The wind was blowing out to rightfield on the breezy Saturday afternoon which meant it was a hitter's ball park at Cleveland Field for the Western Nebraska Community College baseball team's home opener Saturday with Miles Community College as the two teams split a doubleheader.

                The first game saw a combined eight home runs hit between the two teams, three of which came from WNCC, but it wasn't enough as Miles registered the 8-6 win.

                The second game saw a combined 20 runs scored in the 9-inning game that saw Dylan Harris smack two home runs and Tyler Easter get two triples as the Cougars earned the 17-3 win in just seven innings.

                WNCC and Miles will back in action Sunday for another doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. at Cleveland Field.

                WNCC coach Mike Jones said the second game saw the Cougars finding plenty of offense, including scoring 12 runs in the sixth inning to earn the split.

                "Overall, I thought we pitched really well (in the second game). I thought we played pretty solid defense, too," Jones said. "I thought Miles City did a really nice job in the first game hitting some really good pitches that Hunter threw and they were able to hurt us with the home runs. I thought offensively we got a little out of control in the first game and we got back in control in the second game and were able to create a lot of base running and a lot of scoring opportunities."

                The second game is how the Cougars want to play all the time and Jones was happy how they took the lead in the second and kept the lead.

                "We got out to a lead early," Jones said. "We made a mistake in the first inning and they scored a run out of it, but we did a good job of keeping our composure and being patient with our at bats and getting the lead back early. Then, we did what we needed to do in the rest of the game to control the game."

                The second game was an offensive showcase for the Cougars as the team had 10 extra base hits of their 15 total hits.

                Both teams opened with a run in the first inning. WNCC's run came with two outs as Shintaro Inoue doubled and scored on a Bryce Peterson single.

                WNCC opened the game with four in the second for a 5-1 lead. The second started when Tyler Easter tripled and scored on a Ashton Ross single. Ross scored one batter later on a Arturo Montiel double. Montiel came in to score on a 2-out Harris home run.

                The score stayed that way until the fifth when Miles scored one to make it a 5-2 game.

                The sixth was the deciding frame when the Cougars sent 15 batters to the plate while scoring 12 runs on eight hits. The inning started with a Ross double followed by back-to-back walks to load the bases. Ross came in to score the first run of the sixth on a wild pitch and then Calvin Johnson singled in two for the 8-2 lead. Harris followed with a single and then Hunter McCollum doubled in Johnson for the 9-2 lead.

                After one out, Peterson launched a double to score two more runs and then Easter tripled to score another run. Ross, making his second plate appearance of the inning, had a run-scoring double for a 13-2 lead. With two outs, Tucker Deal walks. Later Ross scored on a wild pitch for a 14-2 lead.

                With two one, Harris smacks his second home run of the game to score Deal and Johnson for the 17-2 lead.

                Miles scored one in the seventh, but it wasn't enough as Nick Tremblay shut the door down for the win.

                Harris and Ross each had three hits in the contest. Harris had two home runs with five RBIs and three runs scored, while Ross had two doubles with three runs scored and two RBIs. Also collecting two hits each were McCollum, Peterson, and Easter. Peterson had three RBIs.

                Adrian Short picked up the win, going five innings in allowing two hits and two runs. Short walked four and struck out six. Tremblay tossed the final two innings in allowing four hits with one run, while striking out two.

                The first game started off wild as both teams had home runs in the first inning. Miles grabbed a 3-0 lead to start the game on back-to-back home runs. WNCC answered with two runs in the first as Peterson had a 2-out, 2-run home run to trail Miles 3-2.

                WNCC tied the game with a single run in the third as Inoue led off with a solo home run.

                Miles came right back in the fourth with two runs on a 2-run home run. The Cougars responded with a single run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Inoue that scored Mathieu Levesque to trail 5-4.

                Miles added three more in the fifth with two outs on back-to-back home runs to lead 8-4.

                WNCC mounted a comeback in the sixth when Peterson singled with two outs. Easter than smacked a 2-run home run to make it 8-6.

                WNCC managed seven hits in game one. Peterson and Easter each had two hits with two RBIs. Peterson scored twice.

Game 1
Miles                    300 230 0 – 8 8 0
WNCC                 201 102 0 – 6 7 1
LP – Hunter McCollum.
2B – Ashton Ross.
HR – Shintaro Inoue, Bryce Peterson, Tyler Easter.

Game 2
Miles                    100 010 1 – 3 6 0
WNCC                 140 00(12) x – 17 15 1
WP – Adrian Short.
2B – Ashton Ross (2), Arturo Montiel, Hunter McCollum, Shintaro Inoue, Bryce Peterson.
3B – Tyler Easter (2).
HR – Dylan Harris (2).