WNC Softball: Wildcats believe in comebacks

Gotta believe! Those were the words of encouragement from coach Leah Wentworth that Western Nevada College took to heart after falling behind 13th-ranked College of Southern Idaho 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning on Friday at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City.

Sophomore Gabrielle Canibeyaz capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the eighth with a RBI single as the Wildcats rallied to win the Scenic West Athletic Conference softball series opener, 5-4.

The believers also delivered in the second game after falling behind 8-3 when CSI scored five times in the eighth inning. Melanie Mecham's two-out, three-run double highlighted the Wildcats' five-run rally. But the Golden Eagles scored an unanswered run in the ninth to survive Game 2, 9-8.

In the final game of the tripleheader, WNC made a furious rally from an 11-run deficit, scoring seven unanswered runs in a 12-8 defeat.

"This team is showing the upside I haven't seen yet," Wentworth said. "The part we have been talking a lot about is trusting your stuff, taking what they are learning in practice and trusting it in a game situation under pressure. They are nice and relaxed; they are confident. They are not getting caught up in just what happened or what they think is about to happen. They are staying in the moment."

WNC's SWAC record now is 8-15 and overall mark is 12-9. CSI is 16-7 and 25-13.

In the eighth inning of the opener, CSI pushed across the lead run with two outs. Madi Ford's sharp grounder glanced off first baseman Kelsie Callahan's glove, and Canibeyaz, who was backing up the play as a second baseman, was just late with her throw to first, enabling Erin Emmanuel to cross the plate.

WNC mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth with three straight hits. A liner to center by Mecham, Kacie Freudenberger's infield hit off the glove of third baseman Jaici Bishop and Dakota Robinson's pinch-hit infield single just in front of diving shortstop Erin Emanuel set the table for some extra-inning heroics. Noa Talia tied the score with a sacrifice fly to center, but pitcher Kelsie Christensen moved within an out of getting out of the jam when Briauna Carter grounded out unassisted to first.

But Carter's out moved Freudenberger to third and the cleanup hitter cruised home when Canibeyaz punched the game-winning knock through the middle of the infield.

"This is an opportunity you don't get all of the time, so I was just trying to put the ball into play," Canibeyaz said. "I want to make the most of it, and it's something I won't ever forget."

The Wildcats went ahead 2-1 in the third, utilizing a bunt attack to generate offense. After Makaylee Jaussi and Bailey Henderson beat out bunt singles, Mecham moved them up a base with a sacrifice bunt. Freudenberger's fielder's choice knocked in Jassui with the go-ahead run.

In the fourth, Carter extended WNC's lead to 3-1 by taking a two-strike offering from Christensen over the fence in left-center-field.

CSI chipped away at the lead with a run in the fifth, but two outstanding defensive plays kept the Wildcats ahead. Three straight hits to start the fifth pulled CSI to within 3-2, but with runners on second and third and one out, Carter went up against her dugout in foul territory to make a catch and left fielder Triniece Lesky slid to the ground to take away a line-drive hit from Emanuel.

The Golden Eagles produced the tying run in the seventh. With one out, Abby Toller ripped a run-scoring double past Lesky in left field. However, George retired the next two hitters to keep the score tied.

George bested Christiensen, last week's SWAC Pitcher of the Week, by not allowing the Golden Eagles to score in bunches like they did when the teams met in Twin Falls, Idaho, to start the conference season. The Wildcats allowed 37 runs in that series.

"One of the things I really wanted to focus on was to have every batter be faceless because it was like pitching to anybody on any other day," said George, the complete-game winner. "Our pitching staff puts in a lot of work in with charting and making sure we know the batters really well so it gives us and advantage when we know what they have struggled with before."

In game two, WNC sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Jimmy no-hit CSI the first time through the lineup. But in the fourth, CSI strung together three hits and scored twice to open the inning, prompting Wentworth to bring in George. The first-game winner retired the next three hitters, and WNC struck back in its half of the fourth. Carter's two-run single plated Mecham and Freudenberger to tie the score at 2. Chelsea Latu nearly put WNC in front, but her deep drive was hauled in by center fielder Ford.

