WOLFPACK WIN OVER QUEENSBOROUGH HIGHLIGHTS MYRTLE TRIP

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Pitcher Justin Brestensky struck out nine in a complete game and also had three hits, while Brandon McCormick drove in three runs to lead the Westmoreland County Community College baseball to a 9-1 victory over Queensborough CCC Friday on the second day of the team's trip to Myrtle Beach.

The win highlighted Westmoreland's 1-3 trip down south and puts their record at 1-5 overall. 

The Wolfpack jumped in front of Queensborough early in their Friday afternoon game. Two walks and a single loaded the bases and the opening run came across when Tyler Kuhns drew a walk to bring in Zach Blystone. Brestensky then helped his own cause for the second run in the third inning when he led off with a bunt single, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by McCormick to push the lead to 2-0.

Westmoreland padded their advantage with four runs in the fourth inning. McCormick had the big hit with a two-run single, while Kuhns drew his second bases loaded walk of the game for another run and a wild pitch scored McCormick as the Wolfpack lead grew to 6-0. After Queensborough pushed a run across in the bottom of the fourth, Westmoreland put the game away with a run in the fifth on a Nico Cuello RBI single and two more in the sixth, one on an RBI ground out by Aaron Tumicki and another on a wild pitch.

That was more than enough support for Brestensky, who scattered five hits and one run over seven innings while striking out nine and walking one. He also led the offense by going 3-for-5 and scoring twice. Cuello reached base five times in the victory with two hits and three walks and Kuhns walked three times, had two RBI and hit a single to get on base four times.

The opening game of the trip saw the Wolfpack lose a 2-0 decision to Bergen CCC behind a stellar pitching performance, as two Bergan pitchers limited Westmoreland to one hit. McCormick had the lone hit in the game, while Mason Sarsfield walked twice and stole a base. On the mound, Trevor Nelson took the tough luck loss, as he threw six innings and allowed two unearned runs on nine hits and struck out four.

Friday's first game before the Queensborough win saw Westmoreland take on second-ranked Cumberland, who pulled away early to take a 13-6 victory. Cumberland scored the first nine runs of the game but the Wolfpack mounted a comeback with five runs in the fifth frame. The big hits were a two-run double by Kuhns and Blystone brought in a pair with a single, while Tumicki was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the fifth run. Cumberland would put the game away with four runs in the last of the fifth inning.

In Saturday's final game of the trip, Westmoreland lost 13-0 to Chesapeake, who scored six times in the first and third innings to take control. The Wolfpack managed four hits in the game, including a single and double by Brestensky and singles off the bats of Kuhns and Nelson.

The Wolfpack will be back on the field Tuesday afternoon when they travel down Route 30 to take on Saint Vincent's JV team in a single game.