LAMAR, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team plated 36 runs in taking an Empire Conference doubleheader from Lamar Community College on Sunday in Lamar, Colorado.

                The Cougars finished with 16 hits including a grand slam by Shintaro Inoue and home runs from Roangeraud Fraai and Eli Hernandez in registering the 17-9 win.

                WNCC kept their hot hitting going in the second game as they scored runs in all five innings, including an 8-run first inning to earn the 19-3 win that saw the Cougars blast three home runs.

                The opening game saw a tight contest through five innings with WNCC holding a slim 11-9 lead. It was the sixth inning when the Cougars opened the game with a 6-run plate appearance.

                Lamar started the scoring with a run in the first. WNCC answered with four in the second and three in the third for a 7-1 lead. The second saw Ashton Ross lead things off with a single followed by Tyler Easter getting a bunt single. Hunter McCollum drove in Ross to tie the game and then Roangeraud Fraai scored Easter on a sacrifice fly. WNCC loaded the bases and Bryce Peterson came through with a 2-run single for the 4-1 lead.

                The third saw Ross lead off with a single. Then, with two outs, Fraai delivered a 2-run home run. Peterson then singled home Eli Hernandez for the 7-1 lead.

                Lamar bounced back with four in the bottom of the third to cut the Cougar led to 7-5. WNCC added four more in the fifth. Fraai started things after getting plunked with a pitch. Hernandez then delivered a 2-run home run. After back-to-back walks, Jake Jackson delivered a single to score for the 11-5 lead.

                Lamar answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to make it 11-9. WNCC opened the contest with six in the sixth as WNCC loaded the bases with three straight free passes. Shintaro Inoue then made the Lopes pay as he delivered a grand slam for the 15-9 lead. WNCC wasn't through as Peterson singled and scored on a Jackson single. Jackson came in to score on a Dylan Hoard single for the final 17-9.

                WNCC finished with 16 hits as four players finished with multiple hits. Inoue and Peterson each went 3-for-4. Inoue had a home run with two runs scored and four RBIs while Peterson had three singles with three RBIs and two runs scored.

                Ross finished 3-for-5 with three singles and two runs scored, while Jake Jackson had two singles with three RBIs and a run scored. Hernandez had a home run with two RBIs while also scoring four runs. Fraai had a home run with three RBIs and three runs scored.

                Clayden Brandon started and got the win going three innings in allowing five hits, five runs, two strikeouts and walking four. Archer Blumenshein tossed one inning in allowing three hits, four runs and one strike out. Nicolas Tremblay tossed the final three innings in allowing three hits, no runs and striking out one.

                The second game was all WNCC as WNCC plated eight runs in the first inning and never looked back behind a sterling pitching performance from Hernandez.

                WNCC opened the game loading the bases with one out. Drew Book followed with a 2-run single. WNCC loaded the bases again and Johnson came through with single that score two for a 4-0 lead. With the bases juiced one more time, Fraai followed with a double to score two for a 7-0 lead. Still, with the bases loaded, Peterson earned a walk to force in the eighth run of the inning.

                WNCC added three more in the second with the big blow coming from McCollum or had his first collegiate home run, this one a 3-run shot.

                The Cougars added two more runs each in the third and fourth for a 15-0 lead. The third saw solo home runs from Book and Garrett Dodd, while the fourth Book deliver a 2-out hit that resulted in an error to score two runs.

                WNCC closed out the scoring with four in the fifth. Max Adam singled in two while the final two runs came in on fielding errors for the 19-0 lead.

                Lamar scored three times in the fifth, but it wasn't enough as WNCC captured their second straight win.

                WNCC finished with 10 hits in the contest. Johnson, Howard, and Book all finished with two hits each. Book had a home run with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Howard had two singles, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Johnson had a double with two RBIs and a run scored.

                Garrett Dodd had a home run with four runs scored, while McCollum had a home run with three RBIs and three runs scored.

                Hernandez picked up the win on the hill, going all five innings in allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out four.

                WNCC is slated to face Garden County Community College in a contest on Monday afternoon in Garden City, Kansas.

Game 1
WNCC                   043 046 0 – 17 16 1
Lamar                    104 040 0 – 9 11 0
WP – Clayden Brandon.
2B – Hunter McCollum.
HR – Roangeraud Fraai, Eli Hernandez, Shintaro Inoue.

Game 2
WNCC                   832 24 – 19 10 1
Lamar                    000 03 – 3 7 5
WP – Eli Hernandez.
2B – Roangeraud Fraai, Ethan Johnson.
HR – Drew Book, Garrett Dodd, Hunter McCollum.