Wildcats baseball sweeps Astros

Appeal Staff Report

The Western Nevada College baseball team had plenty of late inning heroics to rebound from a tough night on its way to sweeping a doubleheader from the Reno Astros on Saturday at Moana Stadium.

After losing 12-8 to the Astros on Friday, the Wildcats came back twice on Saturday, beating the Astros 8-2 in the opener and 8-3 in eight innings in the nightcap.

In the opener, WNC rallied for eight runs against former University of Nevada standout Rod Scurry, who just finished up with the short-season Class A Tri-City Dust Devils in the Colorado Rockies organization.

Scurry entered in the sixth inning with the Astros leading 2-0. Eric Maupin, who's seeing time both as a position player and pitcher, singled and Mike Long entered as a pinch runner.

Long stole second and Mike Stiles singled to give WNC runners at first and third. After Stiles stole second, Travis Feiner followed with a two-run single to tie the score 2-2.

WNC took advantage of an error on what should have been an inning-ending double play to score six runs in the seventh. Andrew Garcia and Brian Barnett each hit two-run triples, Daniel Zylstra singled, Jay Skilton hit an RBI single and Stiles had an RBI sacrifice fly during the rally.

Javy Perez pitched two scoreless innings, striking out one, for the win. Jeremy Gendlek pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two.

Kyle Starratt started and after retiring the first two batters he face, he gave up a single to WNC assistant coach Mike Gillies and then an RBI double. Starratt worked around a leadoff double in the second and ended up allowing one run in two innings.

Logan Odom allowed one unearned run over two innings, striking out three. Stiles ended up going 2-for-2.

In the nightcap, WNC was down to its last out when Feiner hit a 400-foot shot that went off the centerfielder's glove and wall and ricocheted away, allowing Feiner to race home with an inside-the-park home run that tied the game 3-3.

WNC then scored five runs in the eighth. MIke Long and Trevor Goff each singled and Brett Moravec laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on an error to load the bases. Cory Raymond then belted a three-run triple. Jordan Bostwick and Stiles each followed with RBI singles to make it 8-3.

Cavin Hill finished up, pitching two scoreless innings for the win. Josh Moody started, allowing one run over two innings, striking out one. David Carroll pitched a scoreless fourth and Rusty Devill threw a scoreless fourth, striking out one.

Maupin came on in the fifth and got two outs, one strikeout, while the Astros were able to load the bases. Jake Waardenburg came on to record the final out. In the sixth, WNC took a 2-1 lead. After Long singled, Raymond went on to single and two runs scored on an error on the play.

Waardenburg struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth, but the Astros eventually took a 3-2 lead on a two-run bloop single. Stiles was 2-for-5 with a double, Feiner went 3-for-5, Long was 2-for-4 with two runs and Raymond went 2-for-3.