Kacie Freudenberger’s home run leading off the second inning touched off a five-run outburst as Western Nevada College cruised past Colorado Northwestern, 18-1, in the opening game of the Region 18 softball tournament on Wednesday morning in Taylorsville, Utah.
The Wildcats tallied six more runs in the third inning to support the three-hit pitching of sophomore Kristina George, who worked into the fourth inning. It was the Wildcats’ fourth straight win by the mercy rule and fourth consecutive game of scoring at least 15 runs.
“We seemed to pick up where we left off in the last series,” said WNC coach Leah Wentworth. “It was really exciting that they were staying relaxed and comfortable at the plate just like they have been doing the last few weeks of regular-season play.”
Bailey Henderson, Noa Talia, Dakota Robinson and Triniece Lesky each cracked three hits to trigger a season-high 20-hit attack. Lesky and Briauna Carter knocked in three runs apiece.
The Wildcats were in position to advance through the first day in the winners’ bracket, but top-seeded Salt Lake rallied for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Talia blasted a two-run homer and doubled as the Wildcats built a 3-1 lead. But Salt Lake stroked four straight hits after two were out in the sixth inning to pull out the comeback win.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-27 overall) now must come through the losers’ bracket to get another shot at the fifth-ranked Bruins. They will tangle with College of Southern Nevada at 8:30 a.m. today and with a victory would play again at 4 p.m.
In winning their 11th game in 12 tries, the Wildcats battered Spartans’ starting pitcher Taylor Reidhead for five hits in the second inning after being blanked in their first at-bat.
Freudenberger’s well-timed swing put the Wildcats on the scoreboard first in their half of the second. Her team-leading eighth homer of the season gave WNC a 1-0 lead.
“We had good contact in the first inning, but hit the ball right at people,” Wentworth said. “When Kacie got up there and unleashed all of her power, it just set the offense into overdrive and everybody followed suit.”
An error by second baseman Sarah Hickens allowed Carter to reach first base and Talia doubled her to third. Canibeyaz cashed in both WNC runners on a single to left field. Robinson continued the hit parade with a single to center field, sending Canibeyaz to third base. Henderson’s base hit plated Canibeyaz to make the score 4-0. Taylor Reidhead hit Freudenberger with a pitch, forcing in another Wildcat run, but the Spartan pitcher kept the score 5-0 by getting Carter to hit into an inning-ending groundout.
George overpowered the Spartans in the first frame, striking out two as she retired the side in order. After fanning Whitnie Touhuni to open the second inning, Courtney David slapped a single down the left-field line, but George bounced back by inducing Brittney McCormack to foul at to third baseman Carter and fanning Hickens for her fourth strikeout.
The only area that the Wildcats struggled with against the Spartans was stealing bases. McCormack threw out a Wildcat trying to swipe second base in each of the first two innings.
Henderson, a sophomore catcher, also controlled the runners for the Wildcats. She picked off Natasha Barker at first in the third inning. Later in the same inning, she threw out Makenna Fox trying to steal second base.
WNC continued its hitting tear against Reidhead in the third. Talia opened the inning with a base hit to center and motored to third on Canibeyaz’s second base hit to left. After Robinson fouled out, Lesky smacked a two-run double to left, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 7-0. A wild pitch by reliever Kierstyn Roundy moved Lesky to third base, and she came home on Makaylee Jaussi’s single to right field. Melanie Mecham added a sacrifice fly, Henderson came home on a wild pitch and Carter delivered a RBI single as WNC built an 11-0 advantage.
Colorado Northwestern got on the scoreboard in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Abigail Thompson and Touhuni. Wentworth brought in sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Jimmy after the second two-bagger. George finished with four strikeouts and one walk.
“We wanted to make the pitching change before the inning, but Kaitlyn wasn’t warm yet,” Wentworth said. “We want to get Kristina as much rest as we can because we know this is going to be a long week for her.”
The Wildcats forced the Spartans to make their second pitching change by pushing five more runs across the plate in the fourth. RBI singles by Jaussi and Henderson preceded a two-run base hit off the bat of Carter, chasing Roundy from the circle. The Wildcats didn’t treat reliever Ashton Bell any better as Robinson socked a run-scoring double and Lesky poked a RBI single to put WNC ahead 18-1.
Jaussi, Freudenberger, Carter and Canibeyaz collected two hits for the Wildcats, and Lesky and Canibeyaz scored three times.
Jimmy dazzled in relief, setting down all five Spartans she faced, including two via strikeout.
In their back-and-forth battle with Salt Lake, WNC threatened in the first inning as Jaussi and Henderson hit consecutive singles. Jaussi moved to third on Mecham’s fielder’s choice, but Bruin freshman pither Addie Jensen fanned Freudenberger and Carter to strand the Wildcats.
George held the Bruins hitless in the first two frames, but Salt Lake broke up the scoreless duel in the third when Kaylee Bott and Karly Bunderson stroked one-out doubles. The defense behind George, however, limited the damage as Canibeyaz caught a pop fly and Jaussi snared a line drive.
The momentum keeping the score close carried over to the Wildcat fourth inning when Talia hit a two-out homer, putting WNC on top, 2-1.
George got the first two outs in the fifth, but the next three Bruins reached base. However, George protected her team’s precarious lead by striking out pinch-hitter Mattison Voorhees looking.
Talia kept the power hits coming with a two-out double off reliever Lauren Frailey in the sixth. A single by Canibeyaz chased Talia home for an insurance run.
But in the bottom of the sixth, Salt Lake packaged four straight two-out hits, including a triple by Bott, a game-tying double by Tina Ford and a go-ahead base hit by Bunderson.
Makaylee Jaussi singled after two were out in the seventh, but she was left on base.
Talia, Jaussi and Canibeyaz collected two hits apiece. George allowed 11 hits and four earned runs in six innings. She struck out two and walked two.