The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team split a Empire Conference Region IX doubleheader Saturday at Cleveland Field with Miles Community College.
Claude Bova tossed a complete-game, 3-hitter in leading the Cougars to a 7-0 win. The second game saw Miles score six, seventh runs to come back to sting WNCC 11-9.
WNCC coach said they showed plenty of quality at bats in both games. In the opener, Jones said Bova pitched well.
"Claude threw an excellent ball game. We get a complete game shutout out of our starter. He had complete control of the game," Jones said. "He was shaky in the first inning but once he settled down he was really, really good. We played excellent defense behind him."
Offensively, the Cougars offense did what they needed.
"We had a good offensive day," Jones said. "We had some good at bats. We had some aggressive swings. We showed some power, so we had a good offensive day."
Even in the second game defeat, Jones said it is a game they can learn from.
"We made some mistakes late in the second game, mistakes that we will learn from," he said. "Then, we came back up in the bottom of the seventh where we had a lot of positive at bats. We gave it a run so, you have to like the character and attitude in our guys. We will be ok."
The first game was a complete game from the Cougars both offensively and defensively. With Bova on the hill, the Cougars turned a couple of double plays and made some outs to hold the Pioneers scoreless.
Bova delivered 103 pitches while facing just 25 batters. Bova struck out six, walked three, and scattered just three hits.
Offensively, WNCC manufactured runs, scoring single runs in the first, third, fourth, and sixth. The first inning saw Isaac Taylor rip a run-scoring single to score Ty Benson.
The third inning saw Alex Achtermann double home Ryan Grasser for the 2-0 lead. Up 3-0 after four innings, Taylor makes it 6-0 on a 3-run home run.
WNCC finished with seven hits. Taylor led the way with two hits, including a home run, four RBIs, and a run scored. Stuart Eurich and Achtermann each had a double in the win.
The second game saw both squads combine for 20 runs and 25 hits. WNCC outhit Miles 14-11, but watched the Pioneers plate seven runs in the seventh inning to get the win.
WNCC led 6-4 entering the seventh and when the Cougars came to bat in the bottom of the frame, they trailed 11-6. The Cougars nearly came back, plating three runs, but it wasn't enough.
Other that the seventh, the Cougars were playing well as they 4-1 after three innings on a Brandon Bachar 2-run home run.
Miles came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth with three runs, but the Cougars scratched across two runs in the fourth and sixth inning to hold the 6-4 lead.
WNCC was led by Achtermann and Brandon Maher with three hits each. Achtermann had three singles with two runs scored, while Maher had two doubles, a RBI, and two runs scored.
Ty Benson and Bachar each had two hits. Benson had two singles with three runs scored and a stolen base, while Bachar had a home run with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Lincoln Trujillo and Taylor each had doubles in the loss.
The two squads will be back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. for another doubleheader and then wrap up the 6-game series on Monday at noon. The Cougars are 5-1 in conference play and still in first place.
First Game
Miles 000 000 0 – 0 3 2
WNCC 101 131 x – 7 7 0
WP – Claude Bova; 2B – Stuart Eurich, Alex Achtermann; HR – Isaac Taylor.
Second Game
Miles 010 300 7 – 11 11 1
WNCC 112 101 3 – 9 14 3
LP – Zac Moran; 2B – Lincoln Trujillo, Isaac Taylor, Brandan Maher 2; HR – Brandon Bachar.