WNCC splits contests with Miles in an offensive, windy day

Photo: WNCC catcher Jase Satterfield gets ready to tag out Miles' Tyler Hutton at home plate for the final out of game one on Tuesday.

                The Western Nebraska Community College and Miles Community College baseball teams played 7-plus hours of baseball with the teams combining for 73 runs, 70 hits, and 15 home runs on a windy Tuesday at Cleveland Field.

                In the end, the Cougars had to settle for an heart-breaking split of games on the day.

                The first game saw WNCC score 10, fourth-inning runs to earn the 18-15 win. The second contest saw WNCC take a 17-7 lead into the fifth inning only to watch Miles score 14 runs over the final four innings to claim the 21-19 8-inning win.

                It was a day where the wind played a big part in the circumstances on the field in both games.

                Game one saw two Cougars nearly hit for the cycle as Austin Cooper and Catcher Gladysh each went 3-for-4. Cooper came a home run short of the cycle while Gladysh was a triple shy of the cycle.
                That kind of hitting will tell someone what kind of game that first game was. Miles came ready to play in the opening game as they took a 4-0 lead through three innings. That was when the Cougars found the offense, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring 10 runs with all the runs coming with two outs.

                It all started when Harrison Hart was hit by a pitch followed by Will Harbison earning a walk. Jude Russell then hammered a 3-run home run to make it 4-3. The Cougars were not done in the fourth.

                Cooper Wilson followed with a single and scored on a single by Austin Cooper to tie the score. Cooper came in to score on a Vaughn Wilson single and then Dakota Alber had a 2-run home run to make it 7-4.

                Gladysh followed with a double and Ren Sato earned a walk to set up Harbison’s 3-run home run for the 10-4 lead.

                Miles came right back in the fifth when they scored eight runs with seven of the runs coming with two outs to take a 12-10 lead. The Cougars answered and tied the game at 12-12 with two in the bottom of the fifth as Cooper doubled in Russell followed by Gladysh getting a 2-out single to score Cooper.

                Miles came right back to score two in the sixth for a 14-12 lead only to watch the Cougars plate six runs in the bottom of the inning. All six of WNCC’s runs came with two outs once again. Jase Satterfield and Russell earned free passes and both scored on a Cooper triple. WNCC went up 15-14 as Alber doubled home Cooper followed by Gladysh making it 18-14 on a 3-run home run.

                Things got wild in the top of the seventh as Miles led off with a home run to make it 18-15 and then had two runners on base where Miles got a 2-out single, but the third out was made at home plate as the runner was easily tagged out by Satterfield for the final out.

                A big key in the game saw WNCC score when they needed, driving in 17 runners with two outs in the contest. Also, the clutch hitting was evident as only two lead-off hitters reached base safely in the game.

                WNCC finished with 14 hits in the contest with eight of those extra base hits. Austin Cooper was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs.

                Gladysh also had three hits and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs.

                Getting two hits each were Alber, Russell, and Cooper Wilson. Russel had three RBIs and three runs scored while Alber had three RBIs and two runs scored.

                Kaden Ferguson got the win on the mound, tossing the final 1 1/3 innings in allowing just two hits, one run, and striking out two.

                After capturing game one, which took over three hours to play, WNCC’s bats ignited early in game two. WNCC finished the game with 21 hits with eight extra base hits. Alber led the way with a 4-for-5 game with three RBIs, three runs scored, and a home run.

                Vaughn Wilson, Gladysh, Harbison and Ren Sato all collected three hits in the game. Sato had two home runs with five RBIs and three runs scored.

                It was a game the Cougars should have won, too. Miles scored two runs in the first inning on two outs for the 2-0 lead. WNCC came right back and plated four in the bottom of the first as Alber had a solo home run with one out. Then, Daniel Chavez singled with two outs and scored on a Harbison triple to tie the game. Sato followed with a 2-run home run for the 4-2 lead.

                Miles went back in front with three runs in the second at 5-4. It was short-lived as WNCC responded with five runs to take a 9-5 lead. It all started with Ty Beutner getting a lead-off double and scoring on a Vaughn Wilson single. After Alber scored another run with a single, Sato delivered a 2-out, 3-run home run.

                Miles scored two in the third all with two outs to make it 9-7. WNCC answered right back with three in the third and five in the fourth to take a 17-7 lead. The third inning saw Gladysh pop a 3-run home run.

                The fourth inning saw Sato lead off with single followed by Payton Denny earning a walk. Ismael Camara scored one run with a double. WNCC loaded the bases and Vaughn Wilson earned a walk to score another run. Gladysh followed with a single to score two more for the 17-7 lead. WNCC left the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

                The fifth inning saw Miles needing at least one run to avoid from being run-ruled. The first batter reached on an error. WNCC then got two straight outs, needing just one out to claim the win. Miles loaded the bases on another error and a walk and then scored the run they needed to keep the game going on a ground ball.

                WNCC had a chance to walk-off  the game in the fifth as they loaded the bases with just one out, but the Cougars couldn’t get the clutch hit to score the game-ending run.

                The sixth inning saw Miles plate six runs to make it 17-14. WNCC went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth. The seventh saw Miles tie the game at 17-17 with two outs and then got back-to-back home runs to take the lead at 19-17.

                WNCC needed two runs in the seventh to tie or three to win. WNCC got two runners on with one out and got run-scoring singles from Alber and Gladysh with just one out to tie the game. The Cougars, however, couldn’t get the game-winning run in to force extra innings.

                The eighth inning saw Miles take a 21-19 lead on just three hits, two doubles and a single. The Cougars almost came back in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Denny ripped a double followed by Satterfield earning a walk, but that was all they could get.

                The Cougars will look to rebound when they have four more home games this weekend when Dawson Community College comes to Cleveland Field for games on Saturday and Sunday.

Game 1

Miles                    211 082 1 – 15 13 3

WNCC                000 (10)26 x – 18 14 4

WP – Kaden Ferguson.

2B – Austin Cooper, Catcher Gladysh, Dakota Alber.

3B – Austin Cooper.

HR – Catcher Gladysh, Dakota Aber, Jude Russell, Will Harbison.

Game 2
Miles                    232 016 52 – 21 22 5

WNCC                453 500 20 – 19 21 4

LP – Jahrell Mendez.

2B – Ismael Camara, Payton Denny, Ty Beutner.

3B – Will Harbison.

HR – Ren Sato 2, Catcher Gladysh, Dakota Aber.