a.m., while the winners face off at 2 p.m. The championship is slated for Saturday at noon with an if-necessary game to follow.

The winner of the West Districts qualifies for the JUCO World Series May 29 through June 5 in Grand Junction, Colo.

WNCC men's basketball teams signs eight players

Western Nebraska Community College basketball coach Russ Beck is excited with the freshmen talent that he has signed for next season.

Beck’s has signed eight players for next season with a lot of athleticism and height, including a pair of athletes from Nigeria.

The signed players include Michael Peltz, 5-10 guard from Alliance; Akinsanya “Tayo” Akintao, 6-11, 240-lb center from Nigeria; Faruk Oyalade, 6-8 power forward from Nigeria; Raul Delgado, 6-4 guard from Mapleton, Utah; Preston Eaton, 6-0 guard from Mapleton, Utah; Aamir Kelliehan, 6-3 guard from Mableton, Ga.; Stephan Shepherd, 6-8 forward from Long Beach, Calif.; and Justin Standley, 6-3 guard from Oakland, Calif.

Beck said he likes the talent that is coming in.

“The exciting thing is that the potential for us to be good not only this coming year, but the following year as well is really great,” he said. “I think we have some really versatile guards that are between 6-foot and 6-3 and 180 and 210 pounds. We have some horses there. With our foreign kids, I have always enjoyed the young men from Africa because they are very thankful and they work hard, and they will do whatever is asked. I think both those guys will be a good fit in the community and give us great effort on the floor.

“Right now we still need to add a small forward, two more centers, and another power forward and then we should be in good position. In terms of talent level of the first eight or nine guys signed, I think we are looking pretty good, but it always looks good on paper, though.”

The one goal Beck is aiming for is winning the East sub-region and getting a chance to host the regional tournament next March.

“We have a chance to host the tournament this year if we bring in the right guys,” he said. “That is the biggest thing; we want to bring in the right guys this year that will give us minimal if any distractions off the floor, give us great effort in the classroom, and compete day in and day out on the basketball court.”

With what he has signed so far, Beck is on his way in re-establishing Cougar basketball as a force in Region IX. Last year the Cougars finished 19-13 on the season before falling in the second round of the regional tournament. The new recruits coming in all have the potential to lead the team to the regional championship, beginning with the two basketball players from Nigeria.

“Tayo has a reputation of being a very good shot blocker and rebounder. He is a really tough and gritty player. He tries to be an intimidator and will give a good defensive presence on the floor and ability to control the boards. We are excited about Tayo and think he will have a big impact right away.

“Then we signed Faruk who played for the under 19s national team. Faruk is about 6-8 and plays a small forward and is very athletic. He is a slasher and scorer. Both of these players should be high impact players for us.”

Delgado is another talent that Beck signed because of former Cougars Francisco Cruz and Saul Torres. Delgado is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, and attended high school at Springville in Mapleton, Utah.

“Most of us have heard a little bit about Raul Delgado. He is a guy that would be in Division I basketball right now like the University of Utah, BYU or Utah State, which was all interested in him out of high school. They wanted to put him at a prep school, but he felt very comfortable coming here because he has relationships with both Francisco Cruz and Saul Torres [who both graduated this May from WNCC].He is very athletic and very strong. He can shoot the three and slash to the basket. I suspect he will be a very good player for us.

Eaton comes to WNCC after spending a couple years on a mission for his church. Beck said he started recruiting Eaton when he was coaching at Southern Utah University. Eaton led 4A in Utah averaging about 24 points a game prior to serving a two-year LDS mission.

“Eaton red-shirted this past year at Utah State and he is looking to come in and play some significant minutes and have a key role,” he said. “I suspect he will be a really good scoring threat for us on the perimeter. He has some good leadership skills and he has maturity because he is about 21 or 22 years old. He is a combination guard that can play the point or the two position. He has a very strong body and a very good work ethic.”

Beck said that Peltz should see minutes as well and likes the Alliance graduate’s drive on the basketball court.

“Michael had a strong body and is a really tough kid,” he said. “He is left-handed and shoots it. I expect him to come in and challenge for a lot of minutes. With Peltz, I think if he lived in a bigger area where he played summer travel ball, I think he would be a Division I player right now. He will come in and add some stability, and I think he will spend a lot of time in the weight room and do some really good things for us on the floor.”{

Another player that Beck likes is Kelliehan.

“I am very excited about Aamir. He played at Queens City Prep School this last year and averaged about 26 points a game,” he said. “He is extremely athletic and extremely strong. He can really slash. He has very long arms. We are very fortunate to get Aamir because he has the potential to be an all-region, all-American type of player by the time he leaves here. I think he will have significant impact on the floor.”

Beck said that he saw Shepherd when he was recruiting in Las Vegas and likes what he sees from the 6-8 forward.

“Shepherd is very skilled and throws his body around in and underneath the basket, and can take the pass from a bounce and try to create to get to the rim,” he said. “He is a good student and a little bit under the radar. I think he gives us some versatility at the power forward or small forward spot.

Standley is the last recruit Beck has signed so far. Standley actually attended WNCC last semester, working out with the team. He is a guy that Beck said has a lot of potential. Standley spent the fall semester at New Mexico State.

Beck said that because of his relationship with Standley and his dad by recruiting other McClymonds High School players, he got Standley to come to WNCC.

“He can really shot the basketball and has good toughness. We are excited about Justin.”

