Games between Western Nevada and Southern Nevada are not for the faint of heart. The battles tend to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
A year ago, WNC won three of the four home games at John L. Harvey Field on its last at-bat.
The Wildcats worked a little bit of that magic again, getting walk-off hits in the eighth inning from Tanner Nielsen and Bobby Pappin to sweep their in-state rivals 4-3 and 3-2 Friday in front of a sellout crowd.
The sweep, coupled with Salt Lake's split against College of Southern Idaho, gives the Wildcats a one-game lead over SLCC. WNC is 27-3 in conference play while SLCC is 26-4.
"We've had a string of good fortune against them (at our place)," WNC coach D.J. Whittemore said. "I give CSN credit. They have gone through a lot this year (loss of coach Tim Chambers and then the loss of the coach hired to replace Chambers). They have a good team.
"We've done a good job this year of playing every pitch. Our players have learned that's what you have to do. They have done a great job of grinding."
Both teams left runners in scoring position in the first two innings of the first game, as WNC starter Anthony Consiglio and his CSN counterpart Chipper Smith made key pitches when needed.
The Wildcats went ahead 2-0 in the third when Nielsen, WNC's No. 9 hitter, singled leading off the inning. He moved to second when Chris Woolley beat out a bunt. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and both scored on Connor Eppard's double to the gap in left-centerfield. Taylor Smart who had walked, advanced to third on Eppard's hit.
The next batter, Beau Day dropped a bunt between the plate and the mound. Smith flipped the ball home and Smart was tagged out on a close play. Smith struck out Sean Potkay and retired Jon Sigado on a flyball to right to end the inning.
Smith settled down, and his teammates rewarded his effort by tying the game in the sixth when Tyler Blair doubled and scored on John Pustay's two-out double to make it 2-1. Kris Kaplan socked the third double of the inning to tie the game at 2. Consiglio exited in favor of Chris Garrison, who got the final out of the inning.
CSN took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth when Cam Harper hit a solo homer to left-centerfield off Garrison. The WNC right-hander retired the next two hitters.
Potkay, who struggled in his first three at-bats, singled softly to right to start the bottom of the eighth. He advanced to second on Donald Glover's sacrifice bunt. Pat McMeel walked, and was replaced at first by second game starter Kody Gorden, who pinch ran for the Wildcats.
Up stepped Nielsen who ripped a double in the left-centerfield gap, scoring both runners to win the game.
"I saw the centerfielder shifted over to right," Nielsen said. "I was looking for something middle in. I hit the ball in the right spot. When I hit it I was thinking that Kody better score."
The second game followed a little different script.
CSN scored one in the first off Gorden as Blair singled home Duncan Satherlie who had singled to lead off the game.
The score remained that way, as Gorden retired 12 of the next 14 hitters. CSN's Taylor Jones allowed just five baserunners in the first five innings. He helped his own cause by picking off two runners, Pappin in the second and Day in the fourth. Both pickoffs by the left-handed Jones came with two outs.
CSN made it 2-0 in the fifth when Satherlie hit a solo homer to right-centerfield.
The Wildcats tied the game in the sixth on an unusual play.
Chris Woolley walked and eventually scored on a single by Day to make it 2-1. Sigado followed with a blooper to short right. Satherlie went back on the ball, and right after the ball hit his glove he was plowed over by rightfielder Kaplan. The ball ended up on the turf, and Day easily scored the tying run. Sigado was stranded when Zach Hendrix grounded to third.
WNC loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Potkay hit into a fielder's choice against ex-Manogue pitcher Ryan Baker to end the threat.
Tim Peterson, who once again pitched out of a first and second jam to end the seventh, retired the side in order in the eighth.
That set the stage for Pappin's heroics.
With two outs, pinch-hitter Brooks Klein lifted a deep fly to centerfield. Pustay dropped the ball, enabling the hustling Klein to reach second. Pappin followed with a ground ball to the left of second base to score Klein. Pappin was mobbed by his teammates behind first base as WNC celebrated like it had just advanced to the JUCO World Series.
"Wow," were the first words out of Pappin's mouth. "It was a fastball. I went up there swinging. He (Baker) was putting it in there, so I knew I wasn't going to walk."
NOTES: Ray Daniels, who played at Damonte Ranch, is a sophomore at CSN. He went 0-for-4 in the second game, but played well defensively at third ... There was a moment of silence for Carson students Keegan Aiazzi and Stephen Anderson, who died during a scuba diving accident two weekends ago in Monterey. Although a final tabulation hasn't been done, approximately $1,000 (gate receipts and bracelet sales) will be donated to the memorial funds of Aiazzi and Anderson.
