It was an offensive weekend for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team as they scored 52 runs in four games in taking all four games from Dawson Community College over the weekend at Cleveland Field.
                Saturday’s action saw WNCC score 14 runs in the fourth inning enroute to a 20-0 win. The second game saw WNCC open up a close contest with seven, fifth-inning runs to claim the 10-1 win.
                Sunday’s contests were a little closer. In the opener, WNCC out-hit Dawson 10-5 that saw a home run from Landon Lockwood as the Cougars downed the Bucs 7-2. The second game was one where the Cougars trailed 10-2 after 4 ½ innings, but plated 10 runs in the fifth to take a 12-10 lead and won 15-10.
                Calab Caciari, who went 2-for-2 with a home run in the second-game win, said the team played well over the weekend.
                “I think we played pretty good. We did good on offense and our pitching kept us in the game and that helped a lot,” Caciari said. “We just put up the runs and in that last game, game four, we came back from a big deficit.”
                That comeback in the second game on Sunday was huge as the team never gave up and got the hits when they needed to overcome the late 8-run deficit.
                “It was really big to come back and it showed us who we are as a team,” Ciciari, the infielder from Evans, Colorado, said. “We work on those situations in practice and do nine outs just to keep our competitive level up and it showed right there where we came back in that one inning.”
                Sunday’s second game was the exciting one as WNCC fell behind 10-2 and it looked as if the Bucs were going to steal a game from the Cougars. The bottom of the fifth was the inning that changed the momentum of the contest.
                Ciciari started the fifth with a solo home run. That home run jump started the offense as the next two batters walked and the Cougars loaded the bases with one out after Catcher Gladysh was hit by a pitch. Two more scored on a one-out single by Landon Lockwood. With the bases loaded once again, Ren Sato scored three with a triple to make it a 10-8 contest. Sato would later score on a pick-off attempt at first that went away and then Cooper Wilson scored to tie the game on an Austin Cooper single. WNCC wasn’t through as they took the lead as Cooper scored on a fielder’s choice hit and Kensei Oikawa made it 12-10 WNCC when he scored on a Jin Kobayakawa double.
                WNCC added more insurance runs in the sixth as Sato scored on with a single followed by Wilson scoring another with a triple. Wilson scored the last run on a Caciari single to make it 15-10.
                WNCC had 15 hits in the win. Caciari and Sato each had two hits. Sato had four RBIs with a triple and two runs scored while Caciari had a home run and single with two RBIs and two runs scored.
                Marshall Forsyth got the win in relief of starter Allard Helms. Forsyth went two innings in scattering two hits, allowing four runs and striking out three. Scottsbluff’s Carter Reisig finished off the game with two innings of work by allowing just one hit and striking out two
The first game on Sunday saw WNCC get an early 4-0 lead with two runs each in the second and third. Dawson answered with single runs in the fifth and sixth, but the Cougars added three insurance runs in the sixth for the 7-2 victory.
WNCC outhit Dawson 10-5 in that game. Vaughn Wilson led the way with three hits and two runs scored. Lockwood added two hits with a home run and two RBIs.
Rocco Harmon got the win from the mound, going five innings in scattering three hits with six strikeouts. Matthew Hazzard and Alex Renfrow each tossed an inning.
Saturday’s game one saw WNCC open the offense with 12 hits and seven extra base hits. It was a 6-0 lead through three innings when WNCC decided to open the contest with 14 runs in the fourth.
The fourth started when Vaughn Wilson had a one-out double. Kobayakawa followed with a run-scoring single. Vaughn Wilson would bat for a second time in the inning and get a run-scoring single to make it 12-0 followed by his brother Cooper Wilson getting a 2-run single to make it 14-0. Kobayakawa would follow with a 2-run double and then Lockwood would score a run with a double. Cooper Burgess would end the inning with a 3-run home run to make it 20-0.
WNCC had 12 hits in the contest with Kobayakawa going 4-for-4 with two doubles, six RBIs, and three runs scored. Vaughn and Cooper Wilson each had two hits with three runs scored. Cooper Wilson had three RBIs. Burgess had four RBIs.
Clayden Brandon went all five innings in allowing just two hits and four strikeouts.
The second game on Saturday saw Dawson take the led first with a run in the third. WNCC answered with a run in the third and then opened the contest with seven in the fifth for an 8-0 win. WNCC finished off the game with two in the sixth for the 10-1 win.
WNCC had nine hits in the contest as Austin Cooper went 3-for-4 and missed hitting for the cycle by a single. Cooper had a double, triple, and home run to go with two runs scored and an RBI.
Kyler Adams also had two hits in the win with a home run and three RBIs. Matt Levesque also had a home run.
                The Cougars are hoping that taking four from Dawson will help them build as they are getting ready for a Spring Break trip next weekend in Arizona. Before that, the Cougars have a scheduled home game with Northeast Community College from Norfolk on Thursday, but that is contingent on the weather. Caciari said these wins should help the confidence going into the Arizona trip.
                “Hopefully these jump into next week when we play Northeast and spring boarding from there into Arizona and right into league,” he said. “This was a good four-win series and we expected it and now it on to our next games.”
 
