2022-23 WNCC Cougar Baseball News

  • WNCC’s Inoue earns Freshman of the Year honors
    May 16, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team made a run at a regional title and one member of the Cougar baseball team earned plenty of respect from his peers after the Region IX Empire Conference All-Region teams were announced on Monday. Freshman Shintaro Inoue picked up three honors on the All-Region team for his play this year. Inoue, from Japan, was tabbed a First Team Infielder as well as being a member of the All-Defensive Team. On top of that, Inoue was named the Freshman of the Year.
  • WNCC falls twice at regionals, ends season
    May 12, 2023
    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team had a late lead and then fell short 11-10 to McCook Community College at the Region IX Empire Conference tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Friday. WNCC then faced Southeast Community College in an elimination game Friday night and the Cougars and the Storm battled with each team getting a grand slam. But, it was the Storm’s eighth-inning grand slam that was the key as Southeast stayed alive with the 11-6 while the Cougars ended their season with the 11-6 defeat.
  • WNCC to face McCook in regional tourney Thursday
    May 10, 2023
    The goal for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team is simple as they enter the Empire Conference Region IX baseball tournament Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That goal is to continue playing well like they did when they swept Trinidad State College last weekend in the first round and aim for the program’s third Region IX title and second in the last three years. The Cougars open up the 4-team Region Tournament at the UCHealth Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Thursday at 3 p.m. when they face McCook Community College. McCook earned a spot in the tournament by defeating Lamar last weekend. The other side of the bracket will pit Southeast Community College against Otero College at noon. Southeast earned a bye into the tournament as the top seed in the conference while Otero defeated Northeastern Junior College in three games. The championship game is slated for Saturday at noon with an if-necessary game scheduled for later Saturday afternoon if needed. The Region IX winner will host the Western District tournament May 18-20. As an added note, Southeast has already qualified for the District tournament as two teams from Region IX will make the tourney. If Southeast wins the regional title, they would host districts and the second-place team would also earn a berth into the district tourney.
  • WNCC defeats Trinidad, moves on in regional tournament action
    May 06, 2023
    TRINIDAD, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team is still alive as they captured a 13-9 win over Trinidad State College in the second game of the best-of-three series Saturday in Trinidad, Colorado, to move on to the 4-team bracket play next weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Other teams that moved on to next week’s tournament included Southeast Community College, who received a bye, included McCook Community College who defeated Lamar Community College 20-13 on Saturday, and Otero College who defeated Northeastern Junior College in three games. WNCC coach Mike Jones said his team played well and battled through some tough innings.
  • WNCC put on offensive show in win over Trinidad State
    May 05, 2023
    TRINIDAD, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team slammed two grand slams and the Cougars captured an impressive 24-12 win over Trinidad State College in the first game of the best-of-three-series Friday at Trinidad, Colorado, in the first-round of the Region IX baseball tournament. The Cougars will need just one win on Saturday to earn a spot in the double-elimination bracket play next weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado. WNCC head coach Mike Jones said his team came ready to play. “Offensively it was everyone contributing,” Jones said. “The entire lineup had a bunch of really good at bats. We had some really big home runs with a bunch of guys on base. Everybody had excellent at bats and everybody was locked in. It was definitely the offensive potential that we have. It was a great day to put it all together.”
  • WNCC baseball team faces Trinidad in first-round playoffs
    May 03, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team will enter the Region IX tournament with hopes of advancing to tournament play in Windsor, Colorado. First stop, though, is a best-of-three series with South No. 1 seed Trinidad State College Friday and Saturday. The Cougars and Trojans will play one game on Friday and then possibly two games on Saturday. WNCC enters the weekend series at 15-33 and 13-19 in conference play. Trinidad State is 28-25-1 overall and 21-11 in conference play. The two teams have played twice this season with each team winning once. The other doubleheader that was slated for last week was canceled.
  • WNCC baseball falls to McCook on Sunday
    April 30, 2023
    MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team wrapped up the regular season by dropping a 12-5 contest to McCook Community College Sunday afternoon in an Empire Conference North contest. The Cougars will now prepare for a weekend 2-out-of-3 first-round Region IX playoff series on the road. Official opponents will be announced later this week.