WNCC softball to face Miami Dade College in first round of national tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team road to a national title will not be an easy one after the pairings for the NJCAA national tournament in St. George, Utah, were released on Sunday.

The 20th-ranked Cougars, 43-19, earned the No. 14 seed in the tournament that starts Thursday. WNCC will open the tournament against second-ranked Miami Dade College (45-7-1) at 12:30 p.m. Miami Dade garnered the third seed in the tournament.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said that she doesn't know a lot about Miami Dade.

"I do not know a whole lot about them, but they have been very good all year long," she said. "We will just need to pitch well, attack pitches we can handle and minimize our mistakes."

Miami Dade enters the tournament having fallen to No. 2 seed Chipola College 14-0 in the Florida State Championship game last weekend. The Lady Sharks are 6-2-1 in their last nine contests having to beat Seminole State in the their regional tournament 7-6 and 6-1.

WNCC has been playing well in the last month of the season where they won 23 of their last 26 games. The Cougars captured their second regional title in the last three years after dropping Trinidad State 11-2 in the title game on March 9.

"We were not seeded as high as I thought we would be, but I think all the games will be exciting," Winn-Ratliff said. "If we play well and do the little things right anything is possible for this team. The young ladies are very excited and eager to get to Utah."

First-round games at the national tournament that begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday include No. 1 Salt Lake Community College (59-3) against No. 16 Pitt Community College (39-11); No. 8 Seward County Community College (47-12) against No. 9 Seminole (Okla.) State (43-12), No. 5 Yavapai College (50-14) against No. 12 Indian Hills (33-22), and No. 4 Wallace State (56-7) against No. 13 John A. Logan College (38-9).

The first-round games set for 12:30 p.m. include No. 3 Miami Dade against No. 14 WNCC, No. 6 Blinn College (44-9) against No. 11 Temple College (33-20), No. 7 Chattanooga State (51-12) against No. 10 Odessa College 33-27), and No. 2 Chipola College (47-11) against No. 15 Geogia Perimeter (28-13).

WNCC played just Odessa College during the regular season, splitting with the Texas school during a spring break trip to Arizona in falling 12-4 in the first game before winning the second game 14-8.

If the Cougars win, they will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday against the winner of the Temple and Blinn contest. A loss in the first round pits the Cougars in an elimination game against the loser of the Temple and Blinn game at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Action in the double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday.

Seven of the 16 qualifying teams played for the title in St. George last year, including Wallace State, which won the 2008 national title and was the national runner-up to Yavapai in 2009. Meanwhile, Salt Lake CC, Blinn College, Seward County CC, Seminole State and Odessa College join Yavapai and WSCC in making their second national tourney appearance in Utah’s Dixie.

This year, the NJCAA has partnered with Panhandle Sports Broadcasting (PSB) to provide live streaming video/audio play-by-play coverage of the entire 2010 NJCAA Division I Women’s Softball Championship. PSB will is to have cameras and announcers at all four fields for the three-day tournament. For more information and a complete broadcast schedule, please visit www.psblive.com.

This is the second year of a three-year agreement between the City of St. George and the NJCAA to host the annual championship tournament. Last year, the NJCAA tournament was the first sports national championship at any collegiate level to be held by the City of St. George at The Canyons Softball Complex, which is an eight-time “Complex of the Year” award winner.
The festivities get underway on Wednesday, May 19, with individual team practice sessions at the complex. In addition, a special welcome banquet to honor all the teams and participants will take place that evening at 6:00 p.m., at the St. George City Town Square, featuring a keynote address by Michelle Delloso, a three-time All-American infielder at the University of South Carolina and former member of the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s professional baseball team, which has been inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

For more information about the NJCAA Division I Fast Pitch Softball Tournament, including bracket pairings and game times, or to pre-purchase tickets at discounted prices, please visit www.jucostg.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the St. George City Recreation Center at 285 S. 400 E., or by telephone by calling 435-627-4560.

Four WNCC players receive honors for classroom work

The volleyball court isn’t the only place the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team has experience success. The team now is receiving success in the classroom.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo has instituted the Scholar Baller program that many NCAA Division I schools, including the Nebraska football program, use to recognize the athlete’s work in the classroom.

“Scholar Baller is a program that reinforces the connection between sports and academics,” Melo said. “I was fortunate to be a part of the program at Arizona State as a player and I think that it has helped many athletes across the country. I am hoping to help our girls as well.”

This year’s first recipients of the WNCC Scholar Baller awards include Emily Hoehn of Kearney (4.0 GPA), Ariel Austin of Woodland Park, Colo., (3.69 GPA), Kathryn Stock of Thibodaux, La., (3.94 GPA), and Tania Torres of Camuy, Puerto Rico, (3.87 GPA). Also receiving recognition for academics was student assistant coach Cesar Benatti, who has a 3.5 GPA. Melo said Benatti has been a good example of excellence in the classroom for the girls.

“I think they have been working extremely hard in the classroom but it is not just a semester award. It is a 2 year thing,” Melo said. “I want to see it grow within our program and see more players to achieve the same honor. I want to see them competing to get it every semester.”

To become a Scholar Baller athlete, athletes must have a 3.6 GPA. The four recipients received a T-shirt to wear and next fall, they will get to wear a patch on their uniform to indicate their work in the classroom.

