Welcome home, Wildcats. Western Nevada College's softball team finally gets to play at home this weekend, after a grueling 22 games on the road. Friday and Saturday doubleheaders are set against College of Southern Idaho. WNC's home field is at Edmonds Sports Complex in south Carson City, with a scheduled start time of 1 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.
"We're extremely excited to be playing at home, finally," said Coach Leah Wentworth. "We've been on the road since January."
The Wildcats are coming off a tough four-game stint at College of Southern Nevada where they fell 1-8, 1-14, 0-8 and 6-12. However, the 'Cats exhibited signs of maturity in the final game when they fought back from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game in the fifth inning.
"We played hard and showed a lot of fight," Wentworth said. "They saw that they can rally back runs when they're putting the pressure on." Leading the charge was Alicia Merrell, a freshman from Silver Stage High School in Stagecoach, who hit back-to-back home runs - one solo and a two-run homer, to tie the game. In addition, Alissa Rampa drove home a run and Ashley Williams hit an RBI single. Alex Arciniega, a Spanish Springs High product, was 1-for-3, Lisa Senko was 2-for-2, and Fernley High School grad Frances Estrada added a hit.
Earlier in the series, Arciniega hit a home run as well as a sacrifice fly to score Estrada.
Friday, the Wildcats will bring a 4-18 record to the field against another tough Scenic West Athletic Conference opponent. Southern Idaho is 20-10 and returns several top players in key positions.
"Our goal is to keep putting the ball in play, as well as finding the best combination of players on defense and on the mound," Wentworth said.
