MCC Baseball’s win streak ends with 14-13 loss at Colby

COLBY, Kan. – The McCook Community College baseball team's winning streak came to an end Wednesday with a 14-13 loss to Colby Community College. Down 14-5 after the fifth inning, MCC fought back to score the final eight runs of the game but lost by a run to end the winning streak at 16 games.

"We kept battling and got back into the game and had the go ahead run at the plate in the ninth," said MCC Coach Jon Olsen. "We just did today what we hadn't been doing the last few weeks -- we gave up a four spot and a seven spot and that just isn't going cut it against a quality program."

MCC scored a run in the first on an RBI-single by sophomore Josh Maysonave (Austin, Texas) but Colby scored four times in the bottom of the inning.

In the second inning, MCC took its only lead of the game scoring four times on a two-out, three-run home run by sophomore Ethan Murdoch (Swift Current, Saskatchewan), his 11^th round-tripper of the season.

Colby took ta 7-5 lead with two runs in the third then scored seven runs in the fifth inning on four home runs to go up 14-5.

Three MCC freshmen each went an inning to start the game for MCC. Those three pitchers included William Coe (North Platte), Ethan Badcock (Adelade, Australia) and Victor Nane, (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). Zack Lane (freshman, Phoenix, Ariz.) pitched a scoreless fourth, but Colby jumped on freshman Blake Banello (Thormton, Colo.) for four hits and six runs in the fifth inning.

With two outs in the MCC sixth inning, freshman Jake Quinlivan (Sydney, Australia) drew a bases-loaded walk to plate a run and sophomore Daegen Morcom (Winnipeg, Manitoba) followed with a grand slam to make it a 14-10 game. One inning later Quinlivan hit a solo homer with two out to cut the MCC deficit to three runs and Morcom followed with a solo shot to make it a 14-12 game.

Sophomore Jackson Bigge (Fort Collins, Colo.) pitched 1.1 innings and allowed an earned run. Sophomore CJ Allen (Salado, Texas) and freshman Ryan Heu (Brampton, Ontario) pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.

Maysonave hit a solo home run in the ninth inning with one out to make it a 14-13 game and pinch-hitter Jason Serafinchon (Spruce Grove, Alberta) drew a two-out walk, but he was left stranded there.

Colby outhit MCC 14-12 and outhomered MCC 6-5.

Morcom led MCC with four hits, two homers (his third and fourth of the season) and drove in five runs. Murdoch drove in three runs and MCC got two-hit games from sophomore Alliskair Descartes (Thornton, Colo.) and Maysonave.

Colby goes to 9-23 on the season MCC goes to 24-13.

"We need to get back on it this weekend," said Olsen. "We're into the home stretch in the league and we have four really important weekends to see where things are going to shake out," Olsen said.

Next up for MCC is a three-game Empire League North series at Scottsbluff against Western Nebraska. MCC is 14-7 in Region IX play. The Cougars are 5-13 in Region IX play and 6-26 overall. The two teams will play a doubleheader Friday starting at 2 p.m. (CT) with a nine-inning game Saturday starting at 1 p.m. (CT).

For all the up-to-date information on MCC baseball this season including up-to-date scheduling changes, statistics, rosters and photos, please visit the official website of MCC Athletics at mccindians.com

                        Empire League Standings

                                                         REGION IX       OVERALL

NORTH DIVISION

Southeast Community College             16-3   (.842)     26-10   (.722)

McCook Community College                14-7    (.667)     24-14   (.632)

Northeastern Junior College                13-8    (.619)     21-18   (.538)

Western Nebraska                              5-13    (.278)     6-26    (.188)

SOUTH DIVISION

Trinidad State College                        11-9     (.550)    15-22   (.408)

Luna Community College                   10-11    (.476)    15-28   (.349)

Otero Junior College                            7-15   (.318)     11-26   (.297)

Lamar Community College                   6-16   (.273)     10-31   (.250)