LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Western Nebraska Community College baseball are still in the hunt for the second seed for the Region IX tournament after sweeping Luna Community College on Friday and Saturday.
                On Friday, the Cougars won 10-5 and 14-12 on Friday. Saturday’s action was a complete team effort as the Cougars pounded out 16 hits in game one, including home runs from Jin Kobayakawa, Matt Levesque, and Kyler Adams for the 11-2 win.
                The second game saw the team get 21 hits with three doubles and five home runs, including two from Will Harbison, and one each from Kobayakawa, Vaughn Wilson, and Catcher Gladysh. Ren Sato also broke a long-standing record as he finished with five singles in the contest, breaking the record of four that was held by nine other players.
                The Cougars move above .500 for the season at 23-22 and to 14-10 in the Empire Conference, which is a game behind second-place Northeastern Junior College. WNCC and NJC play this weekend to wrap up the regular season as the Cougars travel to NJC on Thursday and Saturday for single games and will host the Plainsmen on Friday in a doubleheader.
                The first game was one where the Cougars scored in the first four innings and held a commanding 10-1 lead and never looked back with the strong pitching from starter Rocco Harmon and relief pitcher Cameron Meyer. Harmon went five innings in allowing three hits, one run, and striking out four, while Meyer went two innings in allowing three hits, a run and striking out one.
                Offensively, WNCC got 3-hit attacks from Kensei Oikawa and Matt Levesque. Levesque had a home run with two runs scored and two RBIs. Oikawa had three RBIs with three singles.
                Calab Caciari, Kobayakawa, Landon Lockwood, and Tucker Deal all had two hits in the win.
                WNCC scored two in the first when Oikawa had a 2-out single to score two runs. Luna scored one in the first, but the Cougars came back with four in the second to take a 6-1 lead.
                The second inning saw the Cougars load the bases and then Kyler Adams scored on a fielder’s choice hit. WNCC loaded the bases again and Cooper Burgess and Oikawa each had 2-run singles to score to make it 6-1.
                WNCC plated one in the third as Caciari doubled home Levesque. The Cougars added another three in the fourth, all with two outs. Levesque had a 2-run home run and then Adams followed with a solo shot. WNCC never looked back after that.
                The second game saw the Cougars trail after the first inning 2-1, but after that, the Cougars scored 13 runs and finished the game with 21 hits, including eight extra base hits for the 14-4 win.
                Ren Sato led the Cougars with a 5-for-6 performance with five singles and an RBI. The five singles in a game breaks a record that was held by nine players of getting four singles in a game. The last player to have four singles in a game was Ty McAninch back on February 29, 2020, the first one to get four singles in a game was David Tano in 2002.
                Harbison, Burgess, and Kobayakawa each had three hits. Harbison had two home runs with three runs scored and three RBIs. Burgess had a double with three RBIs, and Kobayakawa had a home run, double, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
                While the offense was clicking, the pitching staff threw well. Allard Helms picked up the win, going four innings in scattering seven hits, allowing three runs, and striking out one. Marshall Forsyth followed with three innings of work with three hits, one run, and two strikeouts. Carter Reisig finished off the game with two innings of work with two hits and two strikeouts.
                After trailing 2-1 after the first, the Cougars erupted for four runs in the second, three in the third, and two in the fourth for a 10-3 lead. The second inning started when Austin Cooper doubled and then Harbison hit the first of his two home runs. The next two runs were scored off run-scoring singles from Kobayakawa and Burgess for the 5-2 lead.
                The third inning saw Harbison blast a solo home run and then Burgess had a 2-out, 2-run double for the 8-2 lead. WNCC never looked back after that to get the win.
 
Game 1
WNCC                241 300 1 – 11 16 2
Luna                    100 001 0 – 2 6 0
WP – Rocco Harmon.
2B – Calab Caciari.
HR – Jin Kobayakawa, Kyler Adams, Matt Levesque.
 
Game 2
WNCC                143 201 102 – 14 21 1
Luna                    201 010 000 – 4 10 1
WP – Allard Helms.
2B – Jin Kobayakawa, Cooper Burgess, Austin Cooper.
HR – Vaughn Wilson, Jin Kobayakawa, Catcher Gladysh, Will Harbison 2.