Plainsmen Look To Get On Path Against Miles

The Plainsmen would travel to La Junta, CO to play against the Otero Rattlers for a three game series.  The series would help determine Region IX conference seeding, so the Plainsmen wanted to help themselves by winning these games.  The last time these teams met, Northeastern would sweep the Rattlers in all three games, so if they could repeat the performance, NJC would be in great shape.

The first game would begin with Northeastern taking the 1-0 lead in the first half inning of play.  The Rattlers would strike back by scoring four runs in the bottom of that inning to take the 4-1 lead.  Not wanting to sit out in the action, NJC would add two runs of their own in the top of the second to bring the score within one.  The next three innings would be a great defensive stand by both teams as they would keep each other scoreless.  In the top of the sixth, the Plainsmen would tie it up at four with a run.  In the bottom of that inning however, Otero would find themselves getting hot and being able to score three runs, giving them the final lead and defeating the Plainsmen 7-4.

The second game was a chance for the Plainsmen to get redemption against the Rattlers.  They knew from the last time they played that they were capable of defeating Otero; it was just a matter of putting all the pieces together at once to get the victory.  With that in mind, the Plainsmen would start game two by playing solid defense and keeping the Rattlers from scoring, despite not being able to get runs in themselves.  In the bottom of the third, Otero would be able to take the lead by scoring three runs.  In the top of the fourth, NJC was able to get one man around the bases to get one run in to make it a 3-1 game.  With both teams playing good defense, the game would come down to who would get the right hits at the right time.  That philosophy would favor the Rattlers more than the Plainsmen as they were able to get two more runs in, while the Plainsmen could not get any.  The game would finish with the Rattlers defeating the Plainsmen 5-1.

The third game was much better for the Plainsmen, but Otero would be able to slightly edge out Northeastern as they would win 10-8.  The Plainsmen look to get back on the horse on Friday April 6 as they host Miles CC at home for a six game series.