Like they did throughout the regular season, the Western Nevada College Wildcats won their Region 18 baseball tournament game against Salt Lake, 5-4, on Thursday in Henderson by a number of players filling their roles.
Matt Young set the tone by throwing five scoreless innings. Chad Bell delivered a two-out, two-run single to provide some breathing room. Abe Yagi blasted only his second home run of the season, but his insurance run turned out to be the difference. Casey Cornwell executed a bunt that broke a scoreless tie and led to a bigger inning. Catcher Sam Salyers threw out a Bruin trying to get back to second base and another who was trying to steal second. Lastly, Ty Fox threw strikes when absolutely necessary to put out a nearly lethal eighth-inning Bruin rally that sealed the Wildcat win.
Those collective efforts propelled WNC (39-17 overall) into a winners’ bracket showdown with top-seeded College of Southern Nevada at noon today. The Coyotes scored two runs in the ninth inning to rally past Colorado Northwestern, 10-9.
Young provided the Wildcats with a quality start, working 6 1/3 innings. He gave up seven hits, one earned run in his 94-pitch outing. Young struck out four and walked one.
The Wildcats capitalized on free passes in the fourth inning as Joe Barlow’s pitch count surpassed 100. Bradley Lewis and Daniel Nist took walks to start the rally, then Casey Cornwell popped up a bunt in front of home plate. Catcher Cameron Benson missed a diving attempt to catch the ball and Barlow airmailed his throw over the first baseman’s head, enabling Lewis to cross the plate and Nist and Cornwell to move into scoring position. Barlow appeared to limit the damage, but Chad Bell hit a flair just over the head of third baseman Trevor Peterson to score both Nist and Cornwell for a 3-0 Wildcat lead.
D.J. Peters’ sacrifice fly gave WNC a 4-1 lead.
Salt Lake took advantage of an error by Peters in the seventh to score an unearned run, but Yagi took a pitch over the left-field fence to restore his team’s three-run edge.
In the eighth, Fox extinguished a Salt Lake comeback by striking out Nic Roberts with the bases loaded and WNC holding on to a 5-4 lead. Fox relieved Jordan Dreibelbis with one out, two runs already in and runners on second and third bases. Fox walked his first batter, Benson, and fell behind Roberts 2-0 before finding his command to bring the count even. His inside fastball missed high before he finished off the pivotal strikeout to leave the bases full.
In the ninth, Fox surrendered a leadoff single to Mitch Berryhill. The Wildcats diffused the rally when Bell cleanly picked a sharp groundball by Skyler Mahoney, starting a 5-4-3 double play.
In the latest poll released by the National Junior College Athletic Association, the Wildcats are ranked for the first time this season. They are tied for 28th, receiving one vote after taking two of three games from College of Southern Nevada last week. The Coyotes are ranked 15th.
SOFTBALL
Record-setting year ends
After being walloped by rival Western Nevada College the past three times the teams played, College of Southern didn’t let that happen again in a Region 18 softball tournament elimination game on Thursday morning.
WNC needed to overcome an early two-run deficit and break a tie in the sixth inning to outlast the Coyotes, 10-6, in Taylorsville, Utah.
The win sent the Wildcats into another elimination game against Snow later in the afternoon, and the Wildcats saw their record-setting final season abruptly halted by the four-hit pitching of Kimbri Herring in the Badgers’ 3-2 win.
With their second region tournament victory, the Wildcats equaled the program mark for wins in the tournament and increased its record season win total to 26.
“This team has incredible heart and they all want it so bad,” WNC coach Leah Wentworth said. “Anything is possible when you put your heart into it.”
Against CSN, the Wildcats manufactured two runs to tie the score 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning. An error allowed Makaylee Jaussi to reach base, then Bailey Henderson followed with a RBI single. Henderson took an extra base when the Coyotes tried to throw out Jaussi at the plate. Two straight groundouts to short brought home Henderson with the tying run.
WNC went in front for the first time in the second. Noa Talia triggered a four-hit outburst with a single and eventually came home on Triniece Lesky’s base hit.
In the third, Dakota Robinson delivered an RBI base hit with the bases loaded and Jaussi’s two-run double with two outs gave WNC its largest lead at 6-3.
After producing just one baserunner in the fourth and fifth innings, WNC’s offense reawakened in the sixth. Jaussi and Henderson beat out bunt singles to get things started.
The Wildcats’ rockets on the basepaths took advantage of a passed ball to advance to second and third. Kacie Freudenberger’s fielder’s choice scored Jaussi as WNC regained the lead, 7-6. A wild pitch sent Henderson home with another run, and Carter’s base hit scored Freudenberger for a 9-6 edge. Carter advanced two more bases on the throw to the plate and scored the fourth run of the inning on Noa Talia’s groundout to short.
CSN threatened one last time in the seventh, loading the bases with no one out.
Kristina George and her defense didn’t let the rally spiral out of control. Talia caught a pop fly off the bat of Emily Guthrie, Jaussi forced out Justin Garganese at the plate and Robinson squeezed the final out on Badayos’ fly ball to center.
Jaussi was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI, Henderson was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI,
Freudenberger knocked in two runs and Gabbi Canibeyaz and Robinson collected two hits.
Against Snow, WNC scored twice in the first inning but through five innings, the Wildcats totaled just three hits.
Snow caught and overtook the Wildcats in the fourth inning. The Wildcats mounted a rally in their last at-bat, with Robinson leading off with a walk. Henderson’s base hit put runners on first and second with two outs but a flyout ended the game.
Henderson collected two of the Wildcats’ four hits.
George dazzled in the circle, pitching another complete game. She gave up seven hits and three earned runs.
The Wildcats finished with a 26-28 record.