WNCC splits with the Astros

Thomas Miller hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning as the Western Nevada Community College baseball team beat the Reno Astros 16-13 in the opener of a doubleheader on Saturday at Moana Stadium.

Overall it was an ugly day for the Wildcats, who dropped the nightcap 6-4. WNCC continued to struggle defensively and throwing strikes.

"Just a lot of errors, a lot of walks, but the good thing is we swung the bats very well and we prevailed in the end," said WNCC coach D.J. Whittemore about the opener.

Whittemore said most of the errors came in the infield. "We've still got some work to do there," he said.

WNCC trailed 6-1 when it scored seven runs to take an 8-6 lead in the third. The Wildcats led 12-9 when the Astros scored three runs to tie the score 12-12 in the seventh inning. Miller then hit his grand slam to make it 16-12.

Wildcat assistant coach Mike Gilles hit a homer for the Astros to complete the scoring. Taylor Meiras went 4-for-6 for WNCC.

In the nightcap, WNCC outhit the Astros 12-8. Down 6-4 in the sixth, WNCC had runners at first and second with no outs, but had a runner picked off when it failed to execute a bunt.

The Wildcats had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh, but hit into a game-ending double play.

Andrew Reid had three hits, including two doubles, and Jeff Young and Cliff Shepard each had two hits. Whittemore also praised the defense of Ryan Simpson, who caught the second game.