WNC Softball: 'Cats Take Series Opener from Coyotes
Submitted by editor on Fri, 05/01/2015 - 6:59pm
Two pitchers who are being counted on to deliver postseason victories locked up in a pitchers' duel on Friday at Edmonds Sports Complex in Carson City.
WNC freshman Kristina George threw six scoreless innings and stranded 10 base runners to outshine CSN sophomore Megan Mello as the Wildcats posted a 3-2 Scenic West Athletic Conference softball victory. Kristina Nelson, however, scattered seven hits as the Coyotes won the second game, 5-1.
"When things get tough, she gets tougher. She's just one of those players who just thrives under pressure situations," said WNC coach Leah Wentworth said of George, who won her 12th game of the season. "I joke with her about loading the bases just so she can have some pressure to work out of because she seems to do really well in those situations."
Wildcat center fielder Pamela Sakuma preserved the one-run victory with a diving catch of Mello's shallow fly ball and the potential tying and winning runs on base.
"I just knew that I had to give it everything I had because it was coming down to the line," Sakuma said. "I trusted myself, and I trusted the people behind me because I knew they had my back."
Sakuma also delivered one of WNC's key blows at the plate, connecting for a two-run double to break a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Lauren Lesniak provided three of the Wildcats' six hits, and Briauna Carter slammed a solo homer that proved to be the difference.
" Pamela just had a great day for us," Wentworth said. "She's been coming on stronger and stronger throughout the year, but her big hit put some runs on the board for us and that catch to shut it down and end the game was awesome. The effort that she put out, you could tell all the way that she was going to give everything she had to make sure it didn't' drop."
George finished with an eight-hitter while striking out three and walking two. Mello (14-8) was nearly as impressive, allowing six hits and three earned runs.
CSN twice put a runner on second base in the first four innings, but George came up with the clutch out when she needed it.
The Coyotes made some run-saving catches behind Mello to keep the Wildcats off the board early.
After fouling a ball off the left-field fence, Lesniak knocked the first hit off Mello, a single to center. The first serious Wildcat threat came in the third inning when Covione drove a Mello offering deep to center. Coyote center fielder Maggie Manwarren crashed into the fence while robbing Covione of the extra-base hit.
The Wildcats followed up that scoring threat with another in the fourth. With one out, Melanie Mecham took a pitch off her back, then Lesniak launched a line drive into the left-center gap, moving Mecham to third base.
Sakuma brought home both base runners with a double to right field, giving WNC a 2-0 lead. Carter extended WNC's lead to 3-0 with a towering home run to left to lead off the fifth inning.
"She was pitching us outside and low inside, and I've been working on inside pitches all week," Carter said. "It's really important for our sophomores because they all (except Covione) came from this school, so we really want to do it for them."
The Coyotes dominated game two behind the pitching of Nelson and a three-run homer by Vanessa Sanders.
A bad-hop single by Sydney Cluff scored Nelson with the Coyotes' first run in the third inning and Nelson added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to put CSN ahead 2-0. Sanders blasted her three-run shot off WNC starting pitcher Sadee Sorensen with two outs in the fifth to make it 5-0. It was Sanders' 18th homer of the season.
The Wildcats averted a shutout in the sixth when Sakuma's sharp single to left brought home Mecham.
Mecham and Sakuma collected two hits against Nelson, while Kaylee Jaussi lined a double.
WNC has a chance on Saturday to ensure its first home winning season in program history. The Wildcats are 9-8 going into a regular-season-ending doubleheader that is scheduled to start at noon. The Wildcats will honor four sophomores on Saturday.
The Wildcats are now 15-22 in SWAC play and 20-27 overall. CSN is 22-16 and 30-19.
