MCC baseball team splits Region IX pair, force game three

LAMAR, Colo. – The McCook Community College baseball team split two games with Lamar Friday to extend the best-of-three Region IX Tournament series to a deciding game Saturday.

In Game 1, Lamar broke up a 5-5 tie with bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead and added two more runs in the eighth. In Game 2, MCC extended a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning with five runs on the way to a 10-3 win as MCC pitchers struck out 16 Lamar batters.

“Our backs were up against the wall in Game 2, but we got a couple great performances from Max Mrakovcic and Alex Lozada and that’s what we needed,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

After scoring two runs through the first five innings, MCC’s offense struck for nine runs in the final four frames.

“It took our offense a while to get going, we had a lot of runners early just couldn’t cash them in, but had the big five-run inning and didn’t look back,” Olsen said,

“It’s a big day tomorrow, I like how we responded today,” Olsen said. “We’ll be ready to go tomorrow

The two teams will decide the series Saturday with a nine-inning game at noon (MT).

For all the up-to-date information on MCC baseball this season including, schedules, statistics, rosters and photos, please visit the official website of MCC Athletics at mccindians.com

GAME 1 – Lamar 8, McCook CC 5: The Runnin’ Lopes scored two runs in the first and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead.

MCC came back with three runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore Markus Coronado (Irving, Texas) led off the inning with a single and freshman Josh Maysonave (Austin, Texas) doubled him home to put MCC on the scoreboard. With two outs, freshman Oliver Davies (Sydney, Australia) hit a two-run home run to close the gap to 4-3.

Sophomore Ethan Fritz (Bellevue, Neb.) pitched three innings, and allowed four hits, two earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts. Jelle Bing (Heerhagoaard, Netherlands) came on in the fourth inning and retired the side in order but Lamar added to the lead with a solo home run in the fifth to go up 5-3.

MCC got a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning off the bat of Riley Watson (Sydney, Australia) who drove home Coronado, who’d reached on a leadoff single.

In the seventh MCC tied the game on one-out singles by freshman Brett Cyprien (Flower Mound, Texas) and sophomore Jordan DeMarce (Las Vegas) and a two-out RBI-single by Coronado to make it a 5-5 game.

Lamar got a two-out home run in the seventh to go up 6-5. Bing went 3.2 innings and allowed three hits and two earned runs, on a walk and three strikeouts.

Cade Webber (Kelowna, British Columbia) pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

Coronado had a three-hit game for MCC, Davies and Cyprien had two each.

GAME 2 – McCook CC 10, Lamar 3: MCC came out in the first inning and scored the first run of the game on a walk, a hit batter, a wild pitch and a passed ball. Josh Maysonave made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly as MCC scored two runs without getting any hits.

Max Mrakovcic (Sydney, Australia) took the mound shut down the Lopes until fifth inning when Lamar scored once to close within 2-1.

Oliver Davies was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth inning, Caleb Eiguren, (sophomore Broomfield, Colo.) followed with a single. Sophomore Elijah Munoz (Big Spring, Texas) safely bunted both to load the bases for DeMarce who drove in two with a RBI-single. Sophomore Zack Beatty (Maple Park, Ill.) drew a bases-loaded walk to give MCC a 5-1 lead and Maysonave doubled in two more to make it a 7-1 game

Mrakovcic pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four hits, four walks and he struck out nine. He was relieved in the seventh inning by Alex Lozada (sophomore Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico).

Coronado singled to lead off the eighth and came home on a sacrifice fly by Maysonave to put MCC up 8-1.

Lamar got a two-out home run in the eight to make it an 8-3 game.

Oliver Davies led off the ninth with a solo home run. Munoz doubled to center with one out and came home on a double by Daniel Bannon to make it a 10-3 game.

Lozada closed out the game on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing one hit, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts.

Maysonave drove in four runs in the game to lead the 13-hit attack. Bannon had three hits and DeMarce, Munoz and Eiguren had two each.