Clarendon sweeps MCC baseball with 18-11 win

CLARENDON, Texas – Down 9-1 in the fifth inning, the McCook Community College baseball team responded with a six-run fifth inning Saturday and added two runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take an 11-10 lead. However, Clarendon College scored eight runs in the final two frames to down MCC 18-11.

The Bulldogs swept the three-game series.

“We just keep beating ourselves,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

MCC committed eight errors on the day leading to 14 unearned runs.

After MCC took the 11-10 lead in the seventh, Clarendon scored three runs in the seventh to lead 13-11, then put the game away with five more runs in the eighth.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Malone (Bennington) started the game on the mound. He pitched four innings and none of the nine runs he allowed were earned. He allowed five hits, one walk and struck out two.

Down 7-0 in the fourth, MCC got on the scoreboard on an error, a hit batter and an RBI-single by sophomore Blake Dale, (Riverton, Wyo.). The Bulldogs scored two runs in the bottom of the frame to lead 9-1.

A pair of Clarendon walks opened the door for MCC in the fifth. Freshman Luke Bies (La Vista) started the comeback with a two-run double. A single by Jackson Yeager (Omaha) made it a 9-4 game then a two-out, three-run home run by freshman Nathan Hutchison (Riverton, Wyo.) brought the score to 9-7.

Clarendon took a 10-7 lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth.

Yeager brought MCC closer with a two-out, two-run home run in the sixth. Dale tripled to lead off the seventh and tied the score on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Cory Wouters (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) put MCC up 11-10.

“It was good to see us fight back from being down 9-1 and take the lead but then we just couldn’t do what we needed to to finish it off,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

Sophomore Aiden Johnson (Westminster, Colo.) came on in the fifth and went three innings, allowing six hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

The Bulldogs scored three times in the seventh to take a 13-11 lead and added five more runs in the eighth.

Freshman Tobey Cassino (Arvada, Colo.) came on in the eighth and gave up two earned runs and freshman Leif Friedrich (Surrey, British Columbia) pitched the final inning, allowing two unearned runs on a hit and a walk.

MCC had 11 hits in the game including three by Yeager and two by Dale and Wouters.

“There are flashes at times but at the end of the day until we can put complete seven and nine-inning games together it’s going to be an uphill climb, but we’ll keep working,” said Olsen.

Clarendon goes to 4-1 on the season, MCC falls to 1-7.

“We have a long way to go, we just have to keep working to try and get better,” said Olsen.

The Indians will play their home opener Friday when they host Northeast Community College in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

All the latest information for MCC baseball including up-to-date schedule and changes as well as statistics, rosters and photos can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com