WNC Baseball: Wildcats Head to California with 6-2 Record
Submitted by editor on Mon, 02/09/2015 - 7:06pm
After six road wins for the Western Nevada College baseball team to start the season, third-ranked Cochise College of Douglas, Ariz., and WNC reversed roles in the finale of their four-game series Sunday in Henderson.
WNC, which trailed in each of the three previous games but rallied to win all three, took an early lead, but the Apaches of came back to win, 7-3.
"They did a nice job of not only coming back but tacking on runs," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore.
Taking three of four games from two-time defending Western District tournament champion Cochise after taking three of four from South Mountain of Phoenix hasn't convinced Whittemore that his Wildcats are any better than those two teams.
"We haven't played much better than those teams. We're fortunate to be 6-2. Give our guys credit for being prepared and competing," Whittemore said. "The reason you play so many games in baseball is that you need a big sample size to make accurate determinations. Most of things we were concerned about going into season are still true."
RBI singles by DJ Peters and Kody Reynolds put the Wildcats of Carson City on top 2-0 in the first inning, but Cochise tied the score with single runs in the third and fourth innings.
WNC (6-2) went back ahead, 3-2, on Jake Bennett's RBI single in the fifth, but the Apaches scored three times in the bottom of the inning to take control. Nate Stepna's two-run double was the key blow. Cochise (5-3) added unearned runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
The Wildcats produced eight hits, including a 3-for-4 performance by Bennett, and two hits off the bat of Brogan Secrist. Bennett raised his batting average to .355, while Peters finished the weekend hitting a team-leading.357.
"JB has had a bunch of quality at-bats. He's leading the team in every possible way," Whittemore said. "He's the best worker we have, and he's playing like a third-year guy.
"DJ is a very competitive individual and very talented. I think he's learning a lot from JB, watching how he goes about his business and trying not to get outworked."
Wildcats starting pitcher Chase Kaplan, a 6-foot-6 left-hander, gave up six hits and five earned runs in four innings and struck out four.
"He made one bad pitch, leaving a two-strike breaking ball over the plate that the guy hit for a two-run double," Whittemore said. " He had his good stuff out there."
WNC reliever Ty Fox gave up three hits and two unearned runs, while fanning three and walking none. Cochise's Nick Borowski picked up his second win of the season, working eight innings and allowing all eight Wildcat hits.
More than a third of the way through 23 road games to start the season, WNC next travels to Riverside, Calif., to meet unbeaten Riverside City College (6-0), ranked eighth in the California Community College Athletic Association preseason poll. The three-game series starts at 6 p.m. Friday.
"We haven't played any true road games yet, so this will be a test playing at their park," Whittemore said. "The word on the street is that the best baseball in the country is in Southern California. We think we are going to have our hands full."
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