April 30, 2008

By Anthony Arroyo Journal-Advocate sports reporter

STERLING -- The Northeastern Junior College baseball team has put together quite the impressive regular season resume.

NJC had an 11-game winning streak and a separate 14-game winning and finished up the regular season with a 37-11 mark, which is a nine-game improvement from last year.

The Plainsmen also made sure that a team named Lamar did not host the Empire Conference for the first time in eight years. Northeastern, with its 24-6 conference record, will host the conference tournament this weekend at Plainsmen Park.

"People don't really think about this too much, but to put together 24 wins out of 30 games played against the teams that we play against is a major accomplishment for any program," NJC head coach Bryan Shepherd said. "Lamar has won the conference for eight years straight, and that is impressive in itself."

Northeastern finished the season with a pair of victories over McCook Community College in a make-up doubleheader Saturday. The Plainsmen won the first game 14-6 and came right back with the momentum to win 13-5 in the second game. NJC finished 8-0 against McCook this season.

The Plainsmen didn't take the outright lead until the third inning of the first game, when the team went up 6-5. The home team got a three-run home run in the fourth inning from sophomore Danny Brock to kick start the offense into the next eight runs before McCook added another run in the seventh inning.

Sophomore Sam Feiner went 2-5 and had a homer himself, a two-run shot coming in the bottom half of the first frame. Freshman Scott Dalrymple finished the game 2-5, while fellow freshman Sean Flaherty was 3-4 with two stolen bases.

Arvin Perez took the mound and went the distance, allowing just four hits with five runs coming earned.

In Game 2, the Plainsmen jumped out to a lead and never let up, starting the contest with a 3-1 score after one. NJC would push the lead to 5-1 after two and scored three in the fourth, fourth in the fifth and one more in the sixth to finish the game.

Sophomore Zak Enriquez started for the Plainsmen and pitched four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits. Ashley Scott pitched the fifth and Brock shut the door in the sixth and seventh innings.

At the plate, Flaherty finished the contest 4-5 with three doubles and three runs scored, to go along with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Feiner was 2-4 with a double, but knocked in four RBIs. Freshman CJ Hunt was a perfect 2-2 and scored twice.

"We came out and did a lot of good things," Shepherd said. "We moved runners across and scored runs with them in scoring position. Our pitchers threw strikes and there is nothing more that you can ask for."

NJC finished the season in style, recording 25 hits in the two games Saturday. But all the focus now is set on Trinidad State Junior College in the first round of the conference tournament.

Northeastern finished third in the tournament a season ago and it was Trinidad State College that knocked the Plainsmen out of the winners' bracket a season ago. Coach Shepherd feels like his team has the advantage playing at home and finishing the season so strong heading into tournament play.

"We have the advantage playing at home, in front of our fans, not having to travel from here to there," Shepherd said. "We earned the No. 1 spot and teams are going to try to take that from us, so we have to continue doing the things that have made us successful."

Tournament action will begin on Friday, May 2, at 1 p.m., with the second contest going at 3 p.m. The games are best two out of three.

The Plainsmen was an even 3-3 against T-Dad in the regular season, including dropping three of four at home.