"I think they have been working extremely hard in the classroom but it is not just a semester award. It is a 2 year thing," Melo said. "I want to see it grow within our program and see more players to achieve the same honor. I want to see them competing to get it every semester."

The volleyball team, as a whole, also excelled in the classroom, finishing with a combined 3.28 GPA, which is the highest grade point average among any WNCC team this season. The team was recognized for its honors at the annual awards ceremony earlier this month.

Individually, though, the four volleyball players that received the first WNCC Scholar Baller recognition, said they are honored to be the first recipients.

" I worked really hard to get the academic honor. I was really excited when I received it," Stock said. "In my opinion I think academics are more important than athletics. I put that before even volleyball. I think that it is more honorably to excel in the classroom than on the court because you are not going to play volleyball for life. I will have to get a job one day and get through school. I think it is really important for an athlete to excel in the classroom and on the court."

Hoehn said that she wasn't surprised in getting it; it was something that she knew she wanted because of her past academic accolades in high school.

"After she mentioned the award, I made it my goal to be a Scholar Baller," the Kearney native said. "It is a nice award and something that you can put on your resume and show that you are not only an athlete, but you are also a scholar and not only an athlete. I really expect myself to keep and maintain a 4.0 all year. That is one of my biggest goals here. Whatever amount of study that I need to keep my 4.0, I will keep doing it."

Hoehn said this Scholar Baller program is good for the team.

"I think it is a great program because so many people are focused on athletic ability and it is nice to prove that you are here for something else than sports ability," she said. "I think it puts pressure on the athletes of the school to help maintain a GPA. If sports didn’t work out for me, I would be able to rely on my grades."

Hoehn, who is a biology major, said that keeping that high GPA next year will be even tougher when she takes calculus, chemistry and trigonometry.

"It does take dedication to stay on top of your studies because it is pretty easy for you to want to slack off and not do homework," she said. "But in order to keep the high GPA that the Scholar Baller asks for, you really have to buckle down and get your work done."

Hoehn said having good study skills is the ingredient to getting good grades.

"I learned to study in high school," Hoehn said. "When it comes down to slacking off and having fun compared to getting good grades, you really have to buckle down and get your work done. If you don’t understand something or if you need help, you really need to go and talk to the teachers. You shouldn’t be ashamed to go and talk to your teachers to help explain stuff to you."

Torres is another volleyball player that has excelled in the classroom and she had the same study habits as Hoehn. She said don't leave things to the last moment.

"Since I was little, my parents told me that every time I get new material, to read a little bit and then the next day read it again. By the time the tests come, I will know what I need to know for the tests," she said. "Studying might take some of your time in having fun, but it is also important to take time to study. You just need to divide your time to be successful. You can’t have more time to have fun then to study. You have to know where your priorities are and that is how you are going to get good grades."

Torres is a perfect example of getting good grades as she came to WNCC in August with a slight language barrier just like her coach did. Torres, though, put that behind her for a 3.87 GPA. Torres is planning on obtaining her bachelor's degree in biology and then transfer to a medicine school in either the states or Spain to be become a surgeon cardiologist.

"Being a scholar baller is not easy because you have to be doing good in volleyball and also do good in your classes; you have both sides of the pressure," Torres said. "It shows that it is not only sports but that academics is a really important factor in our lives. We love volleyball but we also choose that we also need to study to achieve our goals."

Torres definitely believes this program is something that other colleges or other WNCC athletic teams should consider.

"I would recommend the program because it tells athletes how important it is to be a good athlete and a good student at the same time," she said. "It shows how much you can achieve in being both at the same time. You can only be an athlete for a certain amount of time, and when you get old, you won’t be able to keep playing, you will have to do something else. That is when academics come into play. That is why it is important to be good in school, too."
Austin said that the honor this year shows that she can buckle down and get her studies done.

"I am kind of honored because I was really motivated to work for it and I got it. It is all about focusing on your work," she said. "I was surprised because I have not been the best academic person. It is kind of surprising."

Austin said that what helped her to her 3.69 GPA was the mandatory study halls.

"I think having mandatory study halls is what really helps so you can just sit down and focus," she said. "In high school I really wouldn’t have time because I didn’t have a set schedule. Now study halls is mandatory and I just sit down and do my work. I get it done and you can definitely tell it has improved my grades."

Stock just missed a perfect 4.0 GPA, receiving an A minus in English Composition in the fall. It was a grade that made her mad. Stock said to get good grades, you have to be motivated and set goals.

"I just work really hard and academics mean a lot to me," she said. "I get mad at myself if I don’t do well. That is how it has always been because my parents think school is also important. I just say to myself and others to keep working hard the whole time and don’t give up.

"I am not awesome and I don’t easily do well in school. I work really hard studying and I go and see my teachers and ask for help if you need it. Don’t be afraid to ask other people for advice. You have to learn to put your priorities in order first and that will help you succeed in life in general and not just school."

The volleyball players have a perfect motivator in getting good grades in their coach. Melo was a Scholar Baller recipient when she played volleyball at Arizona State. Melo came to WNCC to play volleyball in 2001 and 2002 when she spoke very little English. Still, she overcome everything to do well academically, as Hoehn said she told her that she received just one C in all of her college courses.

Melo said she stresses academics first and foremost.

"It was a long journey for me starting from learning the language, getting good grades, and earning a master's degree," she said. "It is not easy to be a student-athlete in America. I think it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It demands a lot but I also think it prepares you for the future and that is what I try to pass to them all the time. I believe the hard work will pay off in the future."

