MCC Baseball splits pair of games with Trinidad State

MCC Baseball splits pair of games with Trinidad State

TRINIDAD, Colo. The McCook Community College baseball team split a pair of games here Wednesday, winning 8-3, then losing 8-7.

MCC posted back-to-back four run innings in Game 1 to back the mound performance of starter Alex Lozada (sophomore, San Juan, Puerto Rico) and the save by Jordan Muschalek (freshman, Odessa, Texas).

In Game 2, the two teams exchanged the lead in the fifth and six innings as the Trojans matched MCC's two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to hold on for the win. Freshman Daniel Bannon (Sydney, Australia) had a three-run homer in the fifth, one of three hits he had in the game.

MCC goes to 24-22 and 15-13 in the Region IX (Empire League) standings.
Trinidad goes to 22-21 and 13-15 in Region IX.

The Indians will return home for the final eight games of the regular season starting with a weekend series Saturday against Northeastern Junior College (a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.) and a Sunday nine-inning game beginning at 1 p.m. The following weekend MCC hosts Western Nebraska in a three-game series.

The Indians also have two mid-week games against Colby: Tuesday at 2 p.m. and May 3 at 2 p.m.

The Region IX tournament is set for May 7-9.

GAME 1 McCook CC 8, Trinidad State 3: Trailing 1-0 in the fourth innings, the Indians scored four runs and followed that up with a four-run fifth inning.
After a Trojan error and two walks to lead off the MCC fourth, sophomore Kade Wroot (North Platte) singled on a 3-2 count to tie the game at 1-1. Zack Beatty (freshman, Maple Park, Ill.) hit a long fly ball to centerfield to give MCC on the sacrifice fly and then Benny Brockmoller (freshman, North Platte) delivered a two-out, two run single to put the Tribe up 4-1.
In the MCC fifth, a walk and back-to-back doubles by Daniel Bannon and Ricardo Hernandez (sophomore, Ponce, Puerto Rico) put MCC up 6-1 and a two-run home run by Beatty gave the Indians an 8-1 edge.
Starting pitcher Alex Lozada went five and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Jordan Muschalek (freshman, Odessa, Texas) pitched the final 1.1 innings of scoreless, hitless relief.
MCC had eight hits in the game with two from Wroot.

GAME 2 Trinidad State 7, McCook CC 6: The two teams exchanged the lead in the fifth and six innings as the Trojans matched MCC's runs and held on for the win.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, the Indians scored an unearned run then took the lead with two runs in the fifth inning. Daniel Bannon doubled and scored on a Kade Wroot RBI-single to tie the game at 2-2, he later came home on a dropped third strike wild pitch to put the Indians up 3-2.
MCC starter Ethan Fritz (freshman, Bellevue, Neb.) pitched into the fifth inning but Trinidad reclaimed the lead with three runs. Fritz allowed three earned runs, six hits and a walk. Mitchell Driver (sophomore, Sydney, Australia) closed out the fifth inning recording two outs and allowing one hit.
Singles by Benny Brockmoeller and Arjun Huerta (Willemstad, Curacao) set the table for Daniel Bannon's three-run home run to give the Indians a 6-4 lead but the Trojans came back to score three times off reliever Jordan Muschalek in the sixth, duplicating MCC's scoring formula of two singles in front of a three-run home run.
Trinidad outhit MCC 10-9. Bannon had three of MCC's. Brockmoeller and freshman Jordan DeMarce, (Las Vegas, Nevada) both had two-hit games.