Cougar notes: WNCC baseball opens season with two wins
The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team picked up a pair of wins over New Mexico Military Institute on Friday in Roswell, New Mexico, capturing the first game 5-1 and the second contest 12-8.
February 8, 2025Updated: February 8, 2025
By News Channel Nebraska
By News Channel Nebraska
ROSWELL, N.M. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team picked up a pair of wins over New Mexico Military Institute on Friday in Roswell, New Mexico, capturing the first game 5-1 and the second contest 12-8.
The last time the Cougars opened the season undefeated was 2006 when they went 3-0 against Dodge City Community College. The team went 3-1 in 2012 in a four-game series against Williston, going 1-1 the first day and 2-0 the second day.
The Cougars will look to keep the winning streak going with another doubleheader Saturday against New Mexico Military Institute.
Game one saw Clayden Brandon and Marshall Forsyth combine to give up five hits and just one run in the 5-1 win.
Offensively, the Cougars pounded out eight hits, including three extra base hits.
The game was scoreless through three innings. WNCC broke the deadlock with three runs in the fourth inning and it all started as Catcher Gladysh started things by reaching on an error. Will Harbison and Vaughn Wilson each earned 2-out walks to load the bases. Tucker Deal then took the first pitch for a triple to put the Cougars up 3-0.
New Mexico Military came back with one in the sixth to make it a 3-1 contest. WNCC added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Matt Levesque started the frame with a triple and then Jase Satterfield had a 2-out, 2-run home run for the win.
Wilson had two singles in the win with a run scored. Deal had a triple with three RBIs.
Brandon picked up the win, going five innings in allowing three hits and no runs while striking out four. Forsyth got the save, pitching the final two innings in allowing two hits, one run, and striking out one.
The second game was opposite the first as it was a high scoring contest with the Cougars coming back from a 4-0 deficit with four runs each in the second and fourth inning to take the lead and the win.
NMMI scored four in the first for the 4-0 lead. WNCC answered in the second when they plated four. The second started with Kyler Adams ripping a triple and scoring on an Austin Cooper single. After a single by Garrison Burns, Kensei Oikawa tied the game with one swing of the bat with a 3-run home run.
The Cougars went up 8-4 with four in the fourth. That frame started with Cooper drawing a walk. Cooper scored as Oikawa tripled. Ren Soto then scored Oikawa for a 6-4 lead. WNCC made it 7-4 after Soto scored and then Landon Lockwood doubled home Gladysh for the 8-4 lead.
NMMI added two in the fourth to trail 8-6. WNCC went up 11-6 with three in the seventh. WNCC loaded the bases with three straight walks. Sato followed with a double to score two and the third run came in on a Jin Kobayakawa ground out.
The Cougars added an insurance run in the eighth as Cooper had a 2-out single to score Adams for the win.
Gladysh, Cooper, Oikawa, and Lockwood all had two hits for the Cougars in the win. Oikawa had a triple and home run with four RBIs and three runs scored while Cooper had three runs scored and two RBI with three walks.
Alex Renfrow got the win, going three innings in relief of starter Julian Garza. Renfrow allowed three hits and two runs. Cameryn Spence tossed the final two innings allowing no hits and no runs.
Game 1
WNCC 000 300 2 – 5 8 2
WNCC 000 300 2 – 5 8 2
NMMI 000 001 0 – 1 5 1
WP – Clayden Brandon; S – Marshall Forsyth.
3B – Matt Levesque, Tucker Deal
HR – Jase Satterfield.
Game 2
WNCC 040 400 310 – 12 8 1
NMMI 400 200 200 – 8 8 2
WP – Alex Renfrow; S – Cameryn Spence.
2B – Ren Soto, Landon Lockwood.
3B – Kensei Oikawa, Kyler Adams.
HR – Kensai Oikawa.
WNCC softball opens season with a split with Ranger
RANGER, Texas – The Western Nebraska Community College softball team earned a split with Ranger College on Friday to open the season in Ranger, Texas.
WNCC started slow in the first game and then had their comeback come up one run short in falling 6-5. The second game was a different story as Jenika Fuentes tossed a complete game in giving the Cougars the 7-3 win.
WNCC will wrap up the Texas trip with a pair of games against Cisco Community College on Saturday.
The Cougars put together a complete game in the second one as they allowed Ranger to score in just one of seven innings. WNCC, themselves, plated runs four of the seven innings.
WNCC took a 2-0 lead with two in the first. Alyssa Albaugh started things with a single and scored on a Tina Horton double. Horton came around to score on a Fuentes groundout.
WNCC added three more in the third as Albaugh started the rally once again with a 1-out double and scored on a Horton single. With two outs, Sierra Hilgner singled and then Horton and Hilgner each scored on a Kayli Cooper hit that was booted for the 5-0 lead.
Ranger came back with three runs in the fourth to make it a 5-3 contest, but the Cougars plated single runs in the fifth and seventh innings. The fifth saw Adi Duke earn a walk and scored on a JoLee Huffaker single. The seventh Duke single and score two batters later on a Huffaker double for the 7-3 lead and win.
WNCC finished with nine hits in the contest. Huffaker led the way with three hits with a double and three RBIs. Horton and Albaugh each had two hits with each getting a double.
Fuentes picked up the complete-game win, going all seven innings in scattering seven hits while allowing three runs, walking two, and striking out three.
The first game saw the Cougars get behind 6-0 after four innings before they started a comeback that fell short.
With Ranger up 6-0, WNCC sliced the deficit in half with a 3-run fifth inning. The inning started as Kay’Leigh Blair reached on an error. With two outs, Huffaker singled to score Blair for the team’s first run of the season. Horton followed with a single to put two one. Huffaker then scored on a Duke double and Horton later came in on a passed ball to trail 6-3.
WNCC plated one more in the sixth as Tori Travers tripled and score on a Viktoria Sarkanyova groundout to make it 6-4.
WNCC had a chance to tie the game in the seventh. With one out, Huffaker tripled and came in to score on a Horton double. Horton was left stranded at third for the tying run.
Huffaker and Horton each had three hits with an RBI. Huffaker had two runs scored with a triple, while Horton had a double.
Kallie Stocking started and went four innings in giving up six runs on 11 hits while striking out two. Kayli Cooper tossed the final two innings in allowing two hits and walking three with not runs.
Game 1
WNCC 000 031 1 – 5 9 2
Ranger 201 300 x – 6 12 2
WNCC 000 031 1 – 5 9 2
Ranger 201 300 x – 6 12 2
LP – Kallie Stocking.
2B – Tina Horton, Adi Duke.
3B – JoLee Huffaker, Tori Travers.
Game 2
WNCC 203 010 1 – 7 9 2
Ranger 000 300 0 – 3 7 2
WP – Jenika Fuentes.
2B – Alyssa Albaugh, Tina Horton, JoLee Huffaker.