WNC Wildcats baseball grabs series from 10th-ranked Cochise
Submitted by editor on Mon, 02/10/2014 - 8:00pm
Western Nevada College became a different baseball club during the second week of the season, ironing out some issues on the mound and behind the plate. The result was capturing a 2-1 weekend series over 10th-Ranked Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz.
Behind six innings of scoreless pitching by Conor Harber and three RBI off the bat of Alex Fife, the 14th-ranked Wildcats of Carson City completed a series-clinching 6-2 win Saturday.
WNC pitchers surrendered just 10 runs in the past five games after allowing 20 in the first three contests.
“Their preparation and effort were the same, but they got better results,” WNC coach D.J. Whittemore said. “If anything, it was the catching that improved a lot, and that was reflective in our pitching.”
Catchers Sam Hall and Kyle Henderson brought stability to the Wildcats defensively as the Wildcats won in all three of Hall’s starts at catcher last week and the Wildcats were 2-0 when Henderson was behind the plate.
“They brought a lot of energy and a lot of effort,” Whittemore said. “We have a lot of respect for (Cochise’s) program. It’s something we talked about, trying to win a series from a good team on the road.
“I was really impressed. Our team was playing real hard. They are playing the game the right away. This team has very high expectations for themselves. They have a good understanding of how to play championship-caliber baseball.”
Harber was dominant in his second start of the season. The right-hander struck out eight Apaches and allowed just three hits in his six-inning stint on the mound.
“He was very, very good,” Whittemore said.
Thomas Kerr followed Harber and kept Cochise off the scoreboard in the seventh and eight innings. Connor Zwetsch ran into some trouble in the ninth, allowing a two-run single, but prevented the Apaches from making a serious threat at a comeback victory.
Alex Fife’s RBI single off Darick Hall put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 in the fourth inning, but Hall didn’t allow another run during his seven innings of work.
The Wildcats, however, went to work against Cochise’s bullpen. Fife’s base hit scored Jake Bennett with WNC’s second run in the eighth.
The Wildcats (5-3) broke it open with a four-run ninth-inning rally. Bennett’s double scored Austin Andrews, then Tony Roque scored on the throw from the outfield. Raven delivered an RBI single for a 5-0 WNC lead, and Fife closed out the rally with a run-scoring double.
Bennett was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI; Fife, who hit better than .500 for the week, was 3 for 5 with three RBI; and Rayne Raven went 2 for 4 with a RBI and a run scored.
“The lineup 1-9 was outstanding,” Whittemore said. “They were really disciplined with quality at-bats. Once we got Harber back in the lineup, we’re 5-1. He’s been a significant difference-maker.”
The Wildcats’ challenging preconference schedule won’t get any easier this week as they head to Riverside, Calif., for a three-game series beginning Thursday. Riverside City College is ranked 16th by Perfect Game.
“Their pitching staff probably is the best we’ll face all year,” Whittemore said. “They have three to four guys who are pretty high on the draft radars.
“We like to play against the best teams. There is an opportunity to prove something to ourselves.”
WNC’s home opener in Carson City is scheduled for1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, against Prairie Baseball Academy of Lethbridge, Canada.
Schedule and scores:
www.wnc.edu/athletics/baseball/2014/schedule/
