Cougar notes: WNCC plates 26 in win over Lamar

               LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College had a strong offensive showing in scoring 26 runs and Avery Fox tied a school record for most runs scored in a game with six as the Cougars captured a 26-6 Region IX conference win over Lamar Community College Sunday afternoon in Lamar, Colorado.

                The win moves the Cougars to 3-10 on the season but more importantly to 3-0 in conference play. WNCC will take their 3-game winning streak and their offensive attack that saw the team score 52 runs in the three wins over Lamar into Tuesday as the Cougars begin their Spring Break trip in Texas when they face Louisiana State University Eunice and Trinity Valley Community College.

                Fox said the offensive output was due to the team staying disciplined at the plate.

                “We had to stay disciplined at the plate,” Fox said. “A week ago, all of us were struggling to take pitches both balls and getting hit. This weekend at the plate, we had many walks with full counts or getting hit by the pitch.”

                Fox went 2-for-3 on the day with a double tied a school record by scoring six runs in the contest, tying the record set by Jacqui Cappuccilli back in 2011. Erin Hurst was right behind Fox on the day with four runs scored with just one hit and one official at bat. Hurst was walked three times.

                While Fox had a record tying day, Morgan Dustin led way at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance with two RBIs and two runs scored. DemiRae Woolsey also had one hit with four RBIs to lead the team in that category.

                Fox and Arianah Plorin each had three RBIs. Plorin had a double along with scoring three runs with three RBIs. Devlyn Priselac also scored three runs with two RBIs and a hit, while Victoria Wharton had one hit with four runs scored and two RBIs.

                Dustin, who had the big day on Sunday, said the team played well on Sunday besides a few hiccups.

                “Today we all played together as a team and really owned our roles especially with offense,” Dustin said. “We all played with a lot of heart this weekend. We really focused on doing the little things right.”

                Fox agreed saying that when they started to have trouble, they regrouped and got the job done.

                “The team played great today,” the Scottsbluff graduate said. “We had a few moments where we had to take time and reset. After we reset we made the outs and plays to finish the innings.”

                The 26 runs is tied for third for most runs scored by a Cougar team. The record is 29 runs and the last time the Cougars scored 26 runs was a year ago, March 3 when they plated 26 runs against Luna Community College.

                WNCC scored in all five innings that were played, plating a run in the first inning as Fox scored on a free pass from Woolsey, who was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the 1-0 lead.

                The Cougars added three runs in the second for a 4-0 lead. Plorin and Hurst led off with walks. Plorin scored on a groundout and then Hurst came in on a wild pitch. Fox would later score on a single.

                Lamar came right back in the bottom of the second with three runs to make it 4-3. WNCC pushed the score to 10-3 with six runs in the third and four more in the fourth for a 14-3 lead.

                WNCC scored all their runs in the third with two outs. Hurst led off with a 2-out single and scored on a Wharton hit as Wharton reached on the error. Priselac then walked. Wharton scored on a wild pitch and Priselac scored on a Fox single. With the bases juiced, Woolsey singled in two runs to make it 9-3 and Sianna Lewis scored the final run of the frame.

                The fourth inning saw WNCC score four runs on just one hit, a 2-run double by Dustin.

                WNCC added 12 runs in the fifth inning as they batted through the lineup twice to lead 26-3. WNCC was patient at the plate as they started the inning with three straight walks. Fox then had a 2-run double. Later, Plorin scored two with a 2-out double for a 20-3 lead. Wharton, Priselac and Dustin each followed with run-scoring singles. Fox closed out the scoring as she scored for the sixth time as scored after Woolsey was hit by a pitch for the 26-3 lead.

                Lamar scored three times in the but it wasn’t enough.

                WNCC will carry that momentum into this week when they have six games in Texas.

                “I think this has given us a lot of confidence going into Texas and we need to transfer it to those upcoming games,” Dustin said. “I think staying within ourselves is going to be key.”

                Fox said the key to get wins in Texas against Trinity Valley, who is 14-14 overall, and Louisiana State-Eunice, who is 23-9 on the season is staying disciplined.

                “Heading to Texas for spring break, we will be disciplined at the plate, continue to go all out for plays and knowing that we can do anything as long as we have attitude, effort, and energy,” she said. “This is a great start to go into our spring break.”

WNCC                   136 4(12) – 26 12 1

Lamar                    030 03 – 6 8 3

WP – Caley Leslie.

2B – Avery Fox, Morgan Dustin, Arianah Plorin.

WNCC falls to Madison College in 14 innings

                PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team opened its Spring Break trip in Arizona with a heart-breaking 14-inning lost to Madison College, who finished runner-up at the NJCAA Division II national championship a year ago.

                The 14-inning game was one of the longest in Cougar history. The Cougars had several one and two extra-inning games including a 12-inning affair back on April 16, 2012, against McCook when the Cougars lost 4-3.

                Sunday’s contest was one of missed opportunities for the Cougars, but also timely defensive plays to keep the game going.

                WNCC got behind the 8-ball early as Madison scored three times in the third for a 3-0 lead. Madison kept WNCC from scoring runs through the first five innings, but it was the sixth that the Cougars broke the goose-egg with four runs.

                The fourth started as Shintaro Inoue and Drew Book had singles. Inoue scored as Tyler Easter reached on a 2-out error for the first run. Garrett Dodd then doubled home Book and Easter. Dylan Harris then singled in Dodd for the go-ahead run.

                WNCC added another run in the seventh as Eli Hernandez led off with a solo shot for the 5-3 lead.

                WNCC held Madison in check until the eighth when the Wolfpack scored twice to not the score. WNCC had a chance to retake the lead in the top of the ninth as WNCC loaded the passes on three free passes with two outs, but WNCC couldn’t score the go-head run.

                WNCC had another prime opportunity to score in the 13^th innings as Harris reached base on an error followed by Isaac Smith recording a single. Both were stranded on base.

                Madison won the game in the 14^th. After one out, Nicolas Tremblay walked a batter. A single and double later, the Wolfpack scored the go-ahead winning run for the 6-5 win.

                WNCC finished with nine hits in the contest. Inoue and Smith were the only Cougars with multiple hits. Dodd had a double with two RBIs while Hernandez had a home run.

                The difference was the pitching. Madison’s three pitchers allowed nine hits and struck out 15 Cougars. The Cougars used three pitchers used allowed 14 hits with eight strikeouts. Wyatt Zsidisin started and went four innings in allowing three hits, three runs, and striking out three. Adrian Short followed with five innings pitched, allowing eight hits, two runs and striking out five. Nicolas Tremblay took the loss, tossing the final 4 1/3 innings in allowing three hits, one run, and striking out one.

                WNCC will be back in action Monday when they face Central Arizona College in a doubleheader in Coolidge, Arizona.              

Sunday’s Game

WNCC                   000 004 100 000 00 – 5 9 1

Madison              003 000 020 000 01 – 6 14 4

LP – Nicolas Tremblay.

2B – Garrett Dodd.

HR – Eli Hernandez.