MCC Baseball takes pair of games from Western Nebraska

MCC Baseball takes pair of games from Western Nebraska

SCOTTSBLUFF The McCook Community College baseball team scored eight runs in the seventh inning Saturday overcoming a 12-4 deficit in the first game of a doubleheader and went on to win 13-12, and took the second game 10-6.

Freshman Zack Beatty (freshman, Maple Park, Ill.) hit the game-winning home run late in Game 1, sophomore Ricardo Hernandez (sophomore, Ponce, Puerto Rico) had seven hits on the day, and freshman reliever Jordan Muschalek (Odessa, Texas) picked up a win on the mound in the opener and a save in Game 2.

"It was great to get the sweep today as it did not look like it was going to happen in Game 1, down eight runs in the seventh inning but we just kept getting after it," said MCC Baseball Coach Jon Olsen.

MCC scored six runs with two outs and sent seven straight batters to the plate to tie the first game in the seventh inning.

"We took advantage of a couple miscues but also had some really big swings that inning, and then in the eighth, we got a huge home run from Zack. And
Jordan Muschalek was great out of the pen again to pick up the win in Game 1," Olsen said.

Western goes to 14-19 and 9-10 in the Empire League (Region IX) standings.

MCC was 22-16 and 13-8 in the Empire League.

The two teams will play one nine-inning game Sunday starting at noon (MT) to wrap up the three-game set.

GAME 1 McCook CC 13, Western Nebraska 12: The Cougars scored five first-inning runs and had leads of 7-0 after two innings, 9-1 after five and 12-4 after six.
Sophomore Ricardo Hernandez (sophomore, Ponce, Puerto Rico) sparked the big seventh inning with a two-run home run to start the eight-run rally. A Rattler error led to two more MCC runs, Elijah Munoz, sophomore (Big Spring, Texas) doubled in two more and back-to-back RBI hits from Arjun Huerta, freshman (Willemstad, Curacao) and Daniel Bannon (freshman, Sydney, Australia) tied the game at 12-12.
Freshman Zack Beatty (freshman, Maple Park, Ill.) banged a one-out solo home run to leftfield in the eighth inning to make a winner of reliever freshman Jordan Muschalek (freshman, Odessa, Texas) who went the final 1.2 innings, allowing no runs on two hits.
Max Mrakovcic (freshman, Sydney, Australia) started the game on the mound and went 4.1 innings allowing nine runs, seven hits, four walks and four strikeouts. Blake Davidson (freshman, Calgary, Alberta) surrendered no earned runs in 1.2 innings of relief and Tristan Browning (freshman, Haslet, Texas) pitched two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief.
MCC had 15 hits in the game with three each from Hernandez and sophomores Kade Wroot (North Platte) and Caleb Eiguren (Broomfield, Colo.)

GAME 2 McCook CC 10, Western Nebraska 6: The Indians opened up a 5-4 lead with a run in the sixth inning and four runs in the seventh.
Kade Wroot got things started with a three-run home run in the first inning with two outs and the Indians maintained the 3-0 lead until the Cougars tied it in the fourth with three runs.
"We came out with Kade's big three-run home run in the first then Austin Mathews gave us a good start," Olsen said.
Austin Mathews (second-year sophomore, Clearwater, Fla.) picked up the win, tossing 5.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, four earned runs, two walks and he fanned eight Cougars.
Ricardo Hernandez delivered a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth to give the Tribe a 5-3 lead. MCC tagged on another in the sixth inning on consecutive singles from Wroot, Caleb Eiguren and Jordan Demarce, (freshman (Las Vegas, Nevada).
"It was tight until the seventh when we added another 4-spot, Moose was good again in Game 2, he has been really good the past few weeks," Olsen said.
Jordan Muschalek pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing two runs and two hits.
In the seventh, MCC scored on a bases-loaded walk, an Eiguren RBI-single, a groundout and an RBI single from Benny Brockmoller (freshman, North Platte).
MCC had 13 hits in the game with Hernandez going four-for-four. Demarce went three-for-four, and the Indians also got two-hit games from Wroot and Eiguren.
"We keep getting big performances from a lot of different guys it's been fun to watch," Olsen said.