WNCC baseball opens conference play with wins over Luna

Photo: Jack McCrea tosses a pitch in the first game against Luna. WNCC won both conference games Friday.

                The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team opened Empire Conference play by taking down Luna Community College in a doubleheader Friday at Cleveland Field.

                The Cougars captured game one 10-6 behind a stellar pitching performance from Jack McCrea. The second game saw Allard Helms pitch seven innings on the hill in leading the Cougars to a 14-6 win.

                The win moves the Cougars to 10-19 overall and 2-0 in conference play. WNCC and Luna will wrap up the 4-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 12 noon at Cleveland Field.

                “I thought we played really well. The bats kind of got going early,” Harrison Hart, a sophomore from Gretna, said. “I think we need to get our bats going in the later innings also to secure the run rule.”

                WNCC is tied for the lead in the conference with McCook and Northeastern Junior College who also swept their opponents on Friday.

                “Coming back from Arizona, I think we got a lot better,” Hart said. “I think we’ll keep improving throughout the season.”

                The Cougars took control of both games early with plenty of early runs.

                The first game saw a strong pitching performance from Jack McCrea, who went six innings in allowing just two runs and striking out five. Carter Reisig finished off the game in the seventh.

                WNCC got the bats going quick with three runs each in the first and second innings for a 6-0 lead. The first saw the first two batters get free passes and then Vaughn Wilson and Dakota Alber scored on a Hart double. Hart came in to score on a Will Harbison sacrifice fly.

                The second inning saw the first two batters reach base after being hit by a pitch. Jase Satterfield later scored on a Wilson single and Wilson scored on a Alber single. Catcher Gladysh had a run-scoring single to make it 6-0.

                Both teams plated a run in the fourth for a 7-1 Cougar lead. The sixth saw Luna score one to make it 7-2, but the Cougars came right back and scored three on a 3-run home run by Hart to make it 10-2.

                Luna scored four in the seventh, but Reisig got the final out on a strikeout for the win.

                WNCC finished with 11 hits in the contest with three hits each from Gladysh and Hart. Gladysh had a double with two RBIs and a run scored while Hart had a double, home run, two runs scored, and five RBIs. Wilson had two hits with a double and three runs scored.

                WNCC took control of the second game early as well, scoring two in the first and eight in the third for a 10-0 lead. The first inning saw Vaughn Wilson and Gladysh each smack solo home runs for the 2-0 lead.

                The third inning saw WNCC plate eight runs on just three hits. Harbison had a run-scoring double in the frame, while Jude Russell had a 3-run triple to make it 9-0. Russell later came in to score on a passed ball.

                WNCC added a single run in the fifth when Cooper Wilson led off with a triple and scored on a Ty Beutner single for the 11-0 lead.

                Luna plated one run in the sixth and then extended the game from being run-ruled with three in the seventh to make it 11-4.

                WNCC made it 11-5 with three in the eighth, scoring all three runs with two outs. The big hits were a run-scoring single by Ismael Camara followed by a Payton Denny double to plate two runs.

                WNCC finished the game with 13 hits. Harbison led the way with three hits, including a double, two runs scored, and a RBI. Vaughn Wilson and Russel had two hits each. Wilson had a home run with two runs scored while Russell had a triple with three RBIs.

                Also collecting extra base hits were Denny with a double and three RBIs, Cooper Wilson with a triple and two runs scored, and Gladysh with a home run and two RBIs.

Game 1
Luna                    000 101 4 – 6 9 1

WNCC                330 103 x – 10 11 0

WP – Jack McCrea.

2B – Catcher Gladysh, Dakota Alber, Vaughn Wilson.
HR – Harrison Hart.

Game 2
Luna                    000 001 311 – 6 12 3

WNCC                208 010 03x – 14 13 1

WP – Allard Helms.

2B – Payton Denny, Will Harbison.

3B – Cooper Wilson, Jude Russell.

HR – Catcher Gladysh, Vaughn Wilson.