ROSWELL, N.M. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team picked up a pair of wins over New Mexico Military Institute on Friday in Roswell, New Mexico, capturing the first game 5-1 and the second contest 12-8.

                The last time the Cougars opened the season undefeated was 2006 when they went 3-0 against Dodge City Community College. The team went 3-1 in 2012 in a four-game series against Williston, going 1-1 the first day and 2-0 the second day.

                The Cougars will look to keep the winning streak going with another doubleheader Saturday against New Mexico Military Institute.

                Game one saw Clayden Brandon and Marshall Forsyth combine to give up five hits and just one run in the 5-1 win.

                Offensively, the Cougars pounded out eight hits, including three extra-base hits.

                The game was scoreless through three innings. WNCC broke the deadlock with three runs in the fourth inning and it all started as Catcher Gladysh started things by reaching on an error. Will Harbison and Vaughn Wilson each earned 2-out walks to load the bases. Tucker Deal then took the first pitch for a triple to put the Cougars up 3-0.

                New Mexico Military came back with one in the sixth to make it a 3-1 contest. WNCC added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Matt Levesque started the frame with a triple and then Jase Satterfield had a 2-out, 2-run home run for the win.

                Wilson had two singles in the win with a run scored. Deal had a triple with three RBIs.

                Brandon picked up the win, going five innings in allowing three hits and no runs while striking out four. Forsyth got the save, pitching the final two innings in allowing two hits, one run, and striking out one.

                The second game was opposite the first as it was a high-scoring contest, with the Cougars coming back from a 4-0 deficit with four runs each in the second and fourth innings to take the lead and the win.

                NMMI scored four in the first for the 4-0 lead. WNCC answered in the second when they plated four. The second started with Kyler Adams ripping a triple and scoring on an Austin Cooper single. After a single by Garrison Burns, Kensei Oikawa tied the game with one swing of the bat with a 3-run home run.

                The Cougars went up 8-4 with four in the fourth. That frame started with Cooper drawing a walk. Cooper scored as Oikawa tripled. Ren Soto then scored Oikawa for a 6-4 lead. WNCC made it 7-4 after Soto scored and then Landon Lockwood doubled home Gladysh for the 8-4 lead.

                NMMI added two in the fourth to trail 8-6. WNCC went up 11-6 with three in the seventh. WNCC loaded the bases with three straight walks. Sato followed with a double to score two and the third run came in on a Jin Kobayakawa ground out.

                The Cougars added an insurance run in the eighth as Cooper had a 2-out single to score Adams for the win.

                Gladysh, Cooper, Oikawa, and Lockwood all had two hits for the Cougars in the win. Oikawa had a triple and home run with four RBIs and three runs scored while Cooper had three runs scored and two RBI with three walks.

                Alex Renfrow got the win, going three innings in relief of starter Julian Garza. Renfrow allowed three hits and two runs. Cameryn Spence tossed the final two innings allowing no hits and no runs.

Game 1
WNCC                000 300 2 – 5 8 2
NMMI                  000 001 0 – 1 5 1
WP – Clayden Brandon; S – Marshall Forsyth.
3B – Matt Levesque, Tucker Deal
HR – Jase Satterfield.

Game 2
WNCC                 040 400 310 – 12 8 1
NMMI                  400 200 200 – 8 8 2
WP – Alex Renfrow; S – Cameryn Spence.
2B – Ren Soto, Landon Lockwood.
3B – Kensei Oikawa, Kyler Adams.

HR – Kensai Oikawa.