Cougar notes: WNCC baseball splits doubleheader with Dawson

Photo: Payton Denny just gets into home plate to score a run ahead of the tag from Dawson's catcher.

                Sunday was a mixed bag of results for the Western Nebraska Community College as the Cougars wrapped up a 4-game series with Dawson Community College at Cleveland Field.

                The first game saw Dawson score four early runs and then held the Cougar offense in check to register the 6-3 win.

                The second game saw Dakota Alber hit a grand slam in the third inning and the Cougars registered the 13-3, 7-inning run-ruled win.

                WNCC, 5-13, will have a pair of games on Wednesday against McCook Community College at Cougar Palace before the team leaves for their Arizona Spring Break trip this weekend.

                Alber, a freshman outfielder from Commerce City, Colorado, said the team came out flat in the first game, but picked it up in game two.

                “The first game we came out kind of flat. The sticks weren’t really hot the first game,” Alber said. “The second game we came out ready. Jack (McCrea) came in, shut them down for a few innings and then the offense got hot and ended up with the win.”

                The offense in the second game got hot in the third inning where they scored seven runs to take the lead. Alber was the big key as he had the grand slam, which was his first of his career.

                “The offense just got hot at the right time and we did our job and Jack went out there and kept shoving and then Jahrell came in and closed it for us,” Alber said. “The grand slam felt good. I popped up my first AB and I was really just trying to get a hit the other way with the bases loaded. I knew that we had to get something going since we had no runs yet. I was just get on top of the ball, get a barrel on it and then it happened.”

                That second game started out with Dawson taking a 1-0 lead and it stayed that way until the bottom of the third. WNCC got three straight singles from Ty Beutner, Garrison Burns, and Vaughn Wilson to load the bases with one out. That was when Alber took the second pitch and sent it over the fence for a grand slam and a 4-1 lead.

                WNCC wasn’t through. Will Harbison and Cooper Wilson recorded singles with two outs and the Payton Denny had a double to score both runs. Denny then came in to score on an Ismael Camara single for the 7-1 lead.

                Dawson came back to score two runs in the fourth to make it 7-3. The Cougars put the came away with five runs in the fifth. That inning started with three free passes to load the bases. Beutner then double in all three runs for a 10-3 lead. WNCC loaded the bases again and Beutner scored on a Catcher Gladysh single. Burns came in to score the 12th run on a sacrifice fly.

                WNCC ended the game in the seventh on the 10-run rule when Austin Cooper walked with two outs and scored on a Harbison double for the 13-3 win.

                WNCC finished with 13 hits with four players getting two hits. Wilson, Harbison, Beutner, and Burns all had two hits. Denny, Beutner, and Burns all scored two runs, while Harbison had two RBIs. Alber had four RBIs in the game.

                Jack McCrea picked up the win, going five innings in allowing three hits, three runs, and striking out four. Scottsbluff’s Jahrell Mendez finished the game, going two innings in not allowing a hit or run while striking out three.

                The first game saw Dawson score first with two runs. WNCC scored one in the bottom of the inning as Gladysh scored Vaughn Wilson with a single.

                Dawson added single runs in the second and third, while WNCC added single runs in the fourth and fifth. The fourth saw Gladysh score on an error. The fifth had Daniel Chavez get a 2-out double and score on a Gladysh single.

                Dawson added two insurance runs in the sixth for the win.

                WNCC finished with eight hits in the contest. Glaydsh led the way with three hits while Ren Sato had two hits.

Game 1

Dawson             211 002 0 – 6 7 2

WNCC                100 110 0 – 3 8 1

LP – Marshall Forsyth.

2B – Daniel Chavez.

Game 2
Dawson             010 200 0 – 3 3 1

WNCC                007 050 1 – 13 13 1

WP – Jack McCrea.

2B – Payton Denny, Ty Beutner, Vaughn Wilson, Will Harbison.

HR – Dakota Alber.

WNCC softball splits games with Dawson on Sunday

                The Western Nebraska Community College softball team put together one of the best games of the season offensively and defensively in game one of a doubleheader with Dawson Community College on Sunday.

                The Cougars’ Mia Migliaccio tossed a complete game in allowing just one run and the offense was ignited with five early runs, including a home run from Abbey Arntsen in registering the 7-1 win.

                The second game the Cougars allowed two seventh inning runs and then couldn’t capitalize in the bottom of the inning as Dawson registered the 12-9 extra inning win.

                Arntsen said the team learned a lot about the team this week and the first game was just an unbelievable contest.