WNCC baseball team falls to Lamar in regional championship series

LAMAR, Colo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team's bid for a regional championship came to an end Saturday in Lamar, Colo., in the Region IX championship series after dropping a 2-0 contest to Lamar Community College.

Despite the loss, the Cougars still will compete in the district playoffs as two teams from Region IX qualified for regionals. Districts open up Thursday in Lamar and WNCC will face College of Southern Nevada and projected No. 1 draft choice in next month's major league baseball draft Bryce Harper.

"We are back down there next week and we will play Thursday afternoon and we will be playing Southern Nevada, who won Region I8. It is OK," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "We didn't win a regional championship, but we are still have a chance at a district championship. It is important to keep our heads held high and go after this district championship."

Even with the loss, Jones said his team played well as Armani Gonzalez gave another gallant effort on the mound, going seven innings and allowing six hits while striking out two.

"We played really well. Armani was really good," Jones said. "He has really picked it up in the last two weeks and pitched really well for us and shown a lot of leadership. He is a guy that is out there every single inning to win. I wish we could have got him some runs and got him the win today. Unfortunately we couldn't come up with the big hits when we needed them."

Lamar played single runs in the second and fifth inning and that was all the Cougar defense gave up. In the second, Lamar scored their lone run on three hits. In the fifth inning, Lamar had a lead-off single and then two batters later scored on a double.

The Cougars had opportunities to score as well. Their biggest threat came in the fourth when they had runners at second and third with just one out, but couldn't get the run across to tie the game. WNCC had another prime scoring opportunity in the sixth after Jason Sloan led off with a double, but was left stranded on base.

Jones said that they need to cash in on those scoring opportunities.

"We have runners at second and third with one out and unfortunately we strike out and pop up," Jones said. "Then, Jason Sloan leads off with a double later in the game and gives an opportunity to score a run, but we just can't back it up behind him. We had our opportunities, not a lot of them, but we had opportunities where we could have gotten some runs on the board, but we just couldn't come up with the big hit."

WNCC managed just four hits in the contest, including doubles by Sloan and Elvis Garcia. The other two hits came from Nelson Quintero and Oscar Rodriquez.

Jones said that even though they didn't win the regional tournament, they still have a change to be district champs and qualify for the NJCAA College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., the end of the month.

Districts, however, won't be easy as Lamar, Southern Nevada, and Central Arizona College will take to the fields in Lamar next weekend along with WNCC. Jones said that all four teams are good and anybody can win it. But, for the Cougars to win it, they will need to play well both offensively and defensively, especially since they will be swinging aluminum bats instead of wood bats they swung during Region IX play.

"Southern Nevada is going to be really good. Central Arizona won out of Region I and they will also be really good. We know Lamar is good, but we are a good team also," Jones said. "We are a good baseball team. We need to take advantage of our scoring opportunities and when we pick up the aluminum bats during this district, maybe we will be able to capitalize on some of those opportunities."

WNCC (24-37) 000 000 000 -- 0 4 1
Lamar (47-10) 010 010 00x -- 2 6 2
LP -- Armani Gonzalez; 2B -- Jason Sloan, Elvis Garcia.

WNCC baseball falls to Lamar in game one of championship series

LAMAR, Colo. -- The Lamar Community College Lopes scored six times in the first three innings and then held off a late Western Nebraska Community College to earn game one of the Region IX Championship series Friday 9-5 in Lamar, Colo.

Both teams will be back in action Saturday at 10 a.m. for game two in a game that WNCC needs to force a deciding third game on Wednesday. The winner of the regional series will host the district tournament next weekend. No matter what happens on Saturday, the Cougars have still qualified per the fact that Lamar, the Empire Conference champion, earned an automatic bid into districts.

For the Cougars on Saturday, Armani Gonzalez will get the nod on the mound. Gonzalez will need to pitch better than Friday's starting pitcher Tim Beard, who allowed eight runs in the first four innings.

"Beard struggled today. It was the worst outing he has had all year and it was a bad time for that," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "But, we were able to work through it and make a run at it at the end. We just dug ourselves such a big hole early that we couldn't quite get out of it."

Lamar scored three times in the opening frame to take a 3-0 lead. WNCC cut the lead to 3-1 with a single run in the second, but the Cougar defense couldn't keep the Lopes off the bath paths as they vaulted to an 8-1 lead after four innings.

WNCC made a comeback late as Elvis Garcia smashed a solo home run in the sixth inning. Then, in the eighth, the Cougars scored three runs to slice the deficit to 9-5. The big hit was a run-scoring double by Jason Sloan.

The Cougars managed eight hits on the day. Kevin Sanford was the only player with more than one hit as the finished with two singles. Garcia and Sloan had the only extra base hits for the Cougars.

Beard suffered the loss, lasting just four innings in giving up eight runs and striking out one. Julio Davila finished off the game, going four innings, allowing a run and striking out six.

Jones is hoping they can carry some of their late-inning momentum from Friday into game two.

"I am hoping we can take some momentum from our offense getting hot there at the end," he said. "I hope we can stay hot in [today's] game."

Jones said that they will need to shut down Lamar in order to force a game three on Sunday.

"I think it will be important that Armani comes out and is able to keep Lamar from scoring or maybe gives up just one run in the first three or four innings," Jones said. "He really needs to shut them down and give us a chance to get the lead early."

