GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Barton Community College on Monday.

                The first game saw WNCC pitcher Valentin Blanc, Gus Allred, and Rocco Harmon combine on a one-hitter, but three early Barton runs in the second inning was all Barton needed for the 4-1 lead.

                The second game saw WNCC allow six Barton runs in the middle innings while the two teams combined for 21 hits in falling 8-5.

                The first game was an excellent pitching performance from the three Cougar hurlers. Blanc went two innings in allowing three runs with no hits while walking three and striking out three. Allred went two innings in surrendering the only hit with a run. Harmon finished the game with two innings pitched and just one walk.

                WNCC gave up three in the second and one in the fourth to trail 4-0. WNCC's only run came in the seventh on a solo home run by Shintaro Inoue.

                WNCC managed six hits in the contest, led by Tyler Easter with two singles.

                The second game saw WNCC take a 1-0 lead in the first when Inoue singled in Kensei Oikawa for the first run of the game.

                Barton went up 2-1 with two in the third and then led 3-1 with a run in the fifth. WNCC tied the game when they scored twice in the sixth on singles by Mathieu Levesque and Bryce Peterson. Ryan Platt then scores one with a single and Peterson later steals home on a double steal.

                The tie was short-lived as Barton answered with three in the sixth and two in the seventh to lead 8-3.

                WNCC tried a late comeback in the eighth and ninth innings. The eighth saw Peterson get a single and score on an error to the outfield. The ninth saw WNCC mount a 2-out comeback when Oikawa walked followed by Levesque getting a single. Inoue then singled in one run. WNCC loaded the bases after Peterson was hit by a pitch, but that was all they managed.

                WNCC managed 10 hits in the contest with Oikawa, Levesque, Inoue, and Peterson all collecting two singles each. Peterson and Oikawa each had two runs scores while Inoue had two RBIs.

                WNCC, 1-7 on the young season, will be back in action this weekend when they host Miles Community College at Cleveland Field. It will be the first actual game on the infield turf that was installed in the fall.

Game 1
WNCC                 000 000 1 – 1 6 2
Barton                  030 100 x – 4 1 0
LP – Valentin Blanc.
HR – Shintaro Inoue.

Game 2
WNCC                 100 002 011 – 5 10 2
Barton                  002 013 20x – 8 11 5
LP – Julian Garza.