Indians take Otero series with Saturday split

The McCook Community College baseball team took its first Region IX series of the season three games to one with a doubleheader split Saturday. MCC took the first game 15-6 and lost the finale 11-5.

“It was good to get back going in the right direction this weekend, but a disappointing final game,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

Down 2-1 in Game 1 Saturday, the Indians erupted for 10 runs in the fifth inning on the way to the win in seven innings. Sophomore Cory Wouters (sophomore Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) led an 18-hit attack with four hits. Starting pitcher Aviv Bobrov (Shekhanya, Israel) finished one batter shy of a complete game but picked up the win.

“We got a great start from Aviv, he was really good and then in the 10-run inning we just executed and strung a bunch of hits together,” said Olsen.

MCC never led in Game 2, getting down 3-0, tying the game 3-3 in the third, they gave up the lead for good surrendering three runs in the fourth and allowed five runs in the final two innings of the nine-inning game.

“We just didn’t get anything going at the plate really and just didn’t play quite as clean as we needed too, couple too many free passes, made couple miscues mental and physical on defense,” said Olsen.

The Rattlers go to 8-8 in the Empire League Standings and 11-27 overall.

The Indians go to 6-10 in the standings and 18-22 overall.

“We need to do just a little better job staying focused on the whole weekend, but like I said with where we were at, 3-1 is a nice weekend,” said Olsen. “We have three more Region IX weekends that will all be big and we’re looking forward to it.”

MCC will have six home games in the next 10 days starting with a home game with Colby Monday with first pitch at 3 p.m. at the Jaycees Sports Complex. The Indians will host Trinidad State for four region games next weekend with home doubleheaders Friday and Saturday starting at 1 p.m. Colby returns to McCook on April 22 for a nine-inning game.

For all the latest information about MCC baseball including schedule and schedule changes, livestream links, statistics, rosters, photos and more please visit the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com 

GAME 1 – McCook 15, Otero 6: Freshman catcher Tyler Reyburn (Frederick, Colo.) doubled with one out in the fourth and later scored on a passed ball for the first run of the game.

Starting pitcher Aviv Bobrov (Shekhanya, Israel) held the Rattlers scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Otero capitalized on a pair of singles to lead off the inning, a one-out walk, then scored on a sacrifice fly and an RBI-single to go up 2-1.

MCC sent 15 hitters to the plate in a 10-run fifth inning. The Indians got one-out singles from Nathan Hutchison (sophomore, Riverton, Wyo.) and Carter Smith (freshman, Ottawa, Canada) then got consecutive RBI-singles from Cory Wouters, Dalton Berg (Frederick, Colo.) and Chase Williams (Brampton, Ontario) to put MCC up 4-2. Owen Glover (sophomore, Elderslie, New South Wales) singled in two runs and freshman Mason Regan (Centennial, Colo.) followed with a two-run triple to put MCC ahead 8-2. Regan scored on a single by Landon McKillip (freshman, Lamoni, Iowa) and Berg closed out the scoring with a two-run single to make it an 11-2 MCC lead.

Otero scored a run in the fifth then MCC scored four runs in the seventh keyed by a two-run triple from Wouters and a Berg double.

Bobrov pitched two outs into the seventh before giving up a three-run home run. He went 6.2 innings allowing seven hits, three walks and he struck out seven. Freshman Julian Alvarez (Vaughan, Ontario) pitched the final out of the game, a strikeout.

MCC outhit Otero 18-7. Wouters led the way with four along with three RBIs. Berg had three hits and four RBIs. The Indians also got two hits each from Hutchison, Smith, Glover and McKillip.

GAME 2 – Otero 11, McCook 5: The Rattlers scored twice in the first and once in the second off MCC starting pitcher Cory Wouters.

MCC tied the game in the third with a three-run home run by Carter Smith.

Otero yanked the lead back in the fourth scoring three runs, the second two coming on a two-out RBI single.

Smith helped the Indians get one of those runs back with a solo home run in the fifth to cut the Otero lead to 6-4.

Wouters pitched 5.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Otero got to sophomore reliever Leif Friedrich (Surrey, British Columbia) for two runs in the sixth. Friedrich went 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, a walk and a strikeout.

Wouters walked to lead off the MCC eighth and came home on an RBI-single by Tyler Reyburn to make in an 8-5 Otero lead. The Rattlers added three more runs in the bottom of the inning off freshman Colby Kaplan (Parker, Colo.), who went one inning, allowing two runs on two hits, two walks and a strikeout.

MCC had eight hits in the games with two each by Smith and Reyburn.