The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawks baseball team (33-22-1, 15-9) recently concluded its season in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 2 Tournament, hosted by Majestic Park. NPC defeated Northern Oklahoma College-Enid (NOC-Enid), 4-2, in the first round, followed by a 14-4 loss to South Arkansas College in the second round and a 9-8 extra-innings defeat to Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (ASU-Mountain Home) in the loser’s bracket.
In Wednesday’s tournament opener, NPC outlasted NOC-Enid in a pitcher’s duel. The Nighthawks grabbed the lead early, 2-0, in the top of the second inning. Sophomore outfielder Dylan Garcia (Rockwall, Texas) delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to center field, followed by an RBI sacrifice groundout from sophomore outfielder Justin Mitchem (Benton). The Jets did not stay down for long, however, tying the game with two runs across in the bottom of the third inning. For three straight innings, each team struggled to bring baserunners home to break the stalemate. NPC finally pulled ahead in the top of the seventh inning, with Garcia smacking a leadoff solo home run to right field, followed by sophomore pinch runner Crystian Edwards (McKinney, Texas) scoring on a fielding error. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Jets made one final stand—loading the bases with two outs. Nighthawk freshman relief pitcher Jackson McDaniel (Conway) induced a ground ball up the middle, with sophomore second baseman Josh Wacaser (Bentonville) stomping on the bag with the ball to secure victory for NPC.
Sophomore pitcher Bryan Raitz (Dallas, Texas) was excellent on the mound, allowing two runs on three hits over three innings with two strikeouts. Raitz’s first strikeout of the day came in the bottom of the fifth inning, which pushed the hurler past former Nighthawk Eli Hutcherson (Cabot) to become NPC’s all-time strikeout leader. Garcia led the Nighthawks at the plate, finishing one-for-three with two runs driven in and one run scored.
Advancing to round two of the tournament, NPC faced two-time reigning Region 2 champion
South Arkansas College Thursday, where the Nighthawks struggled to keep up with the
Stars’ onslaught of runs. The Stars grabbed the lead early, 3-0, with two runs scored
in the bottom of the first inning and one run added in the bottom of the third inning.
NPC got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning with freshman right fielder
Ian McCracken (Carrollton, Texas) driving an RBI single into left field. A five-run
bottom of the fifth inning for South Arkansas College proved to be the difference,
putting the Stars up, 8-1. The Nighthawks chipped away at the deficit with two more
runs across in the top of the sixth inning with Mitchem smacking a two-run pinch-hit
home run over the scoreboard in right field, scoring Wacaser. South Arkansas College
responded with an additional run in the bottom of the sixth inning, extending the
lead to 9-3. National Park College added its final run of the game in the top of the
seventh inning on an RBI groundout from sophomore second baseman Ryan McClure (Double
Oak, Texas), but a five-run bottom of the inning from the Stars completed South Arkansas
College’s run-ruled victory.
Nighthawk freshman pitcher Joey Staiger (Tucson, Arizona) surrendered eight runs on nine hits over four innings, striking out six. Wacaser went two-for-three at the plate to lead NPC in the loss.
With its season on the line, NPC came up short in an extra-innings thriller against ASU-Mountain Home Friday. The Nighthawks opened the high-scoring affair with a two-run homer from Wacaser in the top of the first inning. After the Trailblazers added a home run of their own in the bottom of the first inning, the teams’ bats cooled, resulting in a scoring drought until the bottom of the fifth inning, where ASU-Mountain Home pulled in front with a four-run frame. The Trailblazers padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, building a 7-2 advantage. With its back against the wall, NPC surged for five runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game. Sophomore infielder Que Walton (Atlanta, Georgia) scored on a fielding error to lead the charge, followed by a two-run double from Garcia. Later in the inning, sophomore catcher Jace Denton (Flowermound, Texas) belted a two-run single to right field, completing the comeback. The score would not remain tied long, however, with the Trailblazers pulling ahead, 8-7, in the bottom of the eighth inning. As the game went to the ninth inning, NPC delivered in another high-pressure moment, with sophomore pinch-hitter Amari Collins (Fayetteville, Georgia) coming out of the dugout to smack an RBI single into left field to tie the game, 8-8.
Following a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning, the game would head to extra innings, where NPC put Garcia on base as the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, but could not bring him home. In the bottom of the inning, ASU-Mountain Home delivered the final blow, planting an RBI single into right field to end NPC’s historic season.
Sophomore righthander Ian Holm (Lafayette, Louisiana) allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings with two strikeouts in the start for NPC. Freshman lefthander Brent Davis (Hot Springs) surrendered two runs on four hits with one strikeout over two and one-third innings in the loss. Walton led NPC at the plate, finishing three-for-five with three runs scored in defeat.
In a historic year for NPC, the Nighthawks complete their season with the most single-season wins in program history (33), while crowning new program leaders in triples (Que Walton, 11), stolen bases (Que Walton, 61), wins (Bryan Raitz, 14) and strikeouts (Bryan Raitz, 128).
For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit Nighthawk Athletics online. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
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