NCMC Pirates Baseball opened up their fall slate of games on Thursday with a pair of contests against Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference teams at the University of Central Missouri.  The Pirates took a 9-3 loss in the opener against Fort Scott Community College and ended in a 3-3 tie with Johnson County Community College in game two. 

On the day, the Pirates top offensive performer was freshman Jerry Randt.  He went 4-5 with 2 runs scored.  Also having a nice day at the plate was sophomore transfer Kendrick Delima.  His 2-5 effort included a homerun and 2 RBIs.  "The offense did a nice job of setting the table for big innings.  However, we just didn't get the hits to cash in on most of those opportunities," remarked Coach Hudlow.  The Pirates left 17 runners on base in total.

On the mound, five of the eight pitchers used in the games allowed no runs.  Freshman Alex Reyes was especially good in his 3 innings of work to start the game against Johnson County.  He allowed no runs while striking out three.  "Our pitchers that were able to command the strike zone had solid outings for the most part.  Our defense has the athletic ability to be a real strength and it was good to see most of the pitchers pound the zone and let the guys make plays behind them," commented Coach Suttenfield.

The next action for the Pirates will be two more games at the University of Central Missouri.  On Saturday, NCMC will take on Iowa Central Community College at noon and Metropolitan Community College at 2:15pm.