Friday only featured one game because of a rain delay on Tuesday that pushed the second game of the doubleheader into the later part of the week.

After defeating the Titans 3-0 earlier in the week, the Wildcats destroyed West again on Friday by a score of 8-3.

West was expected to be a frontrunner to win the BNC this season, but an early undefeated start for the Wildcats sets Alpena up with a great chance to compete for the conference title.

“We love where we’re at in the conference right now, and we just have to continue to compete,” Alpena coach Eric Mackenzie said. “We’ve preached that all year long, and nothing is going to change now. We need to do the little things right, and, so far this season, we’ve been successful in doing so.”

News Photo by Owen Kinzey Alpena High School’s Gabe Glawe takes a big swing during the Wildcats’ win against Traverse City West on Friday at Alpena High.

In game two, the strategy was similar to earlier in the week: taking advantage of Traverse City West early.

Tucker Bright knocked a base hit in the top of the first and, two batters later, he scored on an RBI single smoked into right field by Jake Zann.

Alpena went up 1-0 after two innings.

Providing run support for the pitching proved key throughout the afternoon.

The other key to success stood on the mound for the Wildcats.

Caleb McEwen started as Alpena’s pitcher and dominated for six straight innings, never faltering in the face of the Titans’ strong offensive prowess.

That run support came again in the bottom of the second inning thanks to Grant Jarema and Gabe Glawe, who crushed RBI doubles into the outfield gaps.

West fired back for one run in the top of the third, but no Wildcat confidence was lost.

Alpena achieved that run right back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Jase Kollen.

The Wildcats held a 4-1 lead going into the fourth, when the offense would soon ignite.

Alpena doubled its score in the bottom of the inning, led entirely by the Wildcat’s hot bats.

Kaleb Donajkowski started the party on an RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly to score another runner.

Kollen killed another single, that time scoring two runners to cap off the four-run inning.

A dominant 8-1 lead was held, and only a fielding mistake would cost Alpena the final two runs.

Jonny Rensberry tried to make a play behind the plate by firing the ball to third base, but the throw was inaccurate and the ball soared into left field.

This errant mistake cost the Wildcats two runs, meaning essentially nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Alpena came out with an 8-3 win in which McEwen earned the win from the mound.

He struck out four while only walking two, giving up just two earned runs.

“We did what I asked of my guys,” Mackenzie said. “We jumped on them early and put the pressure on them. We’re continuing to do a better job as a team at driving in runs, and every mistake we made today is correctable. I love where this team is at, and I love how we’re playing right now.”

Alpena travels to Traverse City Central on Tuesday.