The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team dropped an Empire Conference doubleheader to Northeastern Junior College Friday afternoon at Cleveland Field by identical 6-4 scores.

                WNCC moves to 22-31 overall and 14-12 in conference play, while NJC is 38-14 overall and clinched the conference title at 22-4.

                The two teams will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader Saturday in Sterling, Colorado.

                Friday's contests were WNCC's final regular-season home games, and both matchups were tight battles from start to finish.

                The first contest saw Cooper Wilson rocket back-to-back triples and Dakota Alber got two hits with a home run and three RBIs.

                The Cougars held an early 1-0 lead through three innings when Wilson tripled in the second and scored on a Garrison Burns single.

                The lead didn't last long as NJC plated two in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. WNCC tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Wilson tripled again and scored on an Alber single.

                NJC went up 6-2 with three in the fifth and a single run in the sixth. WNCC followed with two in the sixth when Harrison Hart singled and Alber ripped a two-run home run. But that was as close as they got as the Plainsmen turned a game-ending double play in the seventh.

                The second game saw NJC take a quick 3-0 lead with two in the first and one in the second. WNCC responded in the bottom of the third with four runs to take a 4-3 lead. Ty Beutner earned a walk followed by a Vaughn Wilson single. Catcher Gladysh drove in a run with a single and Hart then took the first pitch and rocketed a three-run home run.

                NJC tied the game with a run in the fifth and added two in the seventh for the 6-4 lead. WNCC had something going in the seventh when Beutner doubled, but the Cougars couldn't get the run home.

                NJC's bullpen held WNCC scoreless over the final six innings to secure the sweep.

                WNCC managed just five hits in the contest. Hart had a home run with three-RBIs to lead the team.

Game 1
NJC                    000 231 0 – 6 8 7
WNCC                010 102 0 – 4 7 0
LP – Marshall Forsyth.
3B – Cooper Wilson 2.
HR – Dakota Alber.

Game 2
NJC                     210 010 200 – 6 11 0
WNCC                 004 000 000 – 4 5 2
LP – Arthur Saumande.
2B – Ty Beutner.
HR – Harrison Hart.