WNCC (24-36) 010 001 030 -- 5 8 1
Lamar (46-10) 321 201 00x -- 9 13 1
LP -- Tim Beard; 2B -- Jason Sloan; HR -- Elvis Garcia.

WNCC baseball team ready for Championship Series against Lamar

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team enters this weekend’s Region IX Championship series with Lamar Community College with a lot to play for.

The winner of the series will host the district playoffs next weekend and earn the Region IX trophy. The loser of the series will still qualify for districts, but will have to travel.

The series opens up Friday at 1 p.m. with Saturday’s contest slated for 10 a.m. The Sunday start time, if necessary in the best 2 of 3 series, will begin at 1 p.m. WNCC coach Mike Jones said his team will need to manufacture runs and play errorless ball to come away with regional championship.

“For us we have been real successful all season long with pitching and defense. That will definitely have to continue. Tim Beard will pitch the first game and we are expecting another good performance out of Tim. We will have to try to manufacture runs.”

Bringing home a regional title would mean a lot to this team, and Jones gives his player credit from turning the season around. WNCC dropped its first nine games of the season and was 1-13 at one time. Since then, the Cougars have gone 23-21. They enter the championship series with a 24-35 record while Lamar is 45-10.
“This team has come a long ways from where we were at after the first month of the season,” Jones said. “I give the guys all the credit in the world for that. They could have laid down and given up early, but they never did. They kept showing up and practicing, and getting better and better and better. At the time when we were really struggling, I really couldn’t see us competing for a regional championship, but I knew the talent was always there. It was just a matter of us getting better, stronger and smarter and putting it all together.”

Pitching has been the driving force of the Cougar’s success this season. Tim Beard is the ace of the team. The freshman from Australia is 9-2 on the season and is in 27^th in the nation in earned run average at 1.95. Beard has thrown 78.2 innings with 62 strike outs and just 22 walks.

The Cougar’s other pitcher in sophomore Armani Gonzalez is also a threat on the mound. The big right-hander is 33^rd in innings pitched in the nation with 79.1. He is just 6-6 on the season, but has struck out 58. Gonzalez had one of his best pitching performances of the season on Sunday as he went 5 1/3 innings in relief in striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits.

The key for the Cougars this weekend is to find a way to get to a Lamar pitching staff that has five pitchers with ERA below 3.00. The Lopes’ top arm is reliever Brandon Ward-Hersee, who is No. 1 in the country in ERA and saves. The sophomore had a 0.745 ERA with 22 saves. He had pitched in 48.1 innings with 56 strikeouts and just 12 walks.

Sunday against Trinidad State, the Cougars finished with 17 hits in a 10-7 win against the Trojans to give them the first-round playoff win. Jones doesn’t expect that kind of output with the talent that Lamar will bring to the mound.

“I don’t expect the kind of offense that we had Sunday coming up this weekend. Lamar has five or six real solid pitchers. Their closer is one of the best in the country. I think it will be a much closer game, but we definitely will take 16 hits if we can do that.”

What matters most about this weekend series is the winner will be the Region IX champs, including hosting districts. That happened the last time the Cougars won regionals back in 2007 as they hosted Western Nevada Community College and Central Arizona College. Jones said it would be great to do that once again.

“Our record at home is real good this year,” he said. “We really enjoy playing at home. We really enjoy Cleveland Field, the hometown crowd. We enjoy being able to sleep in our own beds and have our own routine. Winning a Region IX championship is something we are always shooting for. We have only been able to get that accomplished once so far and to get another regional championship would be great.

“Another banner in the gym and another plaque on the wall, it would be something that this group of guys can leave the program with and be proud of. It is something we have been talking about since the season begun, and now they have an opportunity to go out and get it done.”

Seven WNCC softball players named all-region, Schoepflin named Player of the Year

Several Western Nebraska Community College softball players earned all-region honors that were announced earlier this week.

Cougar freshman Jordan Schoepflin of Arvada, Colo., earned the top honor as she was picked as Region IX Player of the Year. This season, Schoepflin is batting .392 with 58 runs scored, 57 RBIs, seven home runs, four triples, and 12 doubles.

Cougars that made first team all-region include pitchers Taylor Anderson of Riverton, Utah, and Stephanie Townsend of Roosevelt, Utah; catcher Ashton Hughes of Regina, Saskatchewan; infielders Schoepflin and Katie Groves of Bluffdale, Utah; outfielder Adena Hagen of Birch Hills, Saskatchewan; and utility player Megan Bourdon of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan.

The rest of the Region IX first team include pitcher Shannon Traxinger of Otero; catcher Shelbi Long of Trinidad State; infielders Sheena Hardman and Brittani Richins of Lamar, April Freier of Otero, Leah Hanson of Trinidad; outfielders Michelle Brunelli of Lamar, Jordan Bailey and Erica Christie of Otero, and Vanessa Brogdon of Trinidad; and designated player Courtney Leslie of Lamar.

Second team all-region members include pitchers Jordan Randolph and Sara Parmenter of Trinidad; catcher Casey Plowman of Lamar; infielders Jenna Will of Dawson, Hillary Hunter of Lamar, Laura Abellanida of Otero, and Katie Kerr of Trinidad; outfielders Mariah Griego of Otero, and Amanda Snyder and Cecely Rodriquez of Trinidad; utility player Jessica Apodaca of Trinidad; and designated player Chelsea Blais of Trinidad.

