Henderson

The timing of the Region 18 softball tournament couldn't be better for Western Nevada College. The Wildcats are playing their best softball of the season coming into this week's double-elimination tournament in Taylorsville, Utah.

As one of the top two teams in the Scenic West Athletic Conference during the regular season, the Western Nevada College Wildcats earned a first-round bye in this week's Region 18 baseball tournament.

That honor can have its pluses and minuses, according to WNC coach D.J. Whittemore.

Western Nevada College's offense continued to sing and sting at College of Southern Nevada on Saturday afternoon. After scoring 31 runs and connecting for 27 hits during a Scenic West Athletic Conference softball doubleheader sweep on Friday, the Wildcats raked Coyotes pitching for 12 hits in a 15-0 opening-game win Saturday in Henderson.

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.

What a day — or was it a season — that Western Nevada College's Dakota Robinson produced at the plate on Friday.
Robinson belted three homers and knocked in 11 runs as the surging Wildcats claimed both ends of a Scenic West Athletic Conference softball doubleheader from rival College of Southern Nevada, 16-4 and 15-1, in Henderson.

Western Nevada College Softball faced Snow College Friday for a doubleheader at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City. With the wind blowing out, home runs seemed to be in the cards, and the Wildcats were dealing them. In game one, WNC put four out of the park to come out on top of the Badgers, 12-6. Noa Talia blasted two home runs to help the Wildcats take the second game, 12-9.

Kristina George has Colorado Northwestern's number. The Western Nevada College sophomore pitcher of Carson City blanked the Spartans for the second time this season, 6-0, in the opener of a four-game Scenic West Athletic Conference softball series on Friday in Rangely, Colo.

Call Eric Flores an opportunist. The Western Nevada College freshman first baseman has made the most of his part-time role with the Wildcats the spring.

On Saturday afternoon, Flores took advantage of a starting role, blasting a first-inning grand slam as WNC won the opening game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader against Salt Lake, 10-1, at John L. Harvey Field in Carson City.

Western Nevada College and Salt Lake Community College went 10 innings before WNC topped Salt Lake, 3-2, in game one of the weekend's four game series. Salt Lake is ranked fourth in the latest NJCAA poll, and have only lost four games this season. Pitcher Kristina George earned the win for the Wildcats.

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.

Western Nevada College freshman pitcher Jordan Ragan picked an opportune time to throw his first complete-game shutout on Saturday. Facing one of the top junior college baseball programs in the country and the Scenic West Athletic Conference leaders, Ragan delivered a three-hit shutout.

After allowing College of Southern Nevada to gain the upper hand early on Friday, Western Nevada set the offensive tone on Saturday at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City.

For the first time in the series, the Wildcats got a jump on the Coyotes, scoring four times in the first frame en route to a 6-0 victory. However, the Wildcats were unable to hold a four-run edge in Game 2, losing 10-8.

Rivalry weekend got off to an uplifting start for the Western Nevada College Wildcats on Friday. Bailey Henderson and Makaylee Jaussi socked two-run doubles and Briauna Carter launched a three-run homer as WNC won the Scenic West Athletic Conference softball series opener with a 10-3 victory in Carson City.

Brody Westmoreland stroked a game-winning two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning as College of Southern Nevada completed a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader sweep of Western Nevada College, 4-3, on Friday in Henderson.

Homers haven't been the primary source of Western Nevada College victories in 2016, but that changed on the team's current road trip in Utah.

Abe Yagi smacked a game-tying, two-run homer and DJ Peters slammed a tie-breaking, two-run shot as the Wildcats rallied for a 12-5 Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball victory over Utah State University Eastern on Friday in Price. Tim Lichty homered in Game 2, but the Golden Eagles rallied for an 8-5 victory.

Construction of the Black Bear Diner at Max Casino on South Carson Street is in full swing, and is estimated for completion by early May, Max Casino General Manager Lee Kennedy said Tuesday.

“We’re going to push hard to get to that date,” he said. “The community has really become attached to this project. Everybody’s talking about it.”

Western Nevada College's hitters showed why discipline at the plate eventually pays off on Saturday at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City.

