Western Nevada College’s softball team finished off one its best weekends in recent memory by winning three of four against College of Southern Nevada at the Edmonds Sports Complex.
After recording a sweep on Friday, WNC split two games on Saturday. The Wildcats won the opener 4-1 and lost the nightcap 10-3.
“We made them work for every single hit and every single run,” WNC coach Leah Wentworth said. “We played really good defense this weekend. Going into the second half of the season, we want to show what we’re capable of doing.
“It’s nice to see us make progress as far as our pitching and fielding go. We have a young infield, and they are starting to get comfortable with the dynamic, and we’re starting to get comfortable at the plate.”
In the opener, the game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when the Wildcats scored three runs after two out.
Heather Septon doubled and scored on a single by Alisha Nielsen, who took second on the throw home. Lexi Alley singled and Jenny Quam walked to load the bases. Jenny Rechel’s infield single scored Nielsen and Alley to make it 3-0.
CSN made it 3-1 in the top of the sixth, but the Wildcats countered in the bottom of the inning on a homer by Andrea Lee.
The Coyotes put runners at first and third in the seventh, but had a runner cut down at the plate on a double-steal attempt.
Alley scattered 10 hits to pick up the win. She struck out one and walked one.
Septon had two of WNC’s six hits in the opening game.
WNC had a great chance to sweep for the second straight day, but the Coyotes snapped a 3-all tie with four in the sixth and three in the seventh.
After spotting CSN a 1-0 lead, WNC scored two in the third on a solo homer by Nielsen and a run-scoring hit by Rechel. An error in the fourth enabled WNC to build its lead to 3-1.
The Coyotes tied the game at 3 in the fifth, setting the stage for their offensive barrage in the sixth and seventh.
Rechel and Nielsen led WNC with two hits apiece in the second game, while Quam, lee, Septon, Sydney Darby and Madison Gonzalez added one each.
Baseball
Wildcats sweep Mt. Hood
The Wildcats swept Saturday’s doubleheader against Mt. Hood, winning the opener 4-3 in 12 innings and 9-3 in the nightcap.
The nonconference sweep gives WNC an overall record of 21-11 and some momentum heading into next weekend’s four-game series against conference leading College of Southern Nevada.
Western trailed 3-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth, and the Wildcats scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 3. The score stayed that way until WNC snapped the tie with a run in the bottom of the 12th.
Matt Becker, Mike Umscheid, Connor Klein and Conor Harber all had two hits apiece. Joey Crunkilton, Cole Ferguson, Donald Glover, Tony Roque and Christian Stolo all had a hit apiece.
Luke Eubank worked the first eight innings, allowing a run and four hits. He struck out nine and walked one. Tyler Bennett, the fifth of five pitchers, picked up the win in relief. He worked 2/3 of an inning.
In the nightcap, WNC snapped a 2-all tie with six runs in the fifth inning to take control of the game.
Stolo picked up the win, allowing four hits and one earned run over six innings. He fanned seven and walked one. Conor Harber worked two scoreless innings and Brock Pellow finished up in the ninth, allowing one run and two hits.
Umscheid led the offense with three hits and two RBIs, while Harber and Crunkilton added two hits each.