Other awards that were handed out saw Lamar’s Richins selected as Freshman of the Year. The outstanding coach of the year went to McCook’s Liz Jacoby while the coach of the year went to WNCC’s Maria Winn-Ratliff. The McCook softball team won the Sheila Worley Sportsmanship Award.

Public celebration for Cougar softball team on Wednesday

Western Nebraska Community College will have a public celebration on Wednesday, May 12 for the Cougar softball team at 3 p.m. in the pit area of the college. The softball team captured their second regional title in three seasons over the weekend by beating Trinidad State Junior College 11-2 in the championship game. WNCC will now compete in the national tournament next week.

The Cougar team, 43-19, will depart Monday morning for St. George, Utah. Their first game will be Thursday, May 20.. Tournament pairings will be released later in the week. The national tournament will be video streamed via the Internet at http://www.sgcity.org/recreation/njcaa_2010.

WNCC softball team is Region IX Champions

Western Nebraska Community College's Stephanie Townsend couldn't have asked for a better 20th birthday present on Sunday than what she received.

All the sophomore pitcher for the Cougar softball team wanted was a Region IX championship. Her teammates delivered that present to her in dramatic fashion with an 8-run seventh inning that helped WNCC capture its second championship in three years with an 11-2 win over Trinidad State Junior College Sunday at Volunteer Field in Scottsbluff.

Townsend was also the driving force in the Cougar's victory Sunday in Region IX tournament as she was the winning pitcher in the title game, scattering eight hits and striking out three, including the final out of the game, to send the players in a frenzy in mobbing Townsend and each other.

"All I asked for was to win a regional title. That is all I wanted," the right-handed pitcher from Roosevelt, Utah, said. "We are extremely happy right know. We worked so hard for this. We have been through some rough times and through some easy times. We just had to push through today [Sunday]."

It wasn't an easy road to the title for the Cougars against a hot-hitting Trinidad State squad that pasted the Cougars 13-2 in the first championship game, setting up a second if-necessary championship game.

"It was a little scary after the first game that we lost," Townsend said. "We just had to believe in each other because we knew we could do it as long as we came together like we have all year. We just had a rough game the first game."

Rough is an understatement as the Cougars gave up nine hits and committed six errors in letting the Trojans run all over them. The second game, was a totally different Cougar team as the team used some clutch hitting and a solid defense. WNCC pounded out 12 hits and used a key double play in the sixth inning to thwart would could have been the go-ahead run for Trojans.

Townsend, who found herself in a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and up 3-2, got out of the pickle by snaring a line drive back to her and quickly threw to first base to finish the double play and end the inning. That play was a huge motivation in the team's win.

"That was a big motivation factor for us because she [the batter Amanda Snyder] had three balls already on her and I just threw it on the plate to make sure she could hit it because I didn't walk a run in to tie it. It was nice to have that out and shoot our confidence way up."

That inning-ending double play lifted the Cougars' intensity heading into the top of the seventh inning. Before that, though, the Cougars found themselves in a dogfight with the Trojans. Trinidad scored twice in the first inning as Snyder singled and scored on a Shelbi Long double. Long came around to score on a Leah Hanson single for a 2-0 lead.

WNCC didn't tie the game until the fifth inning when they manufactured two runs. Allie Alverson led off with a double that nearly cleared the fence for a home run. Brittany Chacon followed by reaching base on an error. After a sacrifice bunt, Megan Bourdon unleashed a towering shot that hit the top of the fence and came back in for a double, scoring Alverson and Chacon to tie the game at 2-2.

The Cougars went ahead in the fifth inning with a single run. Jacqui Cappucilli led off by getting plunked by a pitch. Pinch runner Amanda Saldivar then scored on an error in the outfield to put WNCC up 3-2.

Trinidad had a prime scoring opportunity in the sixth inning as Ariel Navarro walked and Katie Kerr and Krysten Lopez had singles to load the bases with just one out. That was when Townsend helped turn the inning-ending double play.

After that, the Cougars' opened up its offense by scoring eight times on five hits in the seventh inning. It all started as as Region IX Player of the Year Jordan Schoepflin lined a shot down the thirdbase line. Cappucilli followed in dramatic fashion, taking the first pitch from Trinidad pitcher Jessica Apodaca and planting it 225 feet over the left-centerfield fence for a 2-run home run.

The Cougars continued excelling offensively as Adena Hagen delivered a 2-run scoring single to right field. Katie Groves and Shoepflin followed with doubles that plated the final three runs of the inning.

Cappuccilli, who said she was due to break out of her hitting slump, said her home run was just part of a team that woke up offensively.

"That home run was phenomenal," the freshman shortstop from Las Vegas, Nev., said. "I hadn't been hitting very well so I went up there thinking I might as well go and swing for it. I did it, but without everybody else doing what they did, it wouldn't have meant nothing."

Cappuccilli is right, there were a number of players that stood out in the win, whether it was offensively or defensively. The Cougar defense left six Trojans stranded in scoring position as they stopped potential threats in the second, third, fourth and sixth inning.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Cougars pounded out 12 hits, including five extra base hits. Groves led the way with a 4-for-5 game, including a double, a run scored, and two RBIs. Also collecting two hits in the contest was Bourdon, Schoepflin, and Alverson. Bourdon went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs, while Schoepflin went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and a RBI. Alverson went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Schoepflin, who was lost for words in describing her player of the year honor, said it feels good to be Region IX champs.

