WNC Baseball: Bruins Come Back to Defeat Wildcats
Submitted by editor on Thu, 04/09/2015 - 8:46pm
Zac Willis doubled in two runs in the seventh inning and tripled in two more runs in the eighth as Salt Lake City Community College rallied to an 11-6 Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball victory over Western Nevada College on Thursday at Cate Field in West Jordan.
With four Wildcats supplying at least two hits, WNC staked freshman pitcher Matt Young to a 6-1 lead through six innings.
But the game turned in the top of the seventh when the Wildcats of Carson City didn't blow open the game after loading the bases with no one out. Salt Lake fed off the momentum of escaping the top of the seventh unscathed by erupting for four runs in the bottom of the inning.
The final two free passes issued by Young started the rally. Reliever Connor Zwetsch was greeted with a two-out, two-run double off the bat of Willis, bringing the Bruins to within 6-3. Zwetsch gave up two more runs by issuing two walks and hitting two Bruins before getting the final out of the inning.
The Salt Lake comeback resumed in the eighth when the first six Bruins reached base against Zwetsch (2-4). After Austin Ovard's base hit tied the score at 6, Willis followed with his tiebreaking, two-run triple. Salt Lake added three more runs against the Wildcat bullpen to take five-run lead into the final inning.
WNC's seventh defeat in nine games dropped the Wildcats to 11-10 in SWAC play and 24-17 overall.
"That was a tough one, a bitter pill to swallow," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore. "The defense gave them extra outs, the bullpen couldn't get them out and the offense didn't have the killer instinct to put them away."
The Wildcats committed five errors and left 10 runners on base.
"That's a perfect recipe for disaster," Whittemore said. "But give Salt Lake credit. They kept battling and giving themselves a chance, then capitalizing. "They did to us what we have had success doing in the past."
Jake Bennett, DJ Peters, Tim Lichty and Kody Reynolds combined for nine hits, four runs and six RBI to back the five-hit pitching of Young and build a commanding 6-1 lead.
The Wildcats' offense came to life from the outset against Salt Lake starter Jason Jourdan, who entered the game with a 2.05 earned run average and a 4-1 record.
WNC broke out on top against Jourdan when a sacrifice fly by Reynolds plated Bennett, who started the inning with a base hit.
Bennett also ignited the Wildcats' second-inning rally. The sophomore outfielder singled and went to second on a walk to Brogan Secrist. Peters followed with a run-scoring double to give WNC a 2-0 lead. Next, Lichty delivered a two-run single, putting the Wildcats in front 4-0.
Young escaped a jam in the second when Caleb Summerhay's one-out double put runners on second and third. But the freshman left-hander used a strikeout and an infield popup to keep the Bruins scoreless.
A leadoff walk to Chris Fougner in the fourth didn't come back to hurt Young as catcher Brandon Lapointe threw out the Bruin trying to steal second base.
In the fifth, Bennett continued his hot-hitting performance with a base hit that scored David Modler to provide WNC with a five-run edge.
An error by Reynolds at short enabled Chris Bradford to cross the plate and end Young's shutout bid in the fifth.
WNC got the run back in the sixth with a two-out rally. Lichty smashed a double to left-center field and scored on Reynolds' single.
Bennett, who came into the game hitting .404, finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored and a RBI. Lichty and Reynolds each knocked in two runs.
Young worked 6 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs. He walked six and struck out one.
"Matt is giving us everything he has," Whittemore said. "There's only so much one man can do."
The two teams resume their series Friday with a doubleheader starting at noon.
"We'll go out tomorrow like it's our first game of the season, the last game of the season and it's our only game of the season," Whittemore said.
