WNCC baseball splits with No. 25 Central Arizona
Mark Rein / Western Nebraska Community College
By News Channel NebraskaCOOLRIDGE, Ariz. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball team got a strong pitching performance from Allard Helms as the Cougars earned a split of a doubleheader with No. 25-ranked Central Arizona College Tuesday.
The first game saw the Cougars manage just three hits in falling to Central Arizona 10-1. The second game was a different story as Helms went eight strong innings in scattering seven hits, giving up three runs and striking out four in the Cougars 4-3 win.
WNCC head coach Mike Jones said the second game was a gem of a game to watch with a strong pitching performance from Helms.
“As a win, you hope that it’s going to give the team a lot of confidence and it shows what they’re capable of doing and the competition that they are able to compete with,” Jones said. “It was a complete team effort, but Allard on the mound was absolutely outstanding, some of the best that I’ve ever seen him do.”
Helms went eight innings in facing 32 batters and tossing 112 pitches in getting the win. Nelson Martinez comes in and gets the save in striking out all three batters that he faced.
“He (Helms) had all three pitches going, had command of everything,” Jones said. “He was attacking hitters early in the count and getting ahead and then was really creating some weak contact that allowed our defense to really take care of the baseball from there.”
The second was a contest that was fun to watch. Helms gave up three runs in the first inning, including a 2-run home run as Central Arizona led 3-0. After that, Helms and closer Nelson Martinez shut down the Central Arizona offense, holding them to zero runs in the last eight innings.
WNCC, then put together quality at bats in scoring single runs in the second and third innings and two in the fourth for the 4-3 lead.
The second inning saw Harrison Hart and Will Harbison get back-to-back singles. With two outs, Ismael Camara earned a walk to load the bases. After Central Arizona made a pitching change, Garrison Burns had a quality at bat, seeing seven pitches to earn a walk to force in the first run.
The third inning saw the Cougars manufacture a run. Catcher Gladysh earned a walk followed by a Harrison Hart single. Gladysh then scored on a Harbison sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.
The Cougars took the lead in the fourth on just two hits. Camara led off with a single followed Burns earning a walk. Vaughn Wilson then singled home Camara and Burns scored on a Dakota Alber ground out for the 4-3 lead.
The defense was making plays as well. In the fifth, Central Arizona got a 2-out double and then a single, but the runner tried to score and was tagged out at home for the third out. The only other inning that Central Arizona got a hit was in the seventh, but nothing came of it.
WNCC had just six hits as Hart had two hits with a run scored while five other players had a single.
The first game was one where Central Arizona scored in five of the six innings they batted. Central Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the first only to watch WNCC tie the game on a lead-off solo home run from Gladysh.
Central came back with four in the second for a 5-1 lead and added single runs in the fourth and sixth and three runs in the fifth for the 10-1 win.
WNCC managed just three hits in the contest, led by Gladysh with two of the three hits. The other hit was a single by Cooper Wilson.
WNCC will have just one game on Wednesday in Arizona when they face Mesa Community College.
“I hope the guys recognize what they’re capable of doing,” Jones said. “If we can play fundamentally and pitch well, force the opponent to put the ball in play and take care of the baseball, we should have a chance to beat a lot of teams.”
Game 1
WNCC 010 000 0 – 1 3 2
C. Arizona 140 131 – 10 10 1
LP – Payton Denny.
HR – Catcher Gladysh.
Game 2
WNCC 011 200 000 – 4 6 1
C. Arizona 300 000 000 – 3 7 1
WP – Allard Helms; S – Nelson Martinez.
2B – Austin Cooper.