WNC baseball reaches SWAC title game with two wins

WEST JORDAN, Utah - Western Nevada College's baseball team stayed alive in the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament with wins over College of Southern Nevda and College of Southern Idaho.

WNC beat Southern Nevada 4-2 and then knocked off CSI 7-4.

The two wins puts the Wildcats into the championship round against host Salt Lake Community College. The rivals square off at noon today at Cate Field.

WNC must beat SLCC twice to earn the post-season crown and the right to host the District Tournament next week. With the two victories, WNC has earned the right to play in the District event.

In the win over College of Southern Nevada, Dillon Ness smacked a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning to give WNC the victory.

Western took a 2-0 lead in the sixth, but CSN tied the game in the ninth off Dylan Baker, who fanned 14 and walked one before turning the ball over to Brandon Jackson, who pitched a scoreless 10th and got credit for the win because of Ness' blast.

There were only seven combined hits in the game, four by WNC and three by CSN.

In the nightcap, WNC and CSI were deadlocked at 4 in the fourth inning after Bobby Pappin's two-run homer.

The Wildcats went ahead 5-4 in the sixth on a double by Derrick Pitts, a sacrifice and a double by Neil Lawhorn. The Wildcats added two in the ninth on a triple by Alex Schmidt.

Pitts, Pappin and Lawhorn all drove in two runs.

Jackson won the second game, throwing 6.1 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just four hits.

SOFTBALL

WNC eliminated in SWAC tourney

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah - Western Nevada's three freshmen pitchers have been under control throughout the 2012 softball season. They rarely issued walks and wild pitches.

An untimely bout of wildness, however, besieged Jordan Garcia and the Wildcats in their Region XVIII elimination game against College of Southern Nevada.

Garcia walked five batters and uncorked a two-run wild pitch during the first inning as the Coyotes scored five times en route to a 12-10 elimination game win over the Wildcats.

The Wildcats finished their winningest season in the program's four-year existence with a 21-41 overall record.

Despite their shaky start, the Wildcats repeatedly rallied against the Coyotes, pulling as close as two runs two times as they attempted to earn the program's first postseason win. WNC finished with 13 hits, including three off the bat of Jordan Thomas and a home run by Courtney Lange.

The back-and-forth rallies didn't demoralize the Wildcats, who went to work on a comeback in the top of the sixth, pulling to within 12-9.

A sacrifice fly by Taleas Marble, an error and a hit by Jordan Thomas accounted for the runs.

Jasmine Fukada hit her second straight triple in the sixth as the Coyotes attempted to gain some breathing room. But on Godfrey's fly out to center, Quam doubled up Fukada by firing home to Lange for the third out.

Lange homered over the left-field fence to open the seventh as WNC closed to within 12-10. The next three Wildcats struck out to end the game.

Thomas topped the Wildcats' offense by going 3-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Quam was 2-5 with two runs scored, Lange 2-3 with a run and RBI and Mikeala Henshaw 2-4 with two runs scored.