Western Nevada College
Tim Lichty is on one of those offensive tears that hitters covet. For the second straight game, the Western Nevada College catcher belted a grand slam as part of a two-homer performance, as the Wildcats routed Utah State University Eastern, 10-0, in the first game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader on Thursday in Price, Utah.
Lichty also homered in a 16-8 second-game victory, giving him five long balls during a three-game stretch.
More importantly, the doubleheader sweep established WNC as the undisputed leaders of the SWAC at 12-2.
Lichty launched a solo homer in the fourth inning and a grand slam in the fifth of the opener. The sophomore also walked and singled, scored four times and drove home six runs for the second consecutive game.
The offensive production by Lichty was more than enough for left-hander Matt Young to dispatch the Golden Eagles in five innings. Young tossed his staff-leading fourth straight complete game and raised his season record to 4-3 with the shutout.
“Tim is on a (tear) right now,” Young said. “Any ball thrown his way is smashed. He keeps getting big hits in clutch situations and sending them deep.”
Young permitted four hits, walked one and struck out four.
“I think the biggest key to my success is that I’ve been throwing two bullpens a week to work on my command down in the zone,” Young said. “I think that my fastball velocity has also gone up, so I am catching more hitters off guard.”
WNC of Carson City (22-8 overall) produced nine baserunners in the first two innings against three Golden Eagle pitchers.
“Right now are lineup is pretty locked in and guys are turning in quality at-bats; we’re just wearing people down,” said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore.
Bradley Lewis’ RBI single highlighted the Wildcats’ two-run first and Lewis added a run-scoring double to left in the second. Lichty and DJ Peters chipped in a RBI single and sacrifice fly, respectively, as the Wildcats built a 5-0 lead for Young.
Lichty’s solo shot off Jordan Raab in the fourth inning extended WNC’s lead to 6-0.
“He’s seeing the ball really well, has lot of confidence and he’s a good hitter,” Whittemore said. “It’s probably not the first time he’s hit five homers in three games if you go back to high school.”
Young stranded Golden Eagles on base in each of the five innings but didn’t allow a runner past second base until the fifth.
“We were focused on winning the first game of the series and Matt was in complete control from the first batter of the game; that’s what you expect of a No. 1 (starter),” Whittemore said.
Eastern Utah’s best scoring chance came in the first inning when Austin Geurtsen doubled with one out and Nathan Hedberg followed with a walk. But Peters made a diving catch of a liner off the bat of Colton Hill and Cory McKendrick flew out to right field, ending the early threat.
The Golden Eagles loaded the bases in the fifth, needing a run to prevent the mercy rule being enforced. However, Young fanned Hill after falling behind 2-0 in the count, ending the game.
Game 2 began like the opener, with WNC plating two runs in the first frame. Peters knocked in David Modler with a single to right field and Chandler Barkdull stole home when the Golden Eagles attempted to throw out Peters at second base on a walk to Lichty.
Sophomore right-hander Jordan Dreibelbis made his second start of the season, following his stellar relief effort against Colorado Northwestern on Sunday. The Wildcats, however, committed two errors behind in the second inning, permitting the Golden Eagles to tie the score at 2.
WNC played small and long ball in the fourth inning to score five runs. Barkdull executed a safety squeeze bunt to score Sam Salyers, then Peters drove a Bennett Bradford offering over the center field fence for a two-homer.
Lichty made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot, increasing WNC’s lead to 7-2. It was Lichty’s third homer of the day and fifth in three games. Salyers, Modler and Casey Cornwell contributed singles during the five-hit rally.
“With Tim playing the way he’s been playing, it gives the other powers hitters, whether they’re batting before him or after him, more opportunities and more pitches to hit,” Peters said.
The Wildcats capitalized on a pair of errors to score five more runs in the fifth. Modler stroked a RBI double during the rally, and Lichty’s liner to right field cleared the bases for a 12-2 Wildcat lead when Hill overran the ball for a two-base error. Lichty was thrown out at the plate on the relay home for the third out.
Eastern Utah extended the game with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the fifth. Pinch-hitter JR Centeno’s RBI double made the score 12-3, then a bases loaded walk, McKendrick’s RBI single and an error pulled the Golden Eagles to within 12-6.
But Daniel Nist followed an infield single by Brogan Secrist with a mammoth homer to left, pushing WNC further ahead at 14-6. It was the Wildcats’ fifth homer of the afternoon. An unearned run and a RBI base hit by Riley Hennings pushed WNC’s lead to 16-6.
Hedberg’s two-out run-scoring base hit in the sixth delayed the mercy rule again as the Golden Eagles rallied for two runs.
Dreibelbis earned his fourth victory in five decisions. He gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked three. Kyle Thompson closed out the seven-inning win by retiring four out of the five batters he faced.
The Wildcats’ 16-hit attack featured six players with two hits. Modler, Barkdull, Peters, Lichty, Salyers and Justin Mannens had two knocks, while Molder and Salyers scored three runs and Peters knocked in a team-high three.
“A lot of people are battling for jobs right now and there is a lot internal competition, which is healthy,” Whittemore said. “A lot of guys think they should be in the lineup and want to go out and prove that they deserve that opportunity.”
The two teams wrap up their four-game series with a twin bill starting at 11 a.m. Friday.
