Western Nevada College’s losing softball record certainly can be deceiving. The Wildcats gave second-ranked Salt Lake Community College all it wanted in their Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday at Bruin Field in Taylorsville, Utah.
Salt Lake held off WNC, 7-4, in game two after struggling to a 5-2 victory in the opener. With the sweep, Salt Lake remained in first place in the SWAC at 22-4.
“We’re hanging in there with No. 2 team in the nation, so it’s really promising,” said WNC coach Leah Wentworth. “I’m really happy with our offensive performance; we hung in there and were matching them hit for hit. This is probably the best pitching staff in the conference.”
Twelve of the Wildcats’ 21 defeats have come against Salt Lake and College of Southern Idaho, teams ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the nation. “It’s tough that we play such a competitive schedule, but in the long run it makes the team more competitive,” Wentworth said. “It exposes areas that we need to improve on.”
WNC of Carson City lost the opener despite freshman pitchers Kaitlyn Jimmy and Kristina George holding the Bruins to seven hits. Jimmy took the loss, but three of the four runs she allowed in three innings were unearned. George allowed two hits and one earned run in her split duty.
“The pitching staff did a great job for us, and without the unearned runs, we would have been right in there for both games,” Wentworth said. “We just need to tighten up defensively.”
Pamela Sakuma belted a home run in the fifth inning to cut the Bruins’ lead to 5-1. And Melanie Mecham knocked in a run with a base hit in the seventh to pull WNC within three.
Pitcher Baylee Reeves picked up the win for Salt Lake. She gave up five hits and struck out three.
Makaylee Jaussi, Gabriella Canibeyaz, Bailey Henderson and Kacie Freudenberger also contributed hits for the Wildcats.
WNC was even more competitive in game two, taking a third-inning lead and rallying to within a run late in the game. The Wildcats went ahead 2-0 in the third inning as Lauren Lesniak doubled in Jaussi and Sakuma knocked in Lesniak with a base hit.
But Salt Lake scored two runs of its own in the third. Karly Bunderson launched a two-out RBI triple, and Raeana Gall’s base hit scored Bunderson. WNC sophomore pitcher Nicole Lesniak struck out Riana Splinter with runners on first and second bases to end the inning.
Salt Lake broke the tie an inning later. The first three Bruin batters reached base — the third on an infielder error that permitted Tina Ford to score. Megan Reed lined out to deep center, giving Lauren Frailey plenty of time to score on the sacrifice fly. Bunderson’s fielder’s choice sent home Courtney Beavers for a 5-2 Salt Lake lead.
George relieved Nicole Lesniak with the bases loaded and two outs and used a popup to keep the Wildcats’ deficit at three runs.
Then came an opportunity for the Wildcats to retake the lead as they loaded the bases against Frailey with no outs in the fifth. But the Bruins didn’t buckle, forcing out Mecham at the plate on Sakuma’s ground ball and then executing a double play on Freudenberger’s liner back to Frailey.
“Kacie really hit a laser and unfortunately that didn’t go our way,” Wentworth said. “I’m surprised she made the snag because she had to react so fast.”
WNC fought back in the sixth as Jaussi socked a two-run homer, pulling the Wildcats within a run at 5-4. But Salt Lake answered in the bottom of the inning with a pair of unearned runs.
Salt Lake improved to 32-6 overall, while WNC’s record fell to 14-21 overall and 9-16 in the SWAC.
The teams conclude their regular-season series with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.
