PUEBLO, Colo. – Cooper Wilson had six RBIs including a grand slam to help the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team stay alive at the Region IX tournament in Pueblo, Colorado, with a commanding 16-7 win over Otero College Friday.
The Cougars will have another elimination game Saturday when they face Southeast Community College at 11 a.m. A win will move the Cougars into another elimination game at 5 p.m. against the loser of the winner's bracket game between McCook Community College and Northeastern Junior College.
Other scores on Friday in the winner's bracket saw NJC register an 8-2 win over Otero and McCook survived and got by Southeast 9-5.
The championship games are slated for Sunday at Damon Runyon Field Sports Complex in Pueblo, Colorado. The winner of the tournament hosts the Western District Finals next weekend and if NJC wins the tournament the runner-up will also qualify for the Western District tourney.
Friday's game was one where the Cougars dominated, scoring in six of the eight innings.
WNCC got a strong start on the mound from Carter Reisig, who went 5.1 innings and did not allow a run through five innings. Reisig allowed four runs in the sixth while striking out three and scattering six hits.
The relief pitchers were solid as a group. Jack McCrea, Trevor Beutner, and Nelson Martinez allowed just two hits and three runs in the final three innings. Martinez got the win, finishing the game with 1.1 innings pitched in striking out two and allowing just one walk.
Offensively, the Cougars bats were red hot, getting 18 hits compared to eight for Otero. Of the 18 hits, seven went for extra bases.
Cooper Wilson had the hot bat, going 4-for-5 with six RBIs including an eighth inning grand slam. Will Harbison was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle as the sophomore went 3-for-5 with a single, double, and triple with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Jude Russell also tallied three hits with a double and two RBIs. Vaughn Wilson and Jase Satterfield each had two hits. Vaughn Wilson had a double and home run. Wilson's home run ended the game in the eighth-inning with his two-run blast for the walk-off winner.
WNCC was the first to get on the board with single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings. WNCC then added two in the fifth for a 5-0 lead.
The second saw Russell single home Harrison Hart for the 1-0 lead. The third frame saw Harbison double home Ty Beutner, while the fourth was Satterfield's double that scored Dakota Alber.
The fifth saw Vaughn Wilson lead off with a double followed by a single by Harbison. Catcher Gladysh scored Wilson and then Cooper Wilson singled home Harbison for the 5-0 lead.
Otero came back with five in the sixth to tie the contest. The Rattlers went in front 7-5 with two runs in the seventh. WNCC kept hammering away as they plated two in the seventh to tie the contest at 7-7. The Cougars' half of the seventh saw four straight singles including run-scoring singles by Cooper Wilson and Russell.
Nelson held Otero scoreless in the eighth and the Cougars went to town scoring runs in the eighth with nine runs on just four hits. Ty Beutner and Vaughn Wilson led off the frame with walks followed by Harbison ripping a triple to plate both runners. WNCC loaded the bases with no outs when Cooper Wilson stepped to the plate and launched a towering shot over the left-field fence for a grand slam and a 13-7 lead.
WNCC wasn't through as Russell doubled and scored on a fielding error for the 14-7 lead. With two outs, Beutner was hit by a pitch and Vaughn Wilson ended the game by taking the first pitch and rocketing it over the center-field fence for a two-run home run that ended the game on the eight-run rule.
Otero 000 005 20 – 7 8 1
WNCC 011 120 29 – 16 18 3
WP – Nelson Martinez.
2B – Jase Satterfield, Jude Russell, Vaughn Wilson, Will Harbison.
3B – Will Harbison.
HR – Cooper Wilson, Vaughn Wilson.