Sunday
Game 1
Dawson             000 011 0 – 2 5 1
WNCC                022 003 x – 7 10 0
WP – Rocco Harmon.
3B – Cooper Wilson.
HR – Landon Lockwood.
 
Game 2
Dawson             015 310 0 – 10 8 2
WNCC                002 0(10)3 x – 15 11 5
WP – Marshall Forsyth.
2B – Jin Kobayakawa, Cooper Wilson.
3B – Catcher Gladysh, Ren Sato.
HR – Calab Ciciari
 
Saturday
Game 1
Dawson             000 00 – 0 2 0
WNCC                510 (14)x – 20 12 0
WP – Clayden Brandon.
2B – Vaughn Wilson, Cooper Wilson, Jin Kobayakawa 2, Landon Lockwood.
3B – Jase Satterfield.
HR – Cooper Burgess.
 
Game 2
Dawson             001 000 0 – 1 4 3
WNCC                001 072 x – 10 9 1
WP – Julian Garza.
2B – Austin Cooper.
3B – Austin Cooper.
HR – Matt Levesque, Austin Cooper, Kyler Adams.
 
WNCC men fall to NJC, finish second in conference standings
 
                STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team had an opportunity to win the South Sub-region on Saturday, but the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen had other ideas as NJC shot over 50 percent from the field and 3-point arc to claim the 111-100 win over WNCC.
                The loss by WNCC gives Trinidad State College the conference title and the first-round bye into the Region IX tournament March 13-15 at Gillette, Wyoming. WNCC finished second with a 7-5 record and will host a first-round game on Saturday when they battle McCook Community College at 3 p.m. with the winner advancing to the tournament.
                Other first-round games that are scheduled so far include Otero at North Platte, NJC at Lamar, Central Wyoming at Northwest, Laramie County at Western Wyoming, and Eastern Wyoming at Casper. These games will all be played Saturday with the winners advancing to the regional tournament.
                For the Cougars, they were with NJC for the first part of the first half on Saturday. WNCC led 13-10 on an Elijah Burney bucket and the score tied at 19-19 on two Mathiang Maker free throws.
                After that, NJC went on a 20-6 run to lead 39-25. WNCC rallied late in the first half, slicing the deficit to just seven, 47-40 on four Maker buckets and trailed 49-41 at intermission.
                WNCC opened the second half with seven straight points to make it a 2-point contest, 49-47. NJC would change the momentum as they went on an 18-0 run to lead 67-47 before Kellon Harris stopped the run with a bucket with 13:23 to play.
                NJC continued with another 7-0 run for the 74-49 lead. NJC had a 25-2 run during that stretch. WNCC tried coming back late as they got the deficit down to single digits at 101-92, but that was as close as they could get.
                WNCC was led in scoring my Maker and Burney with 27 points each. Maker went 9-of-12 from the free throw line while Burney had four 3-pointers and also went 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
                WNCC had three others in double figures as Elijah Hollins had 11 points while Harris and St. Preux each had 10 points.    
 
WNCC                41 59 – 100
NJC                       49 62 – 111
WNCC
Kellon Harris 10, Elijah Hollins 11, Mathiang Maker 27, Elijah Burney 27, Toms Linis 9, Noah Jones 2, Isaiah St. Preux 10, Dorin Nguema 4.
 
WNCC women’s basketball tops NJC for a 10-0 conference record
 
                STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with their 11th straight win as they downed Northeastern Junior College 62-55 on Saturday afternoon in Sterling, Colorado.
                Saturday’s win gives the 20th-ranked Cougars a perfect South Sub-region 10-0 record as they head into the regional tournament in a couple weeks. WNCC will host regionals March 13-15 after winning the South Sub-region.
                The last regular season game for the Cougars was one where WNCC trailed NJC after three quarters, but it was a strong fourth quarter that saw WNCC get the win. WNCC trailed 48-43 after three and then outscored NJC 19-7 in the final 10 minutes to get their 24th win of the season.
                WNCC shot 51 percent from the field and buried nine 3-pointers. Nataly Dunka led the way with 20 points followed by Helena Kuck with 17 points and five 3-pointers.
                The Cougars will next be in action at the Region IX tournament in 12 days. The Region IX tournament begins this weekend with first-round contests. WNCC and Casper have first-round byes since they won their conference. McCook also has a bye for finishing second in the conference.
                The first-round games next weekend with the winners advancing to Cougar Palace for the 8-team tournament. The first-round pairings will be released on Monday.
 
WNCC                14 17 12 19 – 62
NJC                       15 15 18 7 – 55
WNCC
Lidia Hernandez 8, Helena Kuck 17, Laura Montiel 7, Zozefine Sipolina 3, Nataly Dunka 20, Asia Mitchell 2, Carleigh Pszanka 5.
 
