The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped a pair of games to Empire Conference North Division leader's Southeast Community College on Sunday.
The first game was a close battle as the two teams combined for 26 hits and Southeast held on for the 10-7 win.
The second game saw WNCC strike first but the Cougars couldn't hold the lead as the Storm came back to register the 14-8 win.
The first game was a battle as Southeast struck first with a single run in the first. The Storm added four in the third for a 5-0 lead.
WNCC answered with a single run in the third and four in the fourth to tie the game at 5-5.
The third saw Jack Jones lead off with a double. Joey Olson followed with a single. Jones scored on a Michael Felton sacrifice fly.
The fourth inning was when the Cougars unloaded with four runs all with two outs. Matt Womack led things off by reaching on an error. Jayden Orozco followed with a single and Sergio Tarango walked to load the bases. Womack scored the first run on a wild pitch. Jones than walked to load the bases again which came Olson the opportunity to score three runs with a double to tie the game at 5-5.
Southeast came back to score three in the fifth, but WNCC answered in the bottom of the frame with two runs. Luiz Alcantara led off with a single and Jordan Rollins delivered a 2-run home run to cut the Southeast lead to 8-7.
Southeast added two in the sixth to lead 10-7. WNCC had a chance in the seventh as Felton and Alcantara led off the inning with singles, but that was it as Southeast turned a double play to end the game.
WNCC managed 10 hits in the contest. The first four batters all had two hits each. Olson had a double with three RBIs, while Felton had two singles and a RBI. Alcantara had two singles and a run scored, while Rollins had a home run and two RBIs.
The second game was a different type of contest. WNCC was outhit in the contest 15-4, but the two squads combined for 22 runs.
WNCC started things with three runs in the first inning as Caleb Coats walked followed by Michael Felton getting a single. WNCC loaded the bases when Alcantara walked. Jordan Rollins than doubled in two runs followed by Alcantara scoring on a wild pitch for the 3-0 lead.
After scoring three runs in the first inning, the Cougars were shutout for five straight innings, including not getting a hit in those five innings.
Southeast, in the meantime, scored three times in the third to tie the game and then added six in the fourth and one in the sixth for a 10-3 lead. Southeast added another run in the seventh to lead 11-3.
WNCC finally broke out of the scoreless streak with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Riley Schanaman started the inning with a walk followed by Felton getting aboard by being plunked with a pitch. Alcantara then delivered a 3-run home run to make the score 11-6.
Southeast came back to add four runs in the ninth on a 3-run Nick D'Antuono bomb.
WNCC tried a seventh inning comeback as WNCC loaded the bases on three free bases with two walks (Coats and Felton) and a hit by pitch (Alcantara). Coats scored on a Rollins ground out and then Felton scored on a passed ball.
WNCC had just four hits in the contest. Alcantara led the way with two hits with a home run and three RBIs.
WNCC will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Sterling, Colorado, for a meeting with Northeastern Junior College in an important Empire Conference North Division showdown.
Game 1
Southeast 104 032 0 – 10 15 1
WNCC 001 420 0 – 7 11 3
WP – Alex Wize; LP – Harold Baez; S – Tyler Mattingley.
2B – WNCC (Jack Jones, Joey Olson); SE (Matt Goetzmann)
HR – WNCC (Jordan Rollins); SE (Matt Keating).
Game 2
Southeast 003 601 104 – 14 16 0
WNCC 300 000 302 – 8 4 6
WP – Cooper Prososki, LP – William Potter.
2B – WNCC (Jordan Rollins); SE – AJ Garcia, Matt Keating.
HR – WNCC (Luis Alcantara); SE Nolan Brown, Nick D'Antuono, Zach Johnson.