STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team managed just three hits on Saturday and the Northeastern Junior College Plainsmen earned the No. 2 seed for the Region IX tournament with a 7-0 win over the Cougars in Sterling, Colorado, during Pack the Park Night.
WNCC, 25-24 on the season, falls to 16-12 on the conference and will have the No. 3 seed for next weeks regional tournament that begins Thursday in Pueblo, Colorado. The top two teams get a first-round bye while the next four play a first-round game.
WNCC will take their No. 3 seed against No. 6 Lamar Community College, while the other first-round game will be No. 4 Otero against No. 5 McCook. Southeast won the conference and is the top seed with NJC No. 2.
Saturday's contest was one where the Cougars had base runners in several innings, but couldn't get the base hit to score them. In the first, Jin Kobayakawa got a 2-out single but was left stranded on the base paths.
NJC came back with two runs in the bottom of the first and then added a single run in the third to take a 3-0 lead.
WNCC had base runners in the first four innings, including the fourth when Kensei Oikawa had a 2-out double. In the seventh, Catcher Gladysh had a 2-out double. But, both innings the two runners were left stranded.
NJC added three more in the seventh and one in the eighth for the 7-0 lead.
Allard Helms took the loss, going five innings in scattering seven hits, allowing three runs, and walking two. Matthew Hazzard tossed the next two innings and struck out four and allowed three hits and three runs. Carter Reisig tossed the eighth inning in allowing two hits and one run.
The official bracket for the Region IX tournament will be released on Monday with game times and dates for the double elimination tournament.
WNCC 000 000 000 – 0 3 3
NJC 201 000 31x – 7 12 0
LP – Allard Helms
2B – Catcher Gladysh, Kensei Oikawa.