                “I think our success from game one came a lot from our pitching as well as a very strong defense,” Arntsen, the freshman from Dinsmore, Saskatchewan, said. “Mia pitched unbelievable and gave our defense easy outs. I think we wanted it more than they did and that’s why we came out on top.”

                The second game was in the Cougars’ favor as well, but some miscues in the late innings proved costly. Arntsen said they learned a lot about the team this weekend as they get ready to open conference play this weekend at home against Luna Community College.

                “I think overall there was a lot of good in the games today,” she said. “Our defense was much improved from our first doubleheader (on Saturday). We had some solid at bats also. It would have been nice to get the sweep, but we learned lots from this weekend that we can take moving forward.”

                The one thing they learned is they have to control the little things on the field as they have been up and down this season.

                “I think we learned a lot of important lessons this weekend. We have been playing on a roller coaster of ups and downs, so moving forward consistency is going to be key for us,” she said. “Our errors ended up doing a lot of damage this weekend, so we will have to minimize those going forward so we can play up to our potential.”

                The difference in the win in game one and the loss in game two was errors. WNCC was nearly perfect in the opener committing just one error and holding Dawson to a single run. The second game saw the Cougars commit nine errors and allowed seven early runs and then the costly five runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

                The one thing that stood out though, is the Cougars at bats as 1 through 9 came up with big hits to get rallies started. The Cougars just couldn’t get the clutch hits in the seventh and eighth inning to win game two.

                “I think having strong bats 1-9 in the order is super important. We can rely on anybody to do their job, whatever that may be,” Arntsen said. “Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses at the plate, so knowing what works best for you is crucial. There is a lot of diversity in our lineup that comes from what type of hitter you are whether it’s a power hitter, slapper, bunter, contact hitter, etc. I think our speed and base running will also help us out lots. We beat out plays, capitalize on errors, and take extra bases.”

                Game one was a typical of the way they should play all the time as it was a perfect contest that took just an hour and half to play. WNCC scored early and held Dawson in check the rest of the way.

                WNCC added one run in the first as Tori Travers walked and scored on a ground ball for the 1-0 lead.

                WNCC followed that with four in the second as Hayley Blumenschein walked and scored on a Tina Horton 3-out double. Horton scored on a Travers single. That was when Arntsen made it 5-0 with her 2-run home run.

                Dawson added one in the third and neither team scored again until the sixth inning when the Cougars added two insurance runs. Blumenschein and Ellie Soper started things with a one-out singles. Emma Murdock than scored one run with a ground out and then second run came in on a Travers single.

                WNCC had just seven hits in the contest, but made the most of them. Travers led the way with two hits with two RBIs and two runs scored. Arntsen had a home run and two RBIs, while Albaugh and Horton each had doubles.

                Mia Migilaccio had a superb outing in the circle, going all seven innings in tossing just 73 pitches while facing 31 batters. Migilaccio scattered eight hits, but allowed just one run while striking out three.

                Dawson started the game scoring five times. WNCC answered with four in the bottom of the first. WNCC loaded the bases with three walks and then Gracie Holm singles in two runs. WNCC loaded the bases once again and Ellie Soper had a 2-run single to make it 5-4.

                WNCC took a 6-5 lead with two in the second as Adi Duke scored two with a base hit. Dawson came right back to go up 7-6 with three in the third. WNCC had an answer with three in the bottom of the third. The big in the inning was a 2-out, 2-run double by Travers.

                Both teams failed to score over the next three innings with WNCC up 9-7.

                The Cougars then needed to hold Dawson in the seventh for the win, but the Cougars committed three errors that allowed two runs to score to tie the contest. WNCC had a prime opportunity to walk-off the win in the bottom of the seventh as pinch hitters Viktoria Sarkanyova and Dannaca Moss each recorded singles. But WNCC couldn’t get them in to force extra innings.

                Dawson then scored three times in the eighth on two errors and two hits for the 12-9 win.

                WNCC finished game two with 11 hits, led by three hit performances from Travers and Gracie Holm. Jasmine Castron and Tina Horton each had two hits in the contest. Horton had four RBIs with a double and home run.

                Migilaccio started the game and went just a few batters giving way to Arntsen, who tossed 7 2/3 innings in walking just two, striking out one, and scattering 11 hits. She allowed just two earned runs.

Game 1

Dawson             001 000 0 – 1 9 5

WNCC                140 002 x – 7 7 1

WP – Mia Migliaccio.

2B – Tina Horton, Alyssa Albaugh.

HR – Abbey Arntsen.

Game 2

Dawson             502 000 23 – 12 15 2

WNCC                423 000 00 – 9 12 9

LP – Abbey Arntsen.

2B – Tori Travers, Abbey Arntsen.