"This win feels awesome. We went out and gave it our all so we couldn't feel better," the freshman from Arvada, Colo., said. "We wanted to come out and show them that we weren't going to back and we wanted this win. We deserved to win this. We have practiced real hard and we really wanted it."

Trinidad State also wanted the win as well and they fought back through elimination to get a chance to play for the regional title. The Trojans started the day with a 4-0 win over Otero Junior College as Jordyn Randolph baffled the Otero hitters in allowing just three hits while striking out 10. Trinidad also pounded out eight hits in the win.

The Trojans kept that hitting alive against WNCC in the first championship game as they had nine hits, including a six-run second inning on four hits. Long nearly hit for the cycle as she was a home run short from accomplishing that feat.

WNCC, 43-19, will next take part in the NJCAA national tournament scheduled for May 20-22 in St. George, Utah. The players are ready for the trip as one of the top 16 teams in the nation.

"It is going to be exciting because I am from Utah," Townsend said. "There will be a lot of people there supporting all the Utah people on the team and others."

Cappuccilli said that this team is beyond excited.

"Winning regionals is huge. It is amazing and it is tradition in the making," she said. "The first game against Trinidad we didn't play Cougar ball at all and the second game we played Cougar ball. This was definitely a good birthday present for her [Stephanie]."

Game One
Trinidad 100 210 0 -- 4 8 1
Otero 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2
WP -- Jordyn Randolph, LP -- Shannon Traxinger. 2B -- Otero (Yolanda Montano), 3B -- Trinidad (Amanda Snyder).

Game Two
Trinidaid 060 205 -- 13 9 1
WNCC 000 200 -- 2 6 6
WP -- Randolph, LP -- Taylor Anderson; 2B -- WNCC (Allie Alverson), Trinidad (Shelbi Long, Cecely Rodriquez, Ariel Navarro); 3B -- Trinidad (Long); HR -- Trinidad (Leah Hanson).

Game Three
WNCC (43-19) 000 210 8 -- 11 12 1
Trinidad (33-23) 200 000 0 -- 2 8 4
WP -- Stephanie Townsend, LP -- Sara Permenter; 2B -- WNCC (Alverson 2, Megan Bourdon, Katie Groves, Jordan Schoepflin), Trinidad (Long); HR -- WNCC (Jacqui Cappuccilli).

WNCC baseball drops Trinidad State, wins playoff series

The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team rode the strong-arm pitching of Armani Gonzalez as they advanced to the Championship Series next weekend in Lamar, Colo., after dropping Trinidad State Junior College 10-7 at Cleveland Field on Sunday.

Gonzalez, who threw 5 1/3 innings in striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits from the bullpen, gave the Cougar offense the lift they needed. The offense responded as they pounded out 17 hits, including four runs in the seventh and eighth inning to earn the win.

"Our starting pitching wasn't real strong. but we went to the bullpen and to Armani Gonzales, who pitched a little for us yesterday. He was outstanding on the mound," WNCC coach Mike Jones said. "He came in the game and really took control of the game, which I think was key. The way Armani came in and started dominating their hitters let everyone on our team know that if we could put together some runs, we have a good chance to win the game.

"Then, our offense definitely showed up. We had 16 hits or something like that and offensively, we really busted out and hit a lot of balls hard. There weren't really a lot of cheap hits in there. We really stepped up and hit the ball well."

The Cougar offense was potent all game long, but it was late that the Cougars needed the run. WNCC offensive power started early as Elvis Garcia had a solo home run in the first inning to tie the game at 1-1.

WNCC took a 4-1 lead after two innings as they plated three runs on four hits in the second inning. Trace Marsden started things with a one-out single. Kevin Sanford followed with a two-out single that scored Marsden.

Sanford scored the second run of the inning n a Jared Baros single. Baros came around to score on a double by Shane Wade for the 4-1 lead.

Trinidad fought back taking control of the game by scoring twice in the third and four times in the fourth for a 7-4 lead.

WNCC fought back by slicing the lead to one, 7-6, with two runs in the fifth as Garcia singled and Camilo Baldelomar doubled. Each later scored.

WNCC took the lead for good in the seventh with three runs on four hits. Baldelomar started things with a double and came around to score on a Marsden single. Marsden came around to score on a Baros single, and then Sanford scored on a Wade single for a 9-7 lead.

The Cougars scored an insurance run in the eighth inning on two hits for the final margin.

Jones said that his team didn't want to end their season and dug down deep. Last year, the Cougars were eliminated in two games in the first round by Northeastern Junior College at home. This year, the players wanted this win to get last year's miserable finish out of their mouth.

"We played with a lot of heart and we played with a lot of guts," Jones said. "We were down in the ball game early and we were able to fight back. We showed a lot of character and it showed the attitude of the guys and their desire to win."

WNCC was led from the plate by Shane Wade, Elvis Garcia and Nelson Quintero, who each went 3-for-5. Wade finished the game with a double and two RBIs, while Garcia had two runs scored, two RBIs and a home run.

Also collecting multiple hits were Camilo Baldelomar going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, and Jared Baros, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI.

The victory not only sends the Cougars to the Region IX Championship series this weekend in Lamar, Colo., but it guarantees them a berth in the district playoffs because of the fact that conference champion Lamar won their series against McCook. At stake this weekend is a Region IX title and as well as a chance to host the district playoffs the weekend of May 20-22.