  • WNCC baseball falls twice to McCook
    April 29, 2023
    MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped an Empire Conference doubleheader in contrasting fashion Saturday in McCook. The first game saw WNCC come back with three runs in the seventh only to fall short to the Indians 6-5. The second game was all McCook as the Indians claimed the 14-4 win with eight runs in the last three innings. The first game saw McCook score twice in the first and three times in the second to take an early 5-0 lead.
  • WNCC baseball takes two from Region IX-leading Southeast
    April 23, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team put together stellar pitching, timely offensive hits, and excellent defense in taking a doubleheader from Empire Conference-leading Southeast Community College Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Field. The first game saw Adrian Short and Hunter McCollum combine on a 2-hitter as the Cougars made the most of their four hits in recording the 5-2 win. The second game saw Eli Hernandez toss a nice contest while the offense got six extra base hits in recording the 7-3 win. The win moves the Cougars to 11-33 on the season and 9-20 in the Empire Conference North division. Southeast drops to 37-13 overall and 26-5 in the North. McCook is in second in the North at 18-12 while Northeastern Junior College is 16-15.
  • WNCC falls to Southeast on Saturday
    April 22, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team had missed opportunities in their Saturday doubleheader with Southeast Community College in Empire Conference action at Cleveland Field. Game one saw the Cougars grab an early 3-1 lead before the Storm stormed back with five in the fifth to take the opening game of the doubleheader 8-4. The second game of the double-dip saw WNCC hold a 2-1 lead before the Storm scored 10 times in the middle innings of the 9-inning contest in racing to the 11-5 win. The two squads will wrap up the series when they play another doubleheader Sunday at Cleveland Field beginning at 12 noon.
  • WNCC baseball gets 12-7 win over NJC Tuesday
    April 18, 2023
    STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team scored runs in the last five innings of their 9-inning Empire Conference game with Northeastern Junior College on Tuesday in posting the 12-7 win. The Cougars got the win with a balanced offensive attack, out-hitting NJC 14-13 and finishing with six extra base hits including home runs from Shintaro Inoue and Bryce Peterson. WNCC started the scoring in the third when Hunter McCollum led off with a double followed by a single by Roangeraud Fraai. McCollum scored on an Eli Hernandez double followed by Fraai scoring on an error. Hernandez scored to make it 3-0 on an Inoue ground out.
  • WNCC’s comeback attempt falls short against NJC 11-10
    April 16, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team trailed 11-2 and stormed back before the Cougars fell 11-10 to Northeastern Junior College in the Region IX Empire Conference contest Sunday at Cleveland Field. The contest, which took 3 ½ hours to play, was one where the Plainsmen scored in four of the first six innings, while the Cougars plated runs in the final four innings. WNCC head coach Mike Jones said his team showed a lot of grit in making the comeback that they did.
  • WNCC, NJC split doubleheader; Cougars capture second game on a Book 3-run homer
    April 13, 2023
    STERLING, Colo. – It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team Thursday in Region IX Empire Conference action in Sterling, Colorado, against Northeastern Junior College. The first game started off well for the Cougars as Shintaro Inoue had a 2-run home run, but NJC scored 11 times in the bottom of the first to register the 19-5 victory. The second game was a different story as Drew Book returned to his hometown of Sterling and read a NJC pitch perfectly in the ninth inning and smacked a 3-run home run to give the Cougars the 8-5 win to get the split on the day. WNCC and NJC will be back in action Sunday at Cleveland Field with one 9-inning game.
  • WNCC baseball drops contest to Southeast 7-4
    April 12, 2023
    BEATRICE – It was a defensive contest between the Western Nebraska Community College and Southeast Community College baseball teams for most of their 9-inning Region IX Empire Conference contest Wednesday in Beatrice. The two teams only plated runs in three of innings with WNCC scoring in two of the innings, but it was Southeast’s 7-run, fifth inning that proved the difference as the Storm earned the 7-4 win to move to 21-3 in conference play and 31-10 overall. The loss drops the Cougars to 5-16 in conference and 7-29 overall. WNCC will be right back in action on Thursday when they travel to Northeastern Junior College for a doubleheader in Sterling, Colorado.
