WNC Baseball: Wildcats drop Carson City home opener
It wasn't the home opener that Western Nevada College envisioned Friday after winning four straight games against Cochise College last week.
Roderick Bynum went 4 for 5, scored three runs and drove in three more as Arizona Western College spoiled the Wildcats' first home baseball game, 9-5, at John L. Harvey Field in Carson City.
"They are a great team," said WNC leadoff hitter Chandler Barkdull. "They came out swinging, and they have a bunch of guys who can hit."
Arizona Western pounded out 14 hits and built an 8-2 lead before a WNC rally fell short.
WNC sophomore hurler Matt Young shut out the Matadors for the opening two innings but ran into trouble in the third, surrendering five runs on five hits.
With the Wildcats' left-hander starting to elevate his pitches, Arizona Western capitalized with a five-run rally. Bynum got the Wildcats in the scoring column with a two-run double to center. Kainalu Pitoy followed with a RBI single and Zach Boehler capped the inning with a two-run single to left.
WNC (5-4) responded with its first run in its half of the third. Barkdull executed a hit and run, sending Blake Morin to third base with a single to right field. Morin scored on a sacrifice fly by David Modler.
"Every count I had today was a two-strike count," Barkdull said. "I try to get in as deep of a count as I can, then if it's close, just swing at it."
The Matadors (7-3) chased Young in the fourth, adding a two-run base hit by Austin Maltby for a 7-1 lead.
DJ Peters belted a solo homer to bring WNC within 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
Bynum got the run back with a solo homer of his own off reliever Jordan Dreibelbis to lead off the sixth.
"Don't throw too many fastballs to that guy," Dreibelbis said. "He's a really good hitter. Next time he came up I threw him some curveballs and he popped out."
The Wildcats picked up two runs in the seventh — one coming on a line-drive single by Peters and the other when Morin scampered home on a wild pitch Trayson Kubo, who relieved winning pitcher Kekoa Kaluhiokalani in the sixth.
Young (1-1) worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs. He fanned five and walked four.
Dreibelbis threw 4 1/3 innings of relief, giving up seven hits and two runs, keeping the Wildcats in striking distance in the late innings.
"They were getting on my fastball so I had to use a lot of my offspeed pitches, and that was pretty effective," Dreibelbis said. "I tried to hold it down as best as I could."
By capping his outing by striking out the side in the ninth, Dreibelbis fanned five and walked one.
"They were starting to figure out that I was throwing a lot of curveballs first pitch, so me and catcher Tim Lichty got together and said we were going to start mixing it up, and were able to get all three of them on strikes."
Barkdull led the Wildcats' eight-hit attack by going 4 for 5, including a double. Peters also was a tough out for the Matadors, connecting for three hits and two RBI. Casey Cornwell added two hits, a walk, RBI and a run scored, while Morin scored twice.
WNC left 10 runners on base, including five in the final three innings.
The four-game series continues Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
In other WNC baseball news: Sophomore pitcher Matt Young has been honored by the Scenic West Athletic Conference for his shutout performance against nationally ranked Cochise on Feb. 5 in Henderson.
For throwing six scoreless innings while striking out 10, Young was named the SWAC Player of the Week. He allowed just three hits and didn't walk a batter.
"His competitiveness and work ethic make him a special pitcher," said WNC coach DJ Whittemore. "He leads by example and is up for any challenge. He is one of the best all-around student athletes we have ever coached at Western."
It was the second straight week that the conference recognized a WNC player. Sophomore outfielder DJ Peters was honored the previous week.