WNC Baseball: Karnos, Young Deal Solid Performances
For a day, the Western Nevada College Wildcats can take solace in slaying last year's dragon. After losing four of five games, including a pair of Western District tournament matchups, to South Mountain last season, the Wildcats were determined to turn the tables on the Phoenix team to open the 2015 baseball season.
WNC used solid pitching, timely hitting and clean defense to sweep South Mountain, 9-7 and 3-0, on Saturday at Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas.
"If you beat South Mountain, you've done something right," WNC coach D.J. Whittemore said. "South Mountain has always been a very good club and a stiff test. That's why we schedule them first every year. It gets us ready (for conference)."
The two teams were scheduled to open the season on Friday but steady rain pushed back the start of the 2015 campaign.
In the opener, sophomore pitcher Max Karnos earned the victory, allowing one run and striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings.
The Wildcats of Carson City took a 9-2 lead into the final inning, but South Mountain cut the lead to two runs and had the bases loaded before sophomore closer Connor Zwetsch recorded the final out for the first of his two saves on the day.
As they did in the opener, the Wildcats came through with an outstanding starting pitching performance. Freshman Matt Young tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. Zwetsch escaped some trouble in the seventh to preserve the shutout.
Offensively, the Wildcats received multiple contributors in the two games, with players often coming through with runners in scoring position. Jake Bennett, Brandon Lapointe and DJ Peters each delivered two-base hits.
It marked the seventh time in the program's 10-year history that the Wildcats (2-0) came away with a win in their season opener.
The two teams will conclude their season-opening series on Sunday at Desert Oasis High. The doubleheader starts at 9:30 a.m.