  • WNCC baseball team falls to Southeast
    April 11, 2023
    BEATRICE – Eli Hernandez had a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough as the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped a 9-6 Region IX Empire Conference contest to Southeast Community College Tuesday afternoon in Beatrice. WNCC drops to 5-15 in Empire Conference North play and 7-28 overall while Southeast continues to lead the North with a 20-3 conference mark and 30-10 overall. WNCC and Southeast will be back in action for another 9-inning game on Wednesday in Beatrice and then return for a doubleheader at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, on Thursday.
  • McCook captures extra-inning win over Cougars
    April 08, 2023
    It was an hopping exciting game at Cleveland Field as the Western Nebraska Community College and McCook Community College baseball teams needed extra innings in deciding the Region IX Empire Conference tilt Saturday afternoon. Shintaro Inoue hammered two home runs for the Cougars, but McCook scored three, 10th-inning runs to escape Scottsbluff with a 7-5 victory. WNCC coach Mike Jones said it was a good baseball game and his team missed plenty of scoring opportunities in the game.
  • WNCC, McCook split doubleheader on Good Friday
    April 07, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College and McCook Community College baseball teams hooked up for a doubleheader at Cleveland Field in ideal weather for a baseball game as the two teams split an Empire Conference doubleheader on Friday. The first game saw WNCC slap three home runs from the bats for Drew Book, Shintaro Inoue, and Bryce Peterson in registering the 9-1 win in the 7-inning scheduled game. The second game saw the two teams tangle in the scheduled 9-inning contest with neither team scoring until the fifth. It was then the Indians scored 10 runs over the next three innings to take the 13-5 win to earn a split of the conference games. WNCC and McCook will be back after it on Saturday at noon with one 9-inning game.
  • WNCC baseball team splits with Garden City on Monday
    April 03, 2023
    GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Sunday and Monday were high scoring games for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team. On Sunday, the Cougars swept a conference doubleheader from Lamar Community College 17-9 and 19-3. Then, on Monday, the Cougars split a non-conference double-dip from Garden City Community College to wrap up the 3-day road swing. The first game against Garden City saw the Cougars score first, but saw Garden City score runs in all six innings in earning the 15-5 win. The second game was a little different as the two teams combined for 20 hits and 24 runs as the Cougars earned the 13-11 win.
  • WNCC baseball team tops Lamar twice
    April 02, 2023
    LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team plated 36 runs in taking an Empire Conference doubleheader from Lamar Community College on Sunday in Lamar, Colorado. The Cougars finished with 16 hits including a grand slam by Shintaro Inoue and home runs from Roangeraud Fraai and Eli Hernandez in registering the 17-9 win. WNCC kept their hot hitting going in the second game as they scored runs in all five innings, including an 8-run first inning to earn the 19-3 win that saw the Cougars blast three home runs.
  • WNCC baseball drops two to Lamar
    April 01, 2023
    LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped an Empire Conference doubleheader to Lamar Community College on Saturday. The first game saw WNCC give up seven, fourth-inning runs in falling to the Lopes 11-3. The second saw WNCC lead 4-2 before Lamar scored seven runs in their final three at bats to claim the 9-5 win despite four home runs by the Cougars.
  • WNCC baseball splits with NJC
    March 30, 2023
    It was opening day of baseball for the Major League teams and Thursday afternoon the Western Nebraska Community College and Northeastern Junior College baseball teams hooked up for an Empire Conference doubleheader at Cleveland Field. The first game saw NJC build a 5-2 lead before WNCC tied the game, forcing extra innings. In the eighth inning, Jake Jackson hit a walk-off home run to give the Cougars the 6-5 lead. The second game saw NJC score four, sixth-inning runs to give the Plainsmen the 8-6 win.
  • WNCC baseball wins extra-inning thriller over Trinidad
    March 24, 2023
    Bryce Peterson’s single to score Shintaro Inoue in the ninth inning was the game winner for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team as they topped Trinidad State College 6-5 in extra innings at Cleveland Field in an Empire Conference contest. The win stopped a 19-game losing skid and Peterson said it was a huge win for the team. “This win is huge,” Peterson said. “We are right there. We have a lot of things to work on but we are going in the right direction.”
