Indians blank Trojans for seventh straight win
Five McCook Community College pitchers combined for a 10-0 shutout Tuesday at home over Colby Community College for the Indians’ seventh straight win.
“I was extremely proud of the guys that threw today,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen. “I thought they really competed and did a great job of pounding the zone with multiple pitches.”
The five pitchers allowed four hits, (three singles and a double), two walks while striking out six. MCC broke up a scoreless tie in the third inning, scoring three runs, then added four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to end the game in the seventh on the 10-run rule.
“I thought we just played a good game today, took advantage of a few mistakes that were presented to us, but I’ve also been involved with plenty of teams that haven’t done that,” said Olsen.
Freshman Isiah Lopez (Midland, Texas) drew the starting assignment on the mound for MCC and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and three strikeouts.
Sophomore Owen Weales (Bowmanville, Ontario) doubled to lead off the MCC third. Redshirt freshman Bunji Nakao (Auckland, New Zealand) walked and freshman Kieren Cutler (Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador) singled to load the bases. Matthew Botticelli (Edmonton, Alberta) drove in Weales with a sacrifice fly and Nakao moved up to third and later scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore Ben Heathcock (Little Elm, Texas) followed with a sacrifice fly to put MCC up 3-0.
Chaise Chabi (Sydney, New South Wales) a sophomore transfer from Clarendon College saw his first action of the season and pitched a scoreless fourth.
“It was great to see Chabi back out there, it’s been a long road back from injury and I am proud of him, just like I am all our guys,” said Olsen. “College athletics isn’t easy and it’s a big commitment so whenever guys get an opportunity and succeed that’s the best part for me.”
Sophomore Kayden Frizzell (Littleton, Colo.) followed Chabi on the mound with a scoreless fifth inning, allowing one hit and a walk.
Weales and Nakoa ignited the MCC offense in the fifth when Weales was hit by a pitch and Nakao singed to lead off the inning. With two outs, sophomore Corbin Lochhead (Vegreville, Alberta) walked with the bases loaded to make it 4-0 and back-to-back Colby errors let two more runs come home. Freshman Kon Yoshimura (Nagasaki, Japan) singled in a run to put MCC up 7-0.
Sophomore Kaden Noble (Orillia, Ontario) came on in relief in the sixth inning and allowed one hit and a walk and struck out two.
Nakoa singled to lead off the sixth inning and back-to-back walks to Cutler and Botticelli loaded the bases. Heathcock drove in Nakoa on a fielder’s choice. Lockhead drove in Botticelli on a fielder’s choice and Heathcock scored on a passed ball to give MCC a 10-0 lead.
Freshman Timmy Hunt (Ashland, Neb.) pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
The Indians had seven hits and drew eight walks. Nakoa was the only player with two hits. Cutler got on base three times with a pair of walks and a single. Lochhead had two RBIs.
Colby goes to 14-28 on the year.
MCC improves to 33-9.
The Indians are tied for first place in the Region IX standings at 13-3 with Northeastern Junior College.
“It’s time to have a good practice tomorrow and Thursday and get ready to go for the weekend,” said Olsen.
On Friday MCC welcomes Luna Community College to the Jaycees Sports Complex for the first of back-to-back doubleheaders. First pitch both days will be at noon. The Indians have won six straight Region IX games and are 15-4 at the Jaycees Sports Complex. The Roughriders are 5-11 and tied for seventh place in the region and are 11-29 overall.
Up-to-date information about MCC baseball including up-to-date schedule and changes, livestream links for home games, rosters, photos, statistics and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com