Ford's fifth-inning sacrifice fly allowed CSI to retake the lead, 3-2.

After Mecham just missed tying the score with a deep drive to right, Freudenberger pulled the Wildcats even in the same inning with a homer to left-center.

The Wildcats' came up big on defense again in the seventh. After George the first two CSI hitters, leadoff hitter Ford beat out an infield single off George's glove. Ford stole second and was held at third on Cook's single to short right field. Freudenberger's strong throw home froze Ford at third and Latu gunned out Cook trying to take an extra base as Jaussi put down the tag for the final out of the rally.

WNC nearly won it in the bottom of the seventh. Henderson and Mecham laced two-out base hits, but Henderson was stranded on third when Freudenberger lined out to Cook in center.

"This is a team that's going to fight until the end," Canibeyaz said. "Until the last out we are gonna come up, we're gonna be strong and we're gonna keep fighting."

Like they did in the opener, the Golden Eagles took the lead in the eighth. Toller took the first pitch from George over the left-center field fence for a 4-3 CSI lead. A sacrifice fly from Sarah Phillips and a bloop-RBI base hit by Katie Basinger provided CSI with two insurance runs. Ford's two-run double off the tip of Mecham's glove in center made the score 8-3.

But WNC didn't flinch. Walks to Lesky and Carter, coupled with a Canibeyaz base hit, loaded the bases. Following a Latu popup, Robinson smashed a run-scoring single to right. Then, Jaussi's grounder went under the glove of second baseman Phillips to plate Carter and pull WNC within 8-5. Henderson's two-strike blast to center looked as if it would get over the head of Cook, but she reached up at the last second to rob the Wildcat. The Wildcats still had an out left and Mecham used it wisely with her gapper between left and center to knot the score.

"That was so exciting. Everyone was so pumped," Wentworth said. "This team is working so hard; we pushed them a little harder this week and told them, 'They are ready.' And we are ready. We've played a lot of these late-inning games so far this season. If they trust what they are capable of, there is no reason why we shouldn't be in every game and come out on top."

However, CSI retook the lead, 9-8, in the ninth on Emanuel's RBI single. The Wildcats threatened to re-tie the score in their half of the ninth when Carter and Canibeyaz singled and walked, respectively, with one out. But Christensen retired pinch-hitter Courtnee Higgs on a fly out and Robinson on a groundout to end the game.
Carter led the Wildcats with three hits, two RBI and a run scored. Talia provided two infield hits.

In Game 3, CSI jumped out to a 2-0 edge against freshman right-hander McKell Marble in the first. Toller smacked a RBI single and Savannah Kirkpatrick delivered a sacrifice fly. The Golden Eagles tallied five more runs off Marble and Jimmy in the second. Kirkpatrick's grand slam highlighted the uprising.

After CSI pushed its lead to nine runs in the fourth on Kirkpatrick's two-run base hit, Mecham rode the wind with a solo homer off Samantha Reisen in the bottom of the inning. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to 12-1 with three extra-base hits in the fifth.

WNC didn't let the game finish as a blowout, erupting for six runs in the fifth to avoid the mercy rule. Talia's two-run double off the left-center fence, a RBI double by Lesky and RBI base hits by Jaussi and Carter triggered the comeback.

Henderson led off the seventh with a sharp single to left, forcing the Golden Eagles to bring in their ace, Christensen. Mecham greeted her with an infield single, but the Wildcats tallied a run before the final out was recorded.

George made her third appearance of the series, throwing two scoreless innings.

"We have definitely stepped up the tempo at practice because we want to be that team at the end of the year, so the hard work has paid off," George said.

The teams played three games on Friday because of a rainy forecast for Saturday. Weather permitting, the series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.

In the photos: Western Nevada’s Briauna Carter, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo home run against the College of Southern Idaho at the Edmonds Sports Complex in Carson City, Nev., on Friday, April 8, 2016.