MCC Baseball splits pair of Empire League games with Rattlers

LA JUNTA, Colo. – The McCook Community College baseball team split a pair of games with Otero Junior College Saturday losing the opener 7-3 and winning the second game 13-3.

In Game 1, Otero broke open a 4-3 lead with three runs in the sixth inning to claim a 7-3 win.

"We had chances to score in the sixth to tie it or take the lead but we didn't execute and they made a good play to end the inning, they tacked a couple in the bottom of the sixth and that was that," said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

In Game 2, MCC clubbed four home runs including a pair from Ethan Murdoch (Swift Current, Saskatchewan) to back the complete-game win by the reigning Region IX Pitcher of the week, Alex Lozada (sophomore, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico).

"We did a good job in game two of coming out and playing better," Olsen said. "Alex gave us a good start and we did a good job of scoring almost every inning," Olsen said.

MCC goes to 17-18 on the season. The Rattlers go to 5-23, 4-16.

The two teams play two more games Sunday starting at 1 p.m. (CT).

"Tomorrow is a big day for us hopefully we come out and get some things going offensively early and good a couple good starts," Olsen said.

For all the up-to-date information on MCC baseball this season including, schedules, statistics, rosters and photos, please visit the official website of MCC Athletics at: https://mccookcc.prestosports.com/landing/index

GAME 1 – Otero JC 7, McCook 3: MCC took a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run from Zack Beatty (Maple Park, Ill.).

The Rattlers struck for two in the bottom of the first off MCC starter Max Mrakovcic (sophomore, Sydney, Australia), took a 3-2 lead in the second and added another in the fourth to go up 4-2. Mrkovcic pitched four innings, allowed five hits, four earned runs, he walked five and struck out eight.

"Max just didn't have his typical stuff the first two innings," Olsen said. "He did a good job of keeping us in it, but his pitch count just got run up, he had a good third and fourth." Olsen said.

Sophomore Elijah Munoz (Big Spring, Texas) led off the MCC fifth with a single and came home on a two-out double off the bat of sophomore Markus Coronado (Irving, Texas)

Freshman C.J. Allen (Salado, Texas) pitched two innings of relief, allowing two hits, three earned runs, no walks and two strikeouts.

MCC had eight hits in the game with two from Coronado and two from Caleb Eiguren, (Broomfield, Colo.)

GAME 2 – McCook CC 13, Otero JC 3: After getting down 1-0 in the first, MCC scored two runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth inning, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh.

Markus Coronado put MCC up 2-1 with a two-run single in the second. Caleb Eiguren, (sophomore, Broomfield, Colo.) doubled to lead off the third and later scored on an error, and freshman Oliver Davies (Sydney, Australia) popped a solo homer to give MCC a 4-1 lead. In the fourth Zach Beatty doubled, Eiguren singled him home and Murdoch singled Eiguren home for a 6-1 MCC lead. Elijah Munoz lead off the fifth with a single and sophomore Jordan DeMarce (Las Vegas) homered to right to put MCC up 8-1.

Murdoch powered a solo homer in the fifth.

After allowing the first-inning run. Alex Lozada kept Otero off the scoreboard until the sixth when the Rattlers pushed across two runs to make it a 9-3 game.

In the seventh, Coronado lined a two-run single and with two out, Murdoch hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot.

MCC outhit Otero 17-3, as a trio of MCC players had three-hit games: Munoz, Eiguren and Murdoch. Coronado and Murdoch both drove in four runs. Coronado and DeMarce had two-hit games along with Josh Maysonave (Austin, Texas).

Lozado allowed three hits in seven innings of work, all the runs were earned. He walked five and struck out seven.