WNC roundup: Baseball, softball teams lose on road

WEST JORDAN, Utah - If Western Nevada College's baseball team is going to qualify for the District tournament, it will have to do it the hard way.

The Western Nevada College baseball team fell into the loser's bracket after an 8-7 decision to College of Southern Idaho Thursday at the Region 18 Tournament.

WNC will play at 2:30 p.m. today against the winner of the Colorado Northwestern and College of Southern Nevada game.

CSI jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over WNC, scoring in the first and third innings.

The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the third when Rayne Raven hit a single and scored on Chris Woolley's homer.

Errors enabled CSI to enjoy a 4-2 lead after four innings.

Raven hit a single in the bottom of the fifth and Neil Lawhorn got on base with a walk. Woolley stepped in for his second at bat and knocked a two-run double to tie the score at 4. Taylor Smart's sacrifice bunt moved Woolley to third, and Zach Hendrix gave WNC a 5-4 lead with a single.

WNC silenced CSI in the top of the sixth, and Dillon Ness led off the bottom of the inning with a single. He stole second and scored on an error to make it 6-4.

In the seventh, CSI trimmed the lead to 6-5, but WNC scored in the eighth when Ness doubled and scored on an error to make it 7-5.

In the ninth, Anthony Consiglio came in to relieve Andrew Woeck. Consiglio allowed three runs on three hits before retiring the side. WNC failed to score in the ninth.

SOFTBALL: WNC loses 15-4 in opener

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah - The Western Nevada College softball team struggled in a 15-4 loss in the opening round of the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament Thursday.

WNC will now face College of Southern Nevada at 8:30 a.m. today in an elimination game.

Four different Badgers belted home runs as Snow built a commanding 14-2 lead through three innings. WNC got untracked offensively, rapping eight hits, including three players with two apiece, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

WNC tried to pressure Snow pitcher Katie Greenberg with its running game in the third. After Jenny Quam reached base on a fielder's choice, she stole her second base of the game. Melanie Pfeiffer's bunt single moved her to third, and then Pfeiffer stole second as well. Taleas Marble stroked a single to center to score Quam with WNC's first run. Pfeiffer took third on the base hit and came home with the Wildcats' second run on Niki DiSera's single to center.

With two outs and Mikaela Henshaw on base in the fourth, Pfeiffer and Marble stroked two-out hits to fill the bases. Next, DiSera collected her second and third RBI of the afternoon with a base hit down the left-field line, trimming Snow's lead to 14-4.

DiSera, Pfeiffer and Marble produced two hits apiece to pace the Wildcats' offense.

Alexia Alley, who had two errors committed behind her, surrendered eight hits and six earned runs taking the loss.