WNC Softball: Wildcats enjoy hIt parade at home in series opener

Rivalry weekend got off to an uplifting start for the Western Nevada College Wildcats on Friday. Bailey Henderson and Makaylee Jaussi socked two-run doubles and Briauna Carter launched a three-run homer as WNC won the Scenic West Athletic Conference softball series opener with a 10-3 victory in Carson City.

In Game 2, the Wildcats' comeback bid fell short in a 7-6 defeat, despite a two-run homer by Kacie Freudenberger. In the opener, the Wildcats made an immediate adjustment to College of Southern Nevada Coyote freshman pitcher Shonda Badayos, triggering a 14-hit attack.

"The first time through the lineup they were all aware that she didn't have as much velocity as we have been seeing and they were going to need to be patient," said WNC coach Leah Wentworth. "We talked about using up that batter's box, getting to front of it, so they wouldn't have to wait as long."

A two-strike double by Chandie Perez past diving center fielder Noa Talia staked CSN to a two-run lead in the first inning. The rally was set up by a walk, a force play where an out wasn't recorded and a throwing error by left fielder Melanie Mecham.

The Wildcats executed a two-out rally to get a run back in their first at-bat. After Mecham drew a walk, Talia drove a 3-0 pitch into left field for a single. Both Mecham and Talia moved up a base when left fielder Justin Garganese missed her cut-off player. A soft liner with extra spin on it by Freudenberger found its way into center field, scoring Mecham.

Two outs was the magic number again for the Wildcats in the second. Henderson's two-out line drive double to left field plated Triniece Lesky and Jaussi, giving WNC its first lead, 3-2. Mecham's RBI single to center brought home Henderson, making the score 4-2.

"It was just trying to jump on the first good pitch; I was going to hit anything up in the zone," Henderson said. "She was a little slower than we've been facing and her ball was going down a little bit, so moving up in the batter's box we were able to see if it was dropping or not."

The Wildcats, however, missed opportunities to widen their lead by leaving five runners on base in the first two innings.

After struggling in the opening frame, WNC starting pitcher Kristina George allowed only three more Coyote to reach base. She walked two in throwing the complete-game victory.

In the third, the Coyotes pulled within 4-3 on Shonda Badayos' two-out RBI double to left.

But the Wildcats put together a scoring rally for the third straight inning against Badayos. This time it was Jaussi who stroked a two-run double into the left-center field gap. Lesky and Gabrielle Canibeyaz scored on the play as WNC increased its advantage to 6-3.

Henderson knocked in her third run of the opener with a single in the fifth, expanding WNC's lead to four runs. Lesky scored for the third time on the hit.

Carter removed any late-inning suspense by belting a three-run homer to left-center field in sixth.
"It felt good; I've been in a slump," Carter said. "I've put a lot of hours in building up my swing. I just wanted to make contact. My coach says, "Hit it hard, not far,' " so I've been focused on short, compact swings."

All nine players in the Wildcats' lineup produced at least one hit. Jaussi was 2 for 3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Henderson was 2 for 4 with a run scored and three RBI. Talia, Canibeyaz and Freudenberger also delivered a pair of hits for the Wildcats.

"Definitely, it was pleasing," Wentworth said. "That's what we noticed about the teams that have been beating us, that they have been getting production all the way through the lineup. We've been going in and out of different pockets of our lineup that have struggled to produce, so this is a big improvement. They are all starting to become more relaxed at the plate as they have seen more live pitching."

"Gabby and Briauna, we've been patiently waiting for them to break out," Wentworth said. "They've been doing great things in practice; they just haven't been able to transfer it to the game. Today, they did, so we're so excited to see their bats back to being productive."

In the second game, the Coyotes scored first again. CSN took advantage of a dropped fly ball, two walks and a RBI single by Chandie Perez to push three runs across the plate.

WNC had an answer in the bottom of the first. Freudenberger crushed a Jaycie LeBaron pitch well over the center-field fence for a two-run homer. But the Coyotes used a long ball by Anysa Calderson in the second to move in front 4-2.

Lesky's two-out liner over the left fielder's head for two bases sent Canibeyaz home with the Wildcats' third run.
Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, the Wildcats threatened when Talia cracked a double off the top of the left-field fence. A wild pitch sent pinch-runner Samantha Bell to third. The bases became loaded when Dakota Robinson walked and Canibeyaz was hit by a pitch. LeBaron walked Carter to tie the score, then Lesky's hard grounder to short forced out Canibeyaz at third but Robinson scored the go-ahead run.

CSN responded with two runs against reliever McKell Marble in the fifth to retake the lead, 6-5 and withstood a late rally to hold off the Wildcats. LeBaron started mixing her speeds more in the fifth and it resulted in two strikeouts and 1-2-3 inning - only the Wildcats' third of the afternoon.

WNC is 6-12 in the SWAC and 11-18 overall, while CSN is 3-15 in SWAC play and 9-18 overall.

The Nevada rivals will conclude their four-game series with a doubleheader starting noon Saturday at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City.