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MCC drops two baseball games to strong Colorado squad
The McCook Community College men's baseball team probably felt like they let a big win slip away March 11.
The Indians entertained Empire League leader Lamar (Colo.) Community College in a double-header Monday at the Jaycees Sports Complex. Monday's action was postponed from Sunday, March 10 due to inclement weather.
McCook dropped a 4-0 decision in the opener after trailing by a single run before Lamar scored three times in the top of the sixth. In the nightcap, MCC gave up three runs in the final two innings to lose 5-3.
McCOOK head coach Jon Olsen said Lamar is a strong team. The Lopers improved to 19-3 overall and 6-0 in league play. But the Indians skipper said his team missed a golden opportunity in the nightcap after leading 3-2 after five innings.
"Just disappointing in the second game. We're up 3-2. The first two runs we gave them; we made two errors in the inning. That really hurt," Olsen said. "We gave up three unearned runs. You do that against a team that's (19-3), you're not going to win.
"Matt (Parker) pitched his tail off (in the second game), Anthony Hardies pitched his tail off in the first game. We just can't do that (give up unearned runs) and expect to win. We've got to be better than that. Also you can't score three runs in the first two innings then go zeros the rest of the game. You've got to keep the pressure on, you've got keep trying to add runs."
Casey Philpot drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the first frame after Manny Menocal and Ryan Silva both singled to put McCook ahead 2-0 in the second game.
Lamar came back with two runs in the top of the second, helped by an MCC error. McCook answered with an RBI double by Menocal.
Parker kept Lamar off the scoreboard until the sixth, when the Lopers took a 4-3 lead on a single, an RBI double off the center field fence and a wild pitch -- all with no outs. Parker then induced two fly ball outs and got a strikeout to prevent further damage in the inning.
MCC went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, then Lamar added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. The visitors scored on a pair of McCook miscues and a fielder's choice ground out.
Menocal drove a one-out double down the left field line in MCC's final at-bat. But Lamar got a ground out and a strikeout to end the contest.
Parker took the pitching loss in the nightcap, going the distance. Menocal led MCC hitters with three hits, including a pair of doubles and a single. Manny Perez also had two hits for the locals.
LAMAR starting pitcher Sam Wilson turned in a dominant performance in Monday's opening game. Wilson went the distance, allowing just 3 hits with 8 strikeouts in the shutout win.
Anthony Hardies also threw a complete game for the Indians. Hardies gave up 10 hits with 7 strikeouts.
Lamar took a 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to an RBI double. The Lopers had four consecutive hits in the top of the fifth to score two more runs.
McCook had a chance to break through in the bottom of the sixth. Menocal and Silva both hit singles, and Menocal advanced to third on fielder's choice. But the Indians went down with a fly out and strikeout.
Despite the losses, Coach Olsen thinks his team can gain a little confidence with their efforts against one of Region IX's top teams.
"We played better than we played last week. I thought last week we played scared all week," Olsen said. "Today we were a little looser, we were a little closer to ourselves. We just didn't make the plays.
"It's going to come. We just got to keep going. I think today is definitely a step in the right director. Still, its tough to give up that second one like that."
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NOTE: McCook Community College athletic department supplied information for this article.