Most teams would never dream of beating three nationally ranked teams on their first weekend out. But the Western Nevada Community College baseball club is not like most teams.
WNCC made its inaugural weekend of baseball one to remember as the Wildcats finished a four-game series on Sunday in Henderson with a 2-0 win over South Mountain, Ariz. South Mountain is ranked No. 6 in the nation and advanced to last year's College World Series.
On Friday, WNCC (3-1) beat nationally ranked Glendale, Ariz., and Community College of Southern Nevada. Against South Mountain, Josh Brink and Stephen Sauer combined on a three-hit shutout and Carson High's Aaron Henry had an RBI single in the win.
"It wasn't even a goal," said WNCC coach D.J. Whittemore about beating three ranked teams. "Our goal was to come down here and play well. But the players obviously had other things in mind."
The three keys - pitching defense and timely hitting - that were missing in Saturday's 10-3 loss to Scottsdale, Ariz., were all present against South Mountain.
"We did all three," Whittemore said. "We had a ton of strikes. We played fabulous defense. We got clutch hitting."
Brink allowed two hits over eight innings and Sauer allowed one hit in pitching a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save on the weekend. The game lasted just one hour, 58 minutes.
"He had a ton of groundballs," Whittemore said. "It's right up there with one of the best games I've ever seen pitched."
The turning point of the game came in the third when South Mountain had runners at first and second with no out. But first baseman Thomas Miller was able to throw to shortstop Jerahmie Libke covering at third to nail the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt to help stop the threat.
"We ran the wheel play to perfection," Whittemore said. That really changed the game."
In the sixth, Miller singled and Taylor Meiras moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Henry followed with a two-out RBI single.
In the seventh, Brett Mosher singled and moved to second on Kyle Bondurant's sacrifice bunt. Spanish Springs' Brad Carlsen followed with a two-out RBI single. Bondurant had two hits and Pat Grennan added a hit for WNCC.
WNCC will continue its tough schedule this weekend with a series against four of Southern California's top teams. The Wildcats will play at 2 p.m. Friday against Saddleback in Mission Viejo, Calif.