WNC Softball: George fires two-hit shutout as Wildcats earn split
Kristina George tossed a two-hit shutout and Western Nevada College nearly recovered from a nine-run deficit as the Wildcats split a Scenic West Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at rival College of Southern Nevada on Friday.
WNC's 3-0 victory and 9-7 defeat leave the Wildcats one-half game behind third-place CSN.
For the second straight game, George didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning. The Coyotes slugged a pair of hits in their final at-bat, but George escaped a one-out bases-loaded jam with an infield fly and a strikeout to preserve her second straight shutout.
"She is really getting stronger and stronger. Every time she gets out on the mound, she is doing a great job," said WNC coach Leah Wentworth.
Until the seventh, the Coyotes put only two runners on base. CSN's Maggie Manwarren was caught stealing for the first time this season. Lauren Lesniak threw her out trying to swipe second base with one out in the fourth inning. The only other Coyote baserunner until the seventh came on a walk in the sixth. George finished with six strikeouts and one walk.
The Wildcats of Carson City took a 1-0 lead when Melanie Mecham doubled in Samantha Bell in the third inning. WNC scored two more runs in the fourth, stringing together singles by Pamela Sakuma, Makaylee Jaussi, Bell and Mecham.
Vanessa Sanders homered twice in the first three innings, staking the Coyotes to an 8-0 lead in game two. After CSN scored its final run in the fourth to go ahead 9-0, the Wildcats mounted a comeback.
WNC scored six runs in the fifth and had the tying run at the plate in the seventh when CSN recorded the final out.
Mecham's two-run double highlighted the fifth, while Lesniak, Jaussi and Canibeyaz also doubled in runs.
In the seventh, Mecham singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Lesniak doubled in Mecham to make the score 9-7. Gabriella Canibeyaz's high chopper to short was handled for the game-ending force out.
"They continue to show fight and heart, and there is no quit in this team," Wentworth said. "It was a good loss. If we had to lose, they lost good. If we're not in hole like that tomorrow, it should be really promising for us."
Mecham was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI, Lesniak was 2 for 3 with two RBI and Jaussi, Canibeyaz, Kacie Freudenberger and Katilyn Covione each contributed a hit. Jaussi and Covione also delivered a RBI.
George tossed the final two innings, holding the Coyotes scoreless on two hits.
The Wildcats are 9-8 in the SWAC and 14-13 overall and CSN is 10-8 and 18-11 heading into Saturday's twin bill starting at noon.