The Western Nebraska Community College baseball opened Empire Conference action with a doubleheader sweep over Luna Community College Friday at Cleveland Field.
The first game was action-packed as Luna hit five home runs and led 9-8 in the Cougars final at bat and the Cougars scored twice in the final inning as Shintaro Inoue had the game-winning double that scored Mathieu Levesque with the game-winner for the 10-9 win.
The second game saw WNCC score nine times in the third inning in registering the 13-1 win in a contest that saw Adrian Short toss a strong six inning on the mound, striking out five and allowing just one run.
WNCC and Luna will be back in action for another doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 noon to wrap up the 4-game series at Cleveland Field.
Short said they played well as the Cougars picked up their third-straight win.
"We played really good. We came back from a tough trip in Arizona and we just came out there and played our game and scored a lot of runs which is always fun when you can do that," Short said. "Baseball is always a humbly game and if you come out and take someone lightly, you will get punched in the face."
Luna entered the contest without a win, but they played like a team that had a bunch of wins. It was also a game where the Cougars knew they couldn't take the Roughriders lightly.
"It is easy (to overlook them), but we took care of the first game," Short said. "We had some missed chances, but we were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes and score some runs. The second game was a lot easier when you get the first one for sure."
The second game was a game where the Cougars looked sharp on the mound, offense, and defense. Short definitely said they played team ball in the second game win and he said they need to keep playing like they did Friday to get two more wins on Saturday.
"I felt really comfortable out there executing pitches which we have been working on all fall," Short said. "We just need to come out and play our game. I don't think anything needs to change. It just comes down to executing when we have to."
The first game was a battle. Hunter McCollum was on the mound and allowed just five runs while striking out six. Luna was staying with the Cougars all game. Zane Hendrickx got the win on the mound, tossing the seventh in allowing two hits and three runs.
Both teams scored one in the first before the Cougars went up 4-1 after three innings. WNCC tied the game at 1-1 in the first as Inoue was hit by a pitch with two outs. Bryce Peterson then drew a walk and Tyler Easter singled in Inoue.
WNCC scored two in the second as Oikawa singled and Levesque was hit by a pitch. With two outs Platt singled in one run and then Peterson singled in another run for a 3-1 lead. WNCC added another run in the third with two outs. Garrett Odd doubled and scored on an Oikwaya single for the 4-1 lead.
Luna came back in the fourth with four runs on back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 4-4 and then led 5-4. WNCC answered with two in the bottom of the fourth when Dylan Harris singled followed by a double by Inoue. Peterson followed with a run-scoring single and then Easter scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly.
Luna tied the game at 5-5 with a run in the sixth on a solo home run. WNCC answered with two in the bottom of the sixth to take the 8-6 lead. Platte started the sixth with a single and the bases were loaded after Inoue was hit by a pitch and Peterson earned a walk. Easter scored the first run after he was hit by a pitch and then Ashton Ross scored another run on a fielder's choice for the 8-6 lead.
Luna was finished as they took a 9-8 lead on two home runs. One was a solo shot while the second was a 2-run shot. That set up the bottom of the seventh and WNCC knew they had to do something to get the win.
The seventh started as Oikawa reached on an error Levesque followed with a single and then Harris singled to load the bases.
Oikawa scored the tying run on a Platt sacrifice fly and then Inoue doubled to score Levesque with the winning run.
WNCC finished with 14 hits in the contest. Inoue went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two doubles. Dylan Harris, Ryan Platt, Bryce Peterson, and Kensei Oikawa each had two hits. Platt and Peterson each had two RBIs, while Harris and Oikawa each scored twice.
The second game saw Short's strong pitching performance from Short and some excellent defense. It was the third inning that the Cougars opened the contest with nine runs all with two outs. The inning started when Inoue singled. Peterson then walked followed by an Easter single for the 1-0 lead. Ross and Dodd each singled to score a run for the 3-0 lead. WNCC loaded the bases once again when Tucker Deal walked. Arturo Montiel then doubled in three runs for a 6-0 lead.
WNCC wasn't finished as Harris walked and McCollum reached on an error to load the bases. Inoue than hit a single to right centerfield that scored three runs for the 9-0 lead.
The Cougars added four more runs in the fifth. McCollum was hit by a pitch and scored on an Inoue double. Inoue scored on a Peterson single to make it 11-0. With two outs, Dodd doubled in Easter and Peterson for the 13-0 lead.
WNCC finished with 11 hits in the contest. Inoue was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a double. Easter, Dodd, and Ashton Ross each had two hits. Easter, Peterson, and McCollum each scored two runs. Dodd had a double with three RBIs along with Arturo Montiel with three RBIs with his double.
Short went six innings in allowing four hits and one run with five strikeouts. Cameryn Spence tossed the seventh in allowing a hit.
Game 1
Luna 100 401 3 – 9 9 1
WNCC 121 202 2 – 10 14 1
WP – Zane Hendrickx.
2B – Shintaro Inoue 2, Garrett Dodd.
Game 2
Luna 000 001 0 – 1 5 3
WNCC 009 040 x – 13 11 0
WP – Adrian Short.
2B – Arturo Montiel, Shintaro Inoue, Garrett Dodd.