Express keep rolling

BY JEFF FIELDER, Star-Herald Sports Editor

Alliance's Tyler Pflughaupt fields a grounder during their game with the WESTCO Express Wednesday night at Cleveland Field.(Photo by Jeff Fielder)

Published: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 10:54 PM CDT

If the WESTCO Express keep playing like this, it's going to take a major effort to take them down - or maybe even slow them down.

For the second night in a row, the Express sparkled in every phase of the game as they coasted to an 11-2 victory over Alliance at Cleveland Field in Scottsbluff.

WESTCO, which thumped Sidney 13-1 the day before, now heads into the final two weeks of the regular season with a 17-8 record and a wave of momentum.

``Our guys have really been playing well lately,'' Express coach Brian Ross said. ``We've been hitting the ball well, our pitching has been solid, and we've been playing good defense. Today was another great game for us.''

Ross said he's been especially pleased with how his team has jelled this season. He said his players are focused and eager to get better as a unit.

``The thing that impressed me most is how all of our guys were in it. They really played hard,'' Ross said. ``Win or lose, it's how you play the game, and I think all of our guys are starting to come together as one on the field. They've played really well as a team, and that was a group win right there. They were all in the game.''

After holding Alliance scoreless in the top of the first inning, the Express threatened to jump ahead in the bottom half of the inning. WESTCO had the bases loaded with two outs, but Alliance got the final out on a fly ball to avoid any damage.

Alliance, though, couldn't keep WESTCO down for long, as the Express erupted for four runs in the next inning. James Persinger got the flurry started with a double off the outfield wall, scoring Connor Wilburn. On the next at-bat, Andrew Fulk belted another double between the centerfield and left-field gap, bringing home Persinger. Later in the inning, Fulk scored on an Alliance error, and then Joseph Sanchez crossed home plate moments later on a single by Jordan Ramirez.

``I thought [the second inning] was key,'' Ross said. ``We threatened in the first - we had guys on base with two outs - but we just couldn't get that two-out hit. [Assistant coach Chris] Urwiller and I thought we were going to score some runs. We were hitting the ball hard. I felt real comfortable with our offense going into the second inning.''

Neither team scored in the third inning, but the Express cranked up its offensive machine once again in the fourth frame. WESTCO tallied a whopping seven runs to take complete control of the contest. The biggest hit in the inning came from Ramirez, whose double scored Sanchez to lift WESTCO's lead to 6-0. Joe Moran, Ramirez, Eric Moreno, Tharyn Curtis, Wilburn, and Persinger also scored runs in the fourth inning.

Alliance did punch across two runs in the top of the fifth inning - Tyler Pflughaupt scored on a double by Tyler Sherlock and then Sherlock scored on a double by James French - but it wasn't enough to extend the game to another inning. Sanchez threw all four innings to earn the pitching win.``I thought we came out really strong today,'' Ross said. ``Sanchez threw a lot of strikes, which helps at any level, and then when the ball did get put into play, our defense was really solid behind [Sanchez]. Offensively, we had runners every inning. Today I thought offensively we hit the ball hard.''

The Express will have plenty of time to enjoy their recent success, as they aren't scheduled to play again until July 7 at the Buckley Bombers (Chappell). WESTCO will then play July 8 at North Platte in a doubleheader. WESTCO will play a doubleheader at Chadron on July 9 and another doubleheader at Cheyenne on July 11. WESTCO will round out its regular season schedule July 14 at Alliance, before beginning Area 7 Tournament play July 16 at Hastings.

Alliance 000 02-2 4 1

Express (17-8) 040 7x-11 11 2

WP-Joseph Sanchez. LP-Robert Freeze.