MCC Baseball takes two from Trinidad State
TRINIDAD, Colo. – The McCook Community College baseball team scored 34 runs Saturday in a doubleheader sweep over Trinidad State. MCC won 13-2 and 21-11.
“It’s always good to be able to go on the road and get a region sweep,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen. “We played very clean and put some really good swings on it.”
Sophomore Blake Dale (Riverton, Wyo.) hit two home runs and drove in four in Game 1 and sophomore Aiden Johnson (Westminster, Colo.) struck out nine in a complete-game win on the mound.
“Blake Dale had a great day today both offensively and defensively, he is playing at a high level right now,” Olsen said. “Aiden threw a really nice game, he goes out every weekend in Game 1 and gives us a chance to win, he’s been really good.”
The Indians scored in every inning of Game 2 sending out four home runs in the game – including another by Dale as MCC ended the game by the 10-run rule after eight innings. Dale went six-for-nine on the afternoon with three home runs and nine RBIs.
“In Game 2 it was just kind of a game of keeping our foot on the gas and just really kept swinging all game,” said Olsen. “Trinidad wouldn’t give in they had a couple good innings.”
MCC improves to 10-4 in the Empire League and 18-17 overall.
Trinidad State falls to 4-10 and 12-27 overall.
The two teams conclude their four-game set Sunday with two games starting at 1 p.m.
GAME 1 – McCook CC 13, Trinidad State 2: The Indians scored six runs in the second inning – all with two outs -- to take charge of the game. Blake Dale broke the ice with a two-run home run. Luke Bies (sophomore, La Vista) put MCC up 4-0 with a two-run double, sophomore Nathan Hutchison (Riverton, Wyo.) doubled home Bies and sophomore Michael Quick (Oshawa, Ontario) capped the inning with an RBI-single.
Trinidad posted single runs in the third and fourth inning to make it a 6-2 game but MCC got those runs back with a run in the fifth on a leadoff single by Cory Wouters (freshman, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), a Trinidad error and a two-out RBI-single by sophomore Will Edwards (Sydney, Australia). Hutchison was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Quick.
Leading 8-2 in the seventh, the Indians put the game away with five runs. Dale smacked a two-run home run, Hutchison hit a two-out RBI-double, a Trinidad error allowed another run to score and sophomore Jackson Yeager (Omaha Westside) made it a 13-2 game with an RBI-single.
Johnson improved to 6-1 on the season, pitching seven innings, allowing nine hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.
MCC had 14 hits led by three each by Dale and Yeager. Hutchison and sophomore Jake Quinlivan (Sydney, Australia) both had two hits.
GAME 2 – McCook CC 21, Trinidad State 11: Michael Quick hit a two-out single in the first and scored the first run of the game on an RBI-double by Cory Wouters. Luke Bies hit a two-run homer in the three-run second inning to lead 4-0.
MCC starter Leif Friedrich (freshman, Surrey, British Columbia) hit two batters in the second to set up the Trinidad offense to make it a 4-2 game. Jackson Yeager homered to lead off the third and later Dale hit his team-leading 10th home run, a three-run shot to put MCC up 8-2 and added another run in the third. Friedrich went two innings, allowed two runs on two hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
Sophomore Blake Benallo (Thornton, Colo.) pitched 1.2 innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits, two walks and a strikeout as Trinidad scored five runs in the fourth to make it a 9-7 game.
Jake Quinlivan singled home Dale in the fifth inning and later Michael Quick hit an inside-the-park grand slam to put MCC up 14-7.
Freshman Tobey Cassino (Arvada, Colo.) came on in relief in the fifth and pitched the final 4.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
“I thought Tobey was pretty good and kept them down to let our offense work,” said Olsen.
MCC added three in the sixth on a two-run Bies RBI-single and a sacrifice fly by Nathan Hutchison, two in the seventh on a walk and a sacrifice fly and two more in the eighth on a two-run sacrifice fly by Dale.
The Indians outhit the Trojans 17-13 and played errorless ball in the field. Dale and Will Edwards both had three-hit games with Dale driving in five, Bies driving in five on two hits and Quick driving in four runs with his two hits.