  • WNCC baseball falls to South Mountain in doubleheader
    March 22, 2023
    PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team played two games against South Mountain Community College on Tuesday instead of the scheduled single games on Tuesday and Wednesday because of forecasted rain on Wednesday. The first game saw South Mountain hold on to a 9-3 win while the second game saw the Cougars manage just one hit in the 10-0 loss to South Mountain, a team that received honorable mention votes in this week’s NJCAA national baseball poll. The first game saw a lot more hits than the second one. South Mountain pounded out eight while WNCC had six. South Mountain, though, had the scoring advantage early, plating single runs in the first and second and three more in the third for a 5-0 lead. South Mountain added four more in the fifth to take a 9-0 lead.
  • WNCC baseball drops games to Luna on Monday
    March 20, 2023
    The Westen Nebraska Community College baseball team battled but couldn’t come away with any victories on Monday against Luna Community College in Empire Conference action at Cleveland Field. The first game was close at the beginning, but then the Roughriders scored six runs in the sixth inning to earn the 10-0 win. The second game saw some fight from the Cougars as they trailed 7-1 before scoring seven runs in the fourth inning to grab a 9-7 lead. In the end, Luna had a 3-run home run in the sixth to take the 10-9 win.
  • WNCC baseball falls twice to Luna in home opener
    March 19, 2023
    The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team hit plenty of home runs, but the Cougar men dropped a pair of Empire Conference contests to Luna Community College Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Field. The first game saw Luna jump out to a 6-0 lead and the Roughriders went on to win 12-4. The second game was offensive as the two teams combined for 29 hits and WNCC hit three home runs. With the score tied at 8-8 entering the seventh, Luna plated two runs to get the win 10-9.
  • WNCC baseball falls to Mesa on a walk-off
    March 16, 2023
    PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team ended their Spring Break trip with a 7-6 walk-off loss to Mesa Community College Thursday afternoon on a back-and-forth battle. The 0-6 record the Spring Break trip isn’t any indication of the team and just like in years past, WNCC always turns around the season after Spring Break. WNCC will get back into action with Empire Conference games on Sunday and Monday against Luna Community College. Sunday’s action begins at 1 p.m. with Monday’s slate of games starting at noon.
  • WNCC baseball falls to No. 3 Central Arizona
    March 13, 2023
    COOLIDGE, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team competed well against No. 3 Central Arizona College, but dropped very competitive games to the 24-5 CAC Vaqueros. The first game saw starting Cougar pitcher Clayden Brandon toss a sterling game, allowing just four hits while striking out three, but Vaquero starting pitcher Theo Miller and Josh Aribal, who got the save, combined on a one hitter for the 2-0 win. The second game saw a lot more runs with WNCC holding a 3-0 lead, but Central Arizona scored seven late runs to earn the 9-3 win.
  • WNCC falls to Madison College in 14 innings
    March 12, 2023
    PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team opened its Spring Break trip in Arizona with a heart-breaking 14-inning lost to Madison College, who finished runner-up at the NJCAA Division II national championship a year ago. The 14-inning game was one of the longest in Cougar history. The Cougars had several one and two extra-inning games including a 12-inning affair back on April 16, 2012, against McCook when the Cougars lost 4-3. Sunday’s contest was one of missed opportunities for the Cougars, but also timely defensive plays to keep the game going.
  • WNCC baseball falls to Otero on Monday
    March 06, 2023
    LA JUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball dropped a pair of Empire Conference games on Monday after having early leads. The first game was a slugfest as the two squads combined for 25 runs and 25 hits as the Rattlers overcame a 11-4 deficit to score nine runs in their final three at bats to claim a 13-12 win. The second game saw WNCC lead 3-0 before Otero scored five, sixth inning runs to earn the 5-3 win.
  • WNCC falls twice to Otero
    March 05, 2023
    LA JUNTA, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team opened Empire Conference play with a doubleheader in La Junta, Colorado, against Otero College and the Cougars fell in twice in close games. The first game saw Otero score all the runs they needed in the first inning in earning the 3-0 win. The second game started out the same for Otero with four quick runs and they used that first inning to get the 6-2 win.
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