COOLIDGE, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team competed well against No. 3 Central Arizona College, but dropped very competitive games to the 24-5 CAC Vaqueros.

                The first game saw starting Cougar pitcher Clayden Brandon toss a sterling game, allowing just four hits while striking out three, but Vaquero starting pitcher Theo Miller and Josh Aribal, who got the save, combined on a one hitter for the 2-0 win.

                The second game saw a lot more runs with WNCC holding a 3-0 lead, but Central Arizona scored seven late runs to earn the 9-3 win.

                The first game was a pitcher’s dual between Miller and Brandon. Brandon went all six innings and the only runs he gave up were single runs in the fourth and sixth inning. Miller struck out six in his six innings of work while Aribal picked up his fourth save of the season and struck out all three Cougar batters in the seventh.

                WNCC had the upper-hand on Central Arizona early, especially the second when Hunter McCollum was hit by a pitch and then Jacob Jackson had a single, which was the only hit of the game, to put runners on the corner. But that is where the runners were stranded as WNCC couldn’t get a run in.

                The second game started out differently for the Cougars as the Cougars plated two in the first and one in the third for a 3-0 lead.

                Joseph Toubeaux started off the game with a single and scored on a Shintaro Inoue double. Inoue came in to score on a Bryce Peterson hit that resulted in an error for the 2-0 lead.

                The third saw Inoue reach base on a dropped third strike and score later on a passed ball for the 3-0 lead.

                Central Arizona answered with one in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 3-1 and then made it a one-run game with a single run in the fifth for a 3-2 score.

                After the third, WNCC couldn’t get anymore runs while Central Wyoming came through in the seventh with three runs and then added four more in the eighth for the 9-3 lead. WNCC mounted a comeback in the ninth as Dylan Howard singled and then Ashton Ross had a 2-out single to put corners on the corner, but WNCC couldn’t get the big hit to plate the runs.

                WNCC finished with five hits with Inoue getting a double and scoring two runs.

                WNCC utilized four pitchers in the contest. Valentin Blanc started and went five innings in allowing just one hit while giving up two runs and striking out four. Grant DeClue went one inning with a strikeout followed by Mytchell Pollock, who just went two-thirds of a frame giving up three hits, three runs and two walks. Archer Blumenshein finished off the game allowing three hits and four runs.

                WNCC will be back in action Tuesday when they face South Mountain Community College in one game. South Mountain received votes in this week’s NJCAA baseball poll.         

Game 1

WNCC                   000 000 0 – 0 1 2

C. Arizona            000 101 x – 2 4 1

LP – Clayden Brandon.

Game 2

WNCC                   201 000 000 – 3 5 3
C. Arizona            001 010 34x – 9 7 1
LP – Mytchell Pollock.

2B – Shintaro Inoue.