Submitted by JEREMY WOZNICK, Star-Herald sportsWhenever the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team has needed a clutch win this season, the Cougars have handed the ball to freshman pitcher Tim Beard.
That again was the case for WNCC in game one of its Region IX playoff series with Trinidad State Junior College Friday afternoon at a blustery Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff.
The 6-foot-3 southpaw from Canberra, Australia certainly didn't disappoint as his complete-game effort helped the Cougars post a 5-1 win.
Beard struck out a season-high 10 and scattered just five hits in nine innings of work. He is now a perfect 8-0 against Region IX opponents this season.
"He's been outstanding for us all season long. Today was no different," WNCC coach Mike Jones said of Beard. "He threw a lot of strikes on the inside corner, which played into the field conditions with the wind blowing the way it was. He mixed in his changeup away to follow that up and he was being so consistent with it all game long. It was his game to win or lose today."
The win gives WNCC an important 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. WNCC will go for the series-clinching win in game two today at Cleveland Field at 1 p.m. A Trinidad State win today would force a deciding game three on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"It's great to jump out ahead with a win in the first game," Jones said. "It would be nice to get it done and over with [today] and not have to worry about the pressure of a game three. But Trinidad's not going to lay down and let us have it. They have plenty of pitching left and I expect another tight game."
The Cougars staked Beard to an early lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jason Sloan singled and Elvis Garcia followed with a double. Both scored on wild pitches. Josh Parker singled home Camilo Baldelomar with WNCC's third run of the frame.
Trinidad State plated its lone run in the top of the second. Other than that, Beard kept the Trojan hitters under control with his precise command and an efficient pitch count.
Sloan, his battery mate behind the plate, credited Beard for a job well done.
"He really stood tall for us today and did what we needed him to do. I give him full credit," said Sloan, who is also from Canberra, Australia. "With the wind blowing out to right field today, we didn't want to leave any balls over the middle of the plate on the outer half. We really worked on throwing the fastball down and in to these hitters so they couldn't get their hands through. Tim did a really nice job of hitting his spots."
Beard experienced his only real, potential trouble in the sixth and eighth innings. With the Cougars still holding their 3-1 advantage in the top of the sixth, Trinidad State put two runners on base after a couple of WNCC errors. However, Beard responded with a strikeout before inducing a groundout to shortstop Nelson Quintero to get out of the jam.
In the top of the eighth, the Trojans put their leadoff runner at second with no outs. But Beard again got a clutch strikeout before letting the Cougar defense do the rest. He induced a pop up to right field and then watched as Sloan pounced on a dribbler in front of the plate and fired to first to end the threat.
WNCC took advantage of three Trinidad State miscues in the field in the bottom of the eighth to plate two insurance runs. Both Josh Parker and Trace Marsden scored on errors to give the Cougars a four-run cushion.
"This was a huge win for us," said Sloan, who recently signed to continue his baseball career at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo. "We put in a lot of hard work to get where we are today and that's a credit to our team. Everybody puts in hard work and we're one unit together. Without each and every one of us, it makes it really tough to win."
Sloan and Jared Baros were the only Cougars with multiple hits in the game. Sloan, Garcia and Parker all had doubles. WNCC finished with a total of nine hits.
While the Cougars enter today's second game with a good grasp on the series, Sloan said they aren't about to relax against a talented Trinidad State ball club.
"We have to come back out ready to play," Sloan said. "It would be nice to knock these guys out in two games because they had our number last year. But they have a lot of pitching left over there so we just have to come out here and work hard again. Hopefully, we can take care of business."
JC Morales will get the start on the mound in today's second game for WNCC.
The winner of the series will meet the winner of the other first-round series being played this weekend between Lamar Community College and McCook Community College. Lamar, the No. 1 seed, holds a 1-0 lead in that series after earning a 3-0 win over McCook Friday.
Winners of this weekend's two first-round series will meet for the regional championship next weekend.
"To win the region would be something special," Sloan said. "Every single player on this team wants to win a regional championship. We're going to do whatever it takes to take advantage of this opportunity that we have."
Trinidad State (32-24-1) 010 000 000 - 1 5 5
WNCC (23-34) 300 000 02x - 5 9 2
WP - Tim Beard.
LP - David Henrie.
2B - Jason Sloan, Elvis Garcia, Josh Parker.
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