WNCC softball takes 3 of 4 from Dawson over the weekend
 
                The Western Nebraska Community College softball team played strong defense, got timely hits, and had strong pitching as the Cougars took three of four games from Dawson Community College over the weekend.
                On Saturday, the Cougars earned a split, as they scored five sixth-inning runs in game one and captured the 5-3 win. The second game Dawson out-hit the Cougars 10-3 to claim the 8-1 win.
                Sunday’s contests saw the Cougars score early and then held on as Kayli Cooper went the distance in the circle allowing just three hits in the 5-2 win. The second game saw Cooper get the win in the circle in relief and it was a Mykah Klumpp sixth-inning solo home run that proved to be the winner in the 5-4 win.
                Cooper, the sophomore pitcher from Saskatchewan, had all three wins from the circle over the weekend. The defense was a key factor in the way the Cougars played over the weekend.
                “I think we played really good today. I think our energy was higher going into it,” Cooper said about the two wins on Sunday. “We already knew their pitchers and we knew what they were throwing. We just kept our energy up.”
                Cooper said getting those timely hits along with the defensive players behind the pitchers were the keys to the games this weekend.
                “We knew what she was throwing and just get base hits,” Cooper said. “Mykah just pulled in and it was a clutch hit for her.”
                As for getting three pitching wins over the weekend where she threw 17 innings in scattering 17 hits, allowing just six runs, and striking out 11 for the weekend, Cooper knew she just had to throw and rely on her defense, and the Cougar defense came through.
                “I knew I couldn’t strike everybody out. I trusted my teammates to get the ground balls and pop flies for me. I really honed in and I knew I had a job to do and I just went out and tried my best,” Cooper said. “The defense was really big today. I have grats to all my infielders and outfielders today because they really had my back and they stopped everything. They gave so much effort.”
                Sunday’s games were intense. The first game saw the Cougars come out ready to play and plated two runs in the first and second innings for a quick 4-0 lead. In the first, WNCC loaded the bases on two walks and an error. Randi Mitchell then scored the first run with a sacrifice fly and Cooper scored the second run on a ground out for the 2-0 lead.
                The second inning saw JoLee Huffaker lead off with a single and scored one batter later on a Tori Travers single. Travers came in to score on a Tina Horton single.
                WNCC added a single run in the fourth as Sierra Hilgner doubled and scored on a Mitchell hit. Dawson plated two runs in the sixth, but that was all they could get.
                Cooper got the win going all seven innings in striking out three and scattering three hits.
                WNCC had just four hits in the contest, but they came when it counted. Hilgner had the only extra base hit with a double.
                The second game was just as intense as both teams played great defense. The Cougars opened the game with two in the first when Horon got things started with a single and scored two batters later on a Mitchell 2-out single. Mitchell would score to make it 2-0 on a Tori Travers single.
                Dawson fought back to tie the game with two runs in the third. WNCC retook the lead with two in the fourth. Travers started things on getting hit by a pitch. She would come in to score on a Huffaker double and Huffaker scored on a Klumpp sacrifice fly to lead 4-2.
                Dawson came right back in the fifth with a 2-run home run to tie the game at 4-4. WNCC had a prime opportunity in the fifth when they loaded the bases with no outs and couldn’t get a run in. The sixth inning, though, saw WNCC take the lead when Klumpp hit a shot to centerfield for a solo home run to put the Cougars on top.
                The seventh inning saw Cooper get three fly balls to rightfield, where Huffaker calmly hauled in all three outs to end the game.
                Cooper got the win in relief of Jenika Fuentes. Fuentes went three innings in allowing four hits and two runs, while Cooper went four innings in allowing five hits and two runs while striking out three.
                Horton led the offense with three hits while Huffaker had two hits with a double, and Klumpp had a hit with two RBIs.
                Saturday’s games were classic softball games. Game one was a pitcher’s dual for all seven innings. Dawson took a 1-0 lead with a run in the fifth. WNCC took the lead with five runs in the fifth on just one hit and a couple Dawson fielding errors for the win. WNCC had just two hits, a double by Lydia Tibbals and a single by Randi Mitchell.
                Game two on Saturday saw WNCC take a 1-0 in the first as Kallie Stocking drove in Adi Duke with a double. After that, Dawson plated three runs in the third, four in the fifth and one in the sixth for the 8-1 in over the Cougars.
                The Cougars will now head to Arizona for some games over the weekend when they face Arizona Western College and Yavapai College. Cooper said they need to focus and just do the little things like they did this weekend to keep building off these three wins.
                “We just need to keep our energy up and attack early and just really fight and know how much we want to win and just go get them,” she said.
 
Sunday
Game 1
Dawson             000 002 0 – 2 3 5
WNCC                220 100 x – 5 4 1
WP – Kayli Cooper.
2B – Sierra Hilgner.
 
Game 2
Dawson             002 020 0 – 4 8 1
WNCC                200 201 x – 5 10 0
WP – Kayli Cooper.
2B – JoLee Huffaker.
HR – Mykah Klumpp.
 
Saturday
Game 1
Dawson             000 010 2 – 3 8 2
WNCC                000 005 x – 5 2 0
WP – Kayli Cooper.
2B – Lydia Tibbals.
 
Game 2
Dawson             003 041 0 – 8 10 1
WNCC                100 000 0 – 1 3 4
LP – Kallie Stocking.
2B – Kallie Stocking.