WNC Baseball: Wildcats Seek Western District Championship Repeat
Submitted by editor on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 9:35pm
There is no place like someone else’s home, at least for the Western Nevada College baseball team. Since March 23, the Wildcats have played 19 of 23 games on the road, compiling an 18-5 record.
That ability to focus and excel away from home will come in handy this weekend in Sterling, Colo., as the Wildcats pursue their second straight Western District Championship and a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
“We have been in hostile environments against quality teams from the second week of the season forward,” said WNC Coach DJ Whittemore. “We have believed from the beginning of the program that dealing with failure gives teams and players a chance to grind their sword to a razor-sharp edge. I hope the days on the road and scheduling the best teams will allow us to be relaxed and perform.”
The Wildcats (41-18) open the double-elimination tournament against Region 9 runner-up Lamar Community College, Colo., (40-19) at 11 a.m. PST Thursday. Fans can listen to Chris Graham, voice of the Wildcats, call the game from Sterling at www.carsonnow.org/play-play-chris-graham.
In addition, Big Time Small Town Media will provide live video of each tournament game via online streaming at www.ihigh.com/gonjc or www.ihigh.com/njcaatv
After silencing familiar foes in the Region 18 tournament last weekend in Henderson, WNC pitchers will need to adjust to outstanding and unfamiliar hitters in the district tournament.
Presenting a major challenge will be Lamar’s Sam Wilson, who is third in the nation with a .451 batting average. He is also third in slugging average at .775, sixth in on-base average at .536, 17th in triples with seven, 17th
in runs scored with 58 and 49 holds a 10-2 record and 1.27 earned run average and 98 strikeouts, placing him
sixth and fourth in the country, respectively.
“Lamar has the best all-around player in the country in Wilson,” Whittemore said. “We know they have won a incredible number of games over the last 10-15 years. They have a great coach, fabulous program and talented players. This will be a great challenge that I know our team will be ready to meet head on.”
WNC shot up in the National Junior College Athletic Association polls after its dominant performance in the Region 18 tournament. Unranked a week ago, the Wildcats are 11 in the current poll.
There are other formidable teams in the way of WNC repeating last year’s district championship: sixth-ranked Cochise College, Ariz., (46-16) and host Northeastern (40-19), which is ranked 16th in the latest NJCAA poll. The Cochise Apaches captured the Region 1 title, while Northeastern beat Lamar for the Region 9 championship.
“Repeating as district champions in the Western District is one of the hardest feats in college sports, evidenced by the fact that no team has done it in the last 12 years,” Whittemore said. “There are so many great teams in this region that each year it is wide open. We are going to play every pitch and grind every at-bat and look up at the scoreboard at the end of game 1 and go from there.”
Whittemore only needed to use three pitchers — Cody Hamlin, Christian Stolo and Phil Belding — to close out the Region 18 title, but the time off for most of his pitching staff doesn’t concern the eighth-year Wildcat coach.
“Our entire staff pitched the final week of the season against (College of Southern Idaho). Those games were only nine days ago,” he said. “We have 10-plus guys with 10-plus appearances. All year long we have been working to have depth in our bullpen.
“I know those pitchers who didn’t get to toe the rubber (last weekend) are anxious to prove their metal. When their name is called, they will feel confident in their preparation and have trust in their teammates.”
If the Wildcats win their opener, they will meet the Cochise-Northeastern winner at 11 a.m. Friday. A loss in the opening game will send the Wildcats into an 8 a.m. elimination game on Friday.
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