The No. 2-ranked Neosho County Community College baseball team cruised past Independence Community College 15-5 and 17-0, but the real story was that of freshman third baseman Brylie Ware.

In the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game, Ware connected on his third home run of the day. The blast to right field was the 25th of the season, setting a new school record for home runs in a single season. In all, Ware was 5-for-5 at the plate with eight runs scored and drove in seven runs "He's ridiculous. To watch that kid play has been a real pleasure. To know what kind of kid he is makes it even more enjoyable," Coach Steve Murry said. "He didn't make a single out all day long. They pitched him tough. He broke a long, long, long standing home run record."

In the first game, the Panthers survived a shaky outing by freshman starter Mason Knopp. "We didn't look so great," Murry said of the first game. "We didn't pitch it well. It was Mason's first yucky outing, but he preserved through it. A win is a win this time of the year." After a scoreless first inning, Neosho County gave up at least one run over the remainder of the game, but the Panthers plated six in the third and five in the fifth to complete the run-ruled contest. Sophomore second baseman Chad Thomas was 3-for-3 with four RBIs. He tallied a home run in the fifth and a pair of doubles. Freshman catcher Cooper Minnick and sophomore outfielder Evan Bourn recorded two hits apiece, hitting one home run apiece. Knopp picked up the win, striking out one, walking four and surrendering two home runs in five innings of work.

In game two, Neosho County put the pedal to the medal early and didn't lift until the final out. The Panthers pounded out 15 hits, while limiting Independence to only two. "The second game, we played really, really well," Murry said. "We would be tough to beat with Mitzel pitching like that and the offense the way it was." NCCC scored at least one run in each inning but plated five runs in the third and fifth innings. All five runs in the sixth inning came before the visitors had a chance to record an out. Sophomore pitcher Tyler Mitzel went the distance for the Panthers. He struck out four and walked one. The top four batters in the lineup combined for nine of the 14 hits on the day. Ware and sophomore Ryan Toliver had three, while sophomore center fielder Darian Abram and Bourn tallied two each.

The Panthers (43-6 overall and 24-6 in the KJCCC) will travel to Independence (21-27 and 12-18) Saturday to complete the four-game series. First pitch is set for 1 pm. "I feel real good about the way we are playing right now. I just want to make sure we continue to do that and stay study," Murry concluded.