Menu
MCC bats stay potent in Thursday sweep
Hitting fever continues to plague the McCook Community College men's baseball squad.
The 'sick' Indians ran their win streak to five games Thursday with 7-3 and 10-3 victories over the Concordia College junior varsity. The double-header was played at the Jaycees Sports Complex baseball diamond.
MCC had not won a game until a 21-14 marathon home victory over Southeast C.C. of Beatrice last Monday. The bats stayed relatively hot in a 7-4, 18-0 double-header sweep over the host Hastings College JV Wednesday.
The MCC offense was fairly potent in Thursday's wins as evidenced by the 17-run total. But head coach Jon Olsen said pitching was a big key to his team's success against the Seward college squad.
"We pitched pretty good both games," Olsen said. "We swung the bat a little bit at times.
"Hitting is contagious. Winning is contagious, too. We need to stay with it. Like I said Monday, I've always felt the kids would really compete. We did again today. The first game was 3-2 (going into) the bottom of the sixth and we scored five runs to go ahead. So we just kept on it and kept on it. Pitching kept us in the game. It was good."
Statistics leaders
Matt Stachura (freshman, Scotia, Neb.) was the winning pitcher for McCook in Thursday's opening game. Stachura went six innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts. Nate Araujo (freshman, Lexington), saw his first starting duty on the mound in Thursday's nightcap. Araujo pitched a solid six innings to pick up the win, as he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts.
Two Las Vegas freshman had strong outings at the plate for MCC. Tommy Barnes collected 2 hits and knocked in a run in the opening game, and he blasted a solo home run in the nightcap. David DeCarlo had a double and RBI in the first game, and 2 hits and 2 runs scored in the second.
Nick Bertron (sophomore, Longmont, Colo.) blasted a triple and scored twice for MCC in the opener, followed by a 2-for-3 effort and 2 runs knocked in the second. Eric Montes (freshman, Colorado Springs, Colo.) also had 2 hits, 2RBI and 2 runs scored in the second game.
The spring weather has dealt Olsen's squads fits, with a long list of games postponed so far.
"Spring baseball is one of the toughest things to schedule," he said. "We schedule every weekend, and it very seldom seems like we play then I think in non-conference we've played two games that we originally scheduled, out of 13 non-conference games."
Hectic week ahead
The MCC schedule will be altered again this weekend, as Saturday's unfavorable forecast will push road games back one day. The Indians were scheduled to visit Scottsbluff Friday and Saturday for Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference games against Western Nebraska C.C. Those double-headers will now be played on Sunday and Monday, with the first game set to begin each day at 2 p.m. CDT.
"Western Nebraska, they are always good. It's going to be a tough test," Olsen said. "We get back into conference. We felt like we've closed the gap the last couple years with the teams in our league. We've played six really close league games so far this year and haven't come out on top. Hopefully, if the pitching is there, maybe some of the success we've had this week hitting can carry over and help us get a couple wins.
The Indians will have a challenging schedule, with games on six consecutive days, staring with the Sunday-Monday Panhandle road trip. MCC entertains the York College junior varsity Tuesday in a double-header set to open at 2 p.m. at Jaycees Sports Complex. Colby (Kan.) Community College comes to town next Wednesday for a single, nine-inning contest starting at 4 p.m.
Coach Olsen said his team's pre-Easter series with Otero (Colo.) Junior College was moved from Friday-Saturday to Thursday and Friday. Otero apparently had a scheduling conflict with the local high school team in La Junta, Colo. Thursday and Friday's double-headers will start each day at 2 p.m. CDT.
Olsen said the scheduling changes are a challenge, but every team in the region faces the same weather problems each spring. But he wants to get in as many games as possible.
"We need to play. Our guys are here to play," he said.
Due to an injury and illness, McCook also played this week without regular third baseman Tyler Vessey (sophomore, Littleton, Colo.) and catcher Zach Johnstone (sophomore Fort Collins, Colo.). Olsen expects to have both veterans back next week.
In their absence, Olsen said several reserves gained valuable playing time and contributed to the victories.
"The good thing is, we got three or four guys a lot of playing time and that will help get them ready for the rest of the year," Olsen said.