The North Central Missouri College baseball team opened the 2016 season last weekend, playing four games (two on Saturday and two on Sunday) against the Fort Scott (Kansas) Greyhounds at the LaRoche Complex in Fort Scott, Kansas.
Game #1 on Saturday afternoon was the most competitive of the weekend, with the Pirates falling 5-4 in seven innings. In Game #2, Fort Scott rolled past North Central, 11-1 in five innings.
In the first game of the day, the Pirates won the hit battle 8-6, but couldn't push enough runs across to get the win. Jared Corbett racked up two RBIs on one hit for the NCMC Pirates. He homered in the fourth inning.
The game's last lead went to Fort Scott CC thanks to a first inning rally that saw two runs cross the plate on a groundout and an RBI single. After pushing across one run in the top of the fourth, the NCMC Pirates faced a 4-1 deficit. A solo home run by Corbett triggered the NCMC Pirates' comeback. A ground out ended the inning.
The NCMC Pirates scored one run in the top of the fifth to cut their deficit to two, with an RBI single by Landon Figg fueling the NCMC Pirates' comeback.
Fort Scott responded with one run in the sixth. After pushing across one run in the top of the seventh, the NCMC Pirates faced just a 5-4 deficit. A fielder's choice sparked the Pirates rally, but a ground-out ended the game.
In the 11-1 loss on Saturday, Figg went 1-2, drove in one and scored one run, homering in the first inning.
The Pirates lost Sunday's first game, 9-2. Derek Hussey went 3 for 4 at the plate for North Central Missouri College. In the final game of the weekend, the Pirates were shutout 10-0.
North Central will play four more games this coming weekend, traveling to Neosho County, Kansas for a 1 o'clock doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a 1 o'clock double-dip on Sunday.
