Plainsmen sweep Sunday games over MCC Baseball

Northeastern Junior College swept McCook Community College on the home baseball diamond Sunday winning 8-7 and 14-4.

The Plainsmen took the lead for good in the third inning of Game 1 scoring four runs on three walks and a pair of two-out hits, but the Indians responded with three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

"In Game 1 we were right there but NJC just put one more swing on it than we did," said MCC Coach Jon Olsen. "We needed to find a way to win that one in the seventh."

In Game 2 NJC broke open a 5-3 game in the fifth inning scoring seven times to sweep the Indians in the first of a back-to-back doubleheader.

"Game 2 was just broken record of when we don't play well," said Olsen. "…walks… errors, the only way we score is when we hit a ball out of the yard."

The two teams travel to Sterling, Colo. Monday for the final two games of the series.

"We have to quit treating region games like some throw-away summer travel ball game where if you don't play good it's whatever," said Olsen. "We need to learn to compete consistently at a level high to give ourselves the best chance we can."

NJC improves to 7-3 in the Empire League (Region IX) and 21-16 on the season.

MCC falls to 3-7 in the region standings and 14-19 overall.

The Indians will be back at the Jaycees Sports Complex Tuesday for a 1 p.m. game against Garden City Community College.

GAME 1 – Northeastern JC 8, McCook 7: The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second when freshman Mason Regan (Centennial, Colo.) delivered a two-out RBI single.

NJC took the lead in the third drawing there walks, then got a two-out, two-run double and a two-out single to go up 4-1. Sophomore Owen Glover (sophomore, Elderslie, New South Wales) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the third, but MCC scored just once to trail 4-2.

The Plainsmen scored a run in the fourth and added another in the fifth to chase MCC sophomore starter Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) from the mound. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing six runs on five hits, six walks and five strikeouts.

Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth, MCC climbed back in the game with a two-run home run by freshman Dalton Berg (Frederick, Colo.) and a two-out RBI-single by Regan to score freshman Tyler Reyburn (Frederick, Colo.) who had singled.

NJC took an 8-5 lead with a pair of two-out doubles in the sixth inning, but MCC got two back in the bottom of the frame when Glover doubled in two runners with two outs to close within 8-7.

Sophomore reliever Jean Duran (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) retired NJC in order in the seventh. He pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on one walk, two hits and two strikeouts.

MCC went out in order in the bottom of the seventh.

The Indians outhit NJC 9-7 with two hits each from Regan, Reyburn and freshman Carter Smith (Ottawa, Canada).

GAME 2 – Northeastern JC 14, McCook 4: After NJC took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, sophomore Nathan Hutchison (Riverton, Wyo.) led of the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to tie the game 1-1.

The Plainsmen got a two-out RBI-double to take a 3-1 lead in the second, but MCC tied the game in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run by Corey Wouters, his 14th of the season to put him in the top 10 of the National JUCO leaderboard (No. 7).

NJC scored twice in the fourth inning to go up 5-3 then put the first seven hitters of the fifth inning on base on the way to a seven-run frame and a 12-3 lead. Freshman Landon Molloy (Parker, Colo.) was tagged with the loss, pitching four-plus innings, and allowing seven runs on nine hits, three walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore Leif Friedrich (sophomore, Surrey, British Columbia) was unable to stop the Plainsman offense and was unable to retire any of the four batters he faced, surrendering three runs on three walks and a hit. Colby Kaplan (freshman, Parker, Colo.) finished out the fifth inning with one walk, one hit and two strikeouts in his one inning of work.

After recording an out to lead off the top of the sixth inning freshman Kaden Noble (Orillia, Ontario) walked three straight hitters and was replaced by freshman Parker Wilson (Tulsa, Okla.) who finished out the game with 1.2 innings pitched, two walks, one unearned run and three strikeouts.

MCC got a final run in the seventh on a solo pinch hit home run by freshman Garrett Bacon (Tulsa, Okla.).

The Indian pitching staff issued 12 walks and two hit batters and 11 hits in the game. The offense garnered five hits with Hutchison the only player with two hits.

"That is a ridiculous number of free passes so anyone that knows anything about the game knows that's a recipe for disaster," said Olsen. "At bat, we chased every pitch they threw in the direction of home plate."