Jones knows that his team won't be scoring 10 runs or pounding out 17 hits against Lamar.

"We will have to find good pitching," he said. "Our pitching has been there throughout conference play. We also need to play solid defense because I don't expect us to go there and put up 16 hits in a game against Lamar. i expect us to go up to find our hits, or our key hits, or our two-out hits, and find ways to manufacture runs."

Trinidad 102 400 000 -- 7 10 5

WNCC 130 020 31x -- 10 17 4

WP -- Armani Gonzalez. 2B -- Shane Wade, Camilo Baldelomar 2; HR -- Elvis Garcia.

WNCC baseball falls short in reigonal playoff, will host Trinidad Sunday in a third and final game

Submitted by By Jeremy Woznick, Star-Herald Sports Reporter

A long season of hard work and dedication will come down to just one game for the Western Nebraska Community College and Trinidad State Junior College baseball teams.

The two squads will meet in the deciding game of their Region IX first-round playoff series today at 1 p.m. at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff to decide who will meet Lamar Community College in next weekend's championship round.

Today's third game was made necessary after Trinidad State held on for a 7-6 win over WNCC in Saturday afternoon's game two. WNCC won the first game of the series on Friday.

Despite not being able to close out the series in two games, WNCC coach Mike Jones said his team remains confidant entering today's contest.

"This team's hungry. They want this series," Jones said. "They want to move on and they want the opportunity to play for a regional championship. I know we'll come out and give it our best effort [today]."

With its season on the line, Trinidad State took early control of game two by plating three runs in the top of the third inning. Derek DiCarlo drove in Adam Anderson with a single to open the scoring before Gavin Purvis later pushed home two runs with a double.

"Trinidad was playing for their season today," Jones said. "They came out and played really well. I expected them to and I expect them to do it again [today]."

After stranding runners at third base in each of the first two innings, the Cougars got the clutch hit they needed in the fourth when Scottsbluff High School graduate Trace Marsden lined a single into center to score Elvis Garcia and Camilo Baldelomar. Both Garcia and Baldelomar reached with singles.

WNCC continued to threaten in the inning with runners at second and third with just one out. However, Trinidad State first baseman Vinnie Mattivi came up with a web gem of a double play to end the threat. After making a diving catch of a foul ball beside the Trojan dugout, Mattivi had the quick sense of mind to jump to his feet and fire home to gun down Josh Parker, who was trying to tag up from third on the play.

The Trojans rode that defensive momentum into the top of the fifth. After a single by Jacob Anderson, Bryer Mueller deposited a hanging breaking ball over the leftfield wall to make it 5-2. Trinidad State's advantage grew to 7-2 in the seventh on run-scoring hits by Mattivi and Luke Rodi.

Just when it looked like the Trojans had things on cruise control, WNCC mounted a thrilling rally to make things interesting. The Cougars' charge began in the bottom of the seventh when Shane Wade blasted a two-run home run over the leftfield fence. Jared Baros scored on Wade's long ball, which cut the Trojan lead to 7-4.

WNCC continued threatening in the bottom of the eighth. After Marsden walked and Kevin Sanford reached on an error, WNCC's Baros roped a double off the wall in left to score both base runners. Baros then moved to third on a wild pitch with two outs.

It looked like Baros would stroll home with the tying run a couple pitches later when Wade lined a rocket into left. But Trinidad State's Mueller flew through the air to make a diving catch for the third out.

Down to their last out, the Cougars managed to get the tying run on base again in the bottom of the ninth. After fouling off a number of good pitches, Baldelomar worked his way to first with a sharp single. Parker then followed with a hot shot to third that was snagged by DiCarlo. DiCarlo threw across the diamond to first for the final out.

"We struggled offensively early in the game and then we really came alive there late. We just came up one run short," Jones said. "It was a good effort. We got real aggressive there late in the game so let's hope that it carries over."

Wade paced WNCC at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in. Baldelomar was the only other Cougar with multiple hits in the game as he went 2-for-5. Jacob Anderson led Trinidad State offensively by going 3-for-5. Both teams had nine hits.

Bo McLavey earned the win on the mound. The side-arm hurler struck out four in seven innings of work. Kevin Hand pitched the final two innings for the Trojans.

JC Morales took the loss on the mound for WNCC. Morales struck out eight and scattered seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Armani Gonzalez went the rest of the way out of the bullpen. Gonzalez allowed just two hits and struck out seven. He retired the final seven Trojans in a row.

"I thought our pitching was good again," Jones said. "We just made a few mistakes with some off-speed pitches. We left them up in the zone and Trinidad was able to put some good swings on them."

Sophomore Rodil Martinez will get the starting nod in today's game for WNCC. The southpaw has plenty of big-game experience for the Cougars.

"He's been good for us all year," Jones said of Martinez. "The key for Rodil is to come out and throw a lot of strikes early."

Today's winner will travel to Lamar next weekend for the regional championship series. Lamar swept its first-round playoff series with McCook Community College Saturday with an 11-9 win.

Trinidad State 003 020 200 - 7 9 2
WNCC (23-35) 000 200 220 - 6 9 0
WP - Bo McLavey. LP - JC Morales.
HR - Shane Wade, Bryer Mueller. 2B - Wade, Jared Baros, Jacob Anderson, Gavin Purvis, Vinnie Mattivi.