With hard-throwing Colorado Northwestern freshman Taylor Reidhead controlling the Wildcats offense for the second straight day, WNC made sure to work the count deep. The tactic only produced a run early, but the dividends rolled in during a four-run fourth inning that triggered a 5-3 and 10-2 Scenic West Athletic Conference softball doubleheader sweep.

Kristina George fired a four-hit shutout and Western Nevada College unleashed a seven-run inning to sweep a softball twin bill against Colorado Northwestern, 2-0 and 12-3, on Friday at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City.

Western Nevada College pitchers struggled with College of Southern Idaho's powerful softball lineup on Saturday in Twin Falls, Idaho. CSI hit two homers in the first game and four more in the second game to complete a Scenic West Athletic Conference series sweep of the Wildcats, 10-5 and 13-2.

After nearly a month layoff, the Western Nevada College softball team will resume its season by traveling to College of Southern Idaho for a Thursday-Friday series that marks the opening of the Scenic West Athletic Conference schedule.

It wasn't the home opener that Western Nevada College envisioned Friday after winning four straight games against Cochise College last week.

Roderick Bynum went 4 for 5, scored three runs and drove in three more as Arizona Western College spoiled the Wildcats' first home baseball game, 9-5, at John L. Harvey Field in Carson City.

Western Nevada College sophomore pitcher Matt Young has been honored by the Scenic West Athletic Conference for his shutout performance against nationally ranked Cochise on Feb. 5 in Henderson.

For throwing six scoreless innings while striking out 10, Young was named the SWAC Player of the Week. He allowed just three hits and didn't walk a batter.

Western Nevada College will welcome an experienced Arizona Western College baseball team for its home opener at John L. Harvey Field on Friday, Feb. 12.

"Arizona Western has a tremendous team and a solid program," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore. "We are pumped to compete with them and understand we will have to play good-to-great baseball to come out on top."

There has been no shortage of opportunities for Western Nevada College to measure itself against the elite junior college softball teams in the county. A week after losing a tight game with second-ranked Eastern Arizona, the Wildcats squared off with Phoenix College, the National Junior College Athletics Association's top-ranked Division II team, at the Artichoke Classic on Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Entering the 2016 baseball season, Western Nevada College knew the strength of its club was starting pitching. Opponents are discovering that on their own. Cochise College, the 13th-ranked team by the National Junior College Athletic Association, certainly won't dispute that claim.

It was only his second outing, but Western Nevada College sophomore Matt Young looked like a pitcher in midseason form Friday.

Young fired six scoreless innings and struck out 10 as Western Nevada College of Carson City defeated Cochise, 5-2, in the opening game of a nonconference baseball doubleheader in Henderson.

"It was textbook pitching today by Matt and (catcher) Tim," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore. "The big difference for him was commanding the strike zone with the fastball. That puts him in counts where he can dictate."

Allowing just one hit through the first six innings, Western Nevada College could have expected to hold a lead against 13th-ranked Cochise on Thursday in Henderson.

Not so, as the Apaches used some aggressive baserunning to build a two-run advantage. But one swing of DJ Peters' bat swung the momentum in the Wildcats' favor in the seventh inning, driving WNC of Carson City to a 6-4 nonconference victory in the first of four games between the clubs.

Peters' laser shot over the left-field fence for a three-run homer completed the scoring, helping the Wildcats end a two-game losing streak.

A day after battering the South Mountain pitching staff for 18 hits and 15 runs, Western Nevada College struggled to put the ball in play on a chilly day in Phoenix.

Justin Wick no-hit the Wildcats into the fifth inning and WNC hitters fanned 11 times as the Cougars held on to win the nonconference baseball game 5-3 on Monday.

The Wildcats of Carson City employed a patient approach at the plate against Wick, drawing five walks through four innings. But without a hit, the Wildcats couldn't exploit the free passes.

Western Nevada College's softball team can depart its first preseason tournament knowing that it can compete with some of the top programs in the country.

Western Nevada College entered the 2016 softball season with great expectations, and the Wildcats supported those high aspirations with a 5-4 upset of nationally ranked Pima Community College on Friday morning at the College of Southern Nevada Kickoff Classic in Henderson.