WNC Baseball: Wildcats to open fall schedule Sunday
The Western Nevada College baseball team opens its fall scrimmage season Sunday against Feather River College of Quincy, Calif. The doubleheader begins at 11 a.m. at Peccole Park at the University of Nevada, Reno, the site of six of the Wildcats’ fall games.
D.J. Whittemore, entering his 10th season at the helm of the Wildcats, said the club will take the same approach that it does when the regular season begins in late January.
“We play to win and we try to learn from and minimize our mistakes,” Whittemore said. “The coaches will use the games to evaluate the players and identify strengths and weaknesses that can be addressed in the offseason.”
Whittemore welcomes back six position players and three pitchers. Thus, the fall scrimmages give the freshmen an opportunity to develop their skills and adjust to a higher level of play.
“For the freshman class especially, the games in the fall allow them to catch up to the speed of the game and learn to play and compete every pitch,” Whittemore said. “The 20 extra games are also useful so our players can learn to play as a team and get comfortable with one another.”
In addition, WNC will scrimmage Delta College of Stockton, Sacramento City College and Sierra College of Rocklin at various venues, and cap the fall campaign with an intrasquad World Series October 15-18 at John L. Harvey Field.
The Wildcats will play host to a twin bill against Sacramento City College on September 20 and Feather River on October 5.
“Playing quality programs like Delta, Sierra, Feather River and Sac City give us a measuring stick as to where we are going to stand going into the spring taking on the likes of CSN, SLCC and CSI,” Whittemore said. “It’s a great time of the year in our program and something we really look forward to.”
Go here for a complete scrimmage schedule.