WNC Baseball: Wildcats beat Coyotes twice but finish second

It was only fitting that Western Nevada College won its final game at John L. Harvey Field on a well-executed bunt by a power hitter.
Daniel Nist's two-out bunt along the third-base line brought home Chandler Barkdull, providing WNC with a 2-1 Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball victory over College of Southern Nevada on Friday in Carson City.

"I'm proud of that, very proud that Dan just wants to win," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore of Nist's fundamental play. "It's not about him, and he gets it. It's about us. It's awesome team baseball."

Because of nasty weather on Thursday, the Wildcats completed a suspended game, played two seven-inning contests and honored their sophomore players and alums during the program's final day at John L. Harvey Field.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, the Coyotes wrapped up the SWAC regular-season title, 6-3, behind the combined eight-hit pitching of Mikey York and A.J. Jones. Their victory came after WNC rallied for a 4-3 victory in a game suspended on Thursday because of rain and lightning.

"They are the league champs for a reason," Whittemore said. "They have a great club. They have great pitching. They have great hitting. They are gonna be tough to beat on their field.

"Our guys did what they do: They showed up, competed, and CSN was better in the second game."

The Coyotes finished atop the SWAC standings with a 28-8 record, 1 games ahead of the Wildcats, who wound up with a 28-11 mark. The SWAC title means that the Coyotes will host the Region 18 tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Henderson.

"It's a baseball tournament, so anyone can win," Whittemore said. "We have the kind of pitching that might not scare anybody, but it's certainly good enough to beat anybody."

Many parents, alums and fans milled around the field afterward, taking pictures with the Wildcats and their coaches. Players and coaches from both teams were photographed with the Nevada state flag, and players signed autographs for children.

"To me, the important thing was sending them out in style and giving them the credit and the respect they earned and deserved," said Whittemore, who honored the team's 14 sophomores during a special ceremony between the second and third games.

Nist's game-deciding bunt in the bottom of the sixth came after CSN's Blake Wiggins tied the score in the top of the inning with a mammoth homer to left.

"They didn't expect it, and that's why I did it," Nist said. "The third baseman was way back, expecting me to pull the ball, and I just put it down."

Josh Mill and Jordy Van den Heuvel blanked the Coyotes on four hits through five innings. Jordan Ragan (5-1) got the win with an inning of relief ,and Kyle Thompson earned his second save by keeping the Coyotes off the scoreboard in the seventh inning.

"This program has meant so much to everyone, so much to me, and I've only been here one year," Nist said. "It's huge to go out with a 'W.' "

The full day of baseball started with Ty Fox striking out Jordan Hand looking with two runners in scoring position, securing the Wildcats' 4-3 come-from-behind victory.

"We decided to challenge him," Fox said. "(Hand) was over the plate because he couldn't hit that outside fastball, so I gave him the inside fastball."

During their final-inning threat, the Coyotes put runners on second and third bases with one out. Thrust into a pressure situation that Fox was familiar with earlier in the season when he served as the team's closer, the sophomore right-hander responded. First, Fox fanned CSN's No. 3 hitter Blake Wiggins, then he worked the count to 1-2 against cleanup hitter Hand. With Fox nibbling for the final strike, catcher Sam Salyers made a big play by blocking a 2-2 pitch in the dirt to hold the runners.

"I wasn't expecting them to score any runs off me because they didn't hit me that much, but once they started to do that I was like, 'Hey, settle down and hit my spots,' " Fox said.

CSN meant business when the suspended game resumed with two Wildcats runners on base in the fifth inning. Coyote coach Nick Garritano decided to bring in closer Alec Hutt to face DJ Peters. The move paid off as Peters popped up to second base, ending the threat.

The Coyotes then pounced on Fox, scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth. Drew Newson took a 2-0 fastball into the left-center gap, plating Brody Westmoreland, who started the rally with a one-out single.

WNC didn't flinch, coming back with two runs against Hutt in the bottom of the inning. Bradley Lewis' triple into the right-center alley fueled the rally. Abe Yagi cashed in Lewis with a single up the middle. With Hutt rattled, Nist executed a hit and run to move pinch-runner Brogan Secrist to third base.

Most of the large crowd in attendance knew what was coming next, and the strategy still worked. Casey Cornwell put down a bunt along the first-base line, squeezing in Secrist from third to put WNC in front, 4-3. Salyers followed with a walk to fill the bases, but Hutt kept the Coyotes within a run by retiring the next two Wildcats.
In the Coyotes' title-clinching victory, they scored all six of their runs - three on wild pitches by Chase Kaplan - in the third inning. CSN registered just two more hits, but the damage was done.

WNC nicked Mikey York for a run in the fourth inning. Lewis' double to left plated Peters. A.J. Jones, the Coyotes' winningest pitcher, relieved York in the fourth and fought his way through several WNC comeback bids to nail down the title.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to 6-3 with a two-run fifth inning. Eric Flores' double to left-center field started the rally. WNC loaded the bases with no outs when Cornwell singled and David Modler was hit by a pitch. But Cornwell was caught in a rundown between home and third base on a RBI single by Chad Bell. Tim Lichty added a run-scoring single, but Jones diffused the rally with a couple of strikeouts.

In the seventh, Bell and Peters reached base with one out. However, Jones struck out Lichty, and Lewis lined out to second to end the game.

"We competed, we bled and they came out on top this year," Peters said. "I'm sad today was the last game on this field."

Jordan Dreibelbis kept the Wildcats in the game with 4 2/3 innings of three-hit relief.

WNC (38-19 overall) will receive a first-round bye in the Region 18 tournament and play its first game on Thursday in Henderson.

"We're not done yet," Peters said. "We have a brand-new season starting on Monday. We'll be ready."