WNC Baseball: Peters' blast rallies Wildcats past 13th ranked Cochise
Submitted by editor on Thu, 02/04/2016 - 5:40pm
Allowing just one hit through the first six innings, Western Nevada College could have expected to hold a lead against 13th-ranked Cochise on Thursday in Henderson.
Not so, as the Apaches used some aggressive baserunning to build a two-run advantage. But one swing of DJ Peters' bat swung the momentum in the Wildcats' favor in the seventh inning, driving WNC of Carson City to a 6-4 nonconference victory in the first of four games between the clubs.
Peters' laser shot over the left-field fence for a three-run homer completed the scoring, helping the Wildcats end a two-game losing streak.
"It was perfect timing," Peters said. "With runners on second and third and down by a run, I just wanted to hit something hard into the outfield so the two runs would score to put us ahead. I barreled it up and hit a line drive that I wanted to; it just so happened that I hit it hard enough for it carry out."
Sophomore catcher Tim Lichty made his season debut, contributing a run-scoring single during the winning rally.
"Having Tim back in the lineup was awesome," WNC coach D.J. Whittemore said. "God blessed some people to hit, and he was one of them."
Sophomore pitcher Jordan Dreibelbis and starter Jordan Ragan handcuffed the Apache hitters for most of the afternoon, holding them to two hits. Ragan, a freshman left-hander, threw 3 1/3 hitless innings, but the Apaches scored twice on him by executing an intentional rundown with baserunners on first and third bases.
"We weren't anything close to clean defensively and they put some pressure on us with their running game," Whittemore said. "They did a good job of scoring without hitting the ball. We've done that in the past, and they gave us a dose of our own medicine today."
Dreibelbis surrendered a solo homer to Adam Delacruz with two outs in the fifth to push Cochise in front, 3-2, but then settled in to dominate the Apache hitters. However, a two-base error by Dreibelbis on a pickoff attempt in the sixth permitted Taggart Baxter to cross the plate, making the score 4-2.
But in the seventh, the Wildcats took advantage of their baserunners. With courtesy runner Justin Mannens on third base and Chandler Barkdull on second with one out, Lichty connected for a RBI single to draw the Wildcats a run closer. Then, Peters surprisingly got a pitch to his liking, lining his second homer of the season, putting the Wildcats in position to win.
"It was not a good time to let DJ beat you," Whittemore said. "If you are going to pitch around him, you have to make sure you miss."
Closing out the win didn't come easily. After Dreibelbis retired the first two Apaches on strikes in the ninth, an error by first baseman Daniel Nist and a walk gave the Apaches new life. But reliever Chase Kaplan struck out Blaze Rose to earn his first save and end the game.
"Kaplan was in the bullpen anyway getting prepared for his start on Saturday, so he was ready," Whittemore said. "It was a nice job by him coming in and throwing strikes."
The Wildcats struggled to provide the big hit in the early innings against Apache starter Tyler Fallwell. Barkdull was stranded on second base in the Wildcat first inning. David Modler stroked a two-out double in second inning and was balked to third before being left 90 feet from the plate.
Fallwell, however, struggled in the third. Casey Cornwell singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Lichty walked with two outs and Peters was hit by a pitch on the bicep to load bases. Brogan Secrist walked on four straight pitches to force in Cornwell to tie the game, then Lichty scored on a passed ball to put WNC ahead for the first time, 2-1.
WNC (2-3) and Cochise will play at doubleheader at noon Friday.
