WNC baseball almost home again

The old saying, "You can never go home again," has been dispelled over and over again. But for the Western Nevada baseball team it might as well be its motto.

The Wildcats (9-3 SWAC, 15-9) will play the last leg of their 28-game road trip beginning today at Salt Lake Community College in a two-day, two-doubleheader series before coming home next week to kickoff a 20-game home stand.

"It's always easier playing on your home field and sleeping in your own bed," WNC coach D.J. Whittemore said. "I think from the players standpoint, academically is going to be the best part about it. As far as a coaching staff we've got kids and wives and probably our personal lives is what we're most looking forward to getting back."

But standing in their way is Salt Lake (8-4 SWAC, 14-9), the third-place team in the Scenic West Athletic Conference behind Southern Nevada (9-3 SWAC, 17-11) and the Wildcats.

The Bruins boast a strong pitching staff with Jeremy Atkinson leading the way with a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched.

"They've got some good pitching, especially at the top of their rotation, so we're going to be hard pressed to score runs," Whittemore said. "Anytime you face a team with good pitching you've got to execute offensively and cash in your opportunities, so those are two things that we worked hard on this week and hopefully that will pay off."

Those opportunities could be sparked by Brian Barnett, who has started to bring back the swing that earned him a selection in the late rounds of last year's MLB first-year player draft. The sophomore from McQueen High is hitting .378 in league games and is leading the SWAC in RBIs with 16.

"He had a great series against Southern Idaho and single-handedly kept us in some games and won some games for us," Whittemore said.

Softball looks to change luck

The Western Nevada softball team hasn't had much to be thankful for this season as it has struggled to a 4-16 record, but coach Scott Rasner is hoping the two weeks off it's coming off of will help them at least grab a few wins in the second half of the season.

"We've been absolutely practicing great and the kids have been busting their butts," he said.

The Wildcats will face Salt Lake Community College today (1p.m.) at Centennial Park in the first of two doubleheaders. The Bruins (21-3 SWAC, 24-5) are the first-place team in the conference.