Jon Sigado is the first to admit that his sophomore season at Western Nevada College has resembled a rollercoaster ride.
Sigado enjoyed his single most productive game in the first game of Friday's doubleheader against College of Southern Idaho, driving in four runs to lead the Wildcats to an 8-6 come-from-behind win at John L. Harvey Field.
In the second game, the Wildcats got 6.1 innings from Kody Gorden, a key two-run triple by Chris Woolley and a two-run homer by Beau Day en route to a 6-2 victory and a sweep of the doubleheader.
WNC improved to 31-3 in Scenic West Athletic Conference play and leads Salt Lake City by four games with six to play. The winner of the SWAC regular season hosts the post-season tournament.
Sigado, an infielder, has seen extensive action the last two weekends. He's been mostly a DH, but did play one game at third base. Sigado is a natural second baseman, but coach D.J. Whittemore has stayed mostly with Taylor Smart at second base.
"It's been up and down," said Sigado. "I've had some injuries, but I've been trying to play through it. I've been trying to get my rhythm back and trying to hit the ball like I know I can do."
"We have a lot of guys vying for the last two starting spots," Whittemore said. "We're trying to play match-ups and who has the hot hand. Jon came up with a couple of key hits today."
Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the second after Parker Webster's two-run homer off WNC starter Anthony Consiglio, the Wildcats scored four times and never trailed again.
Sean Potkay hit a one-out double and Brooks Klein followed with another double, but Potkay had to see whether Klein's ball was going to be caught or not and only reached third. Sigado followed with a hard one-hopper, CSI shortstop Blake Lively appeared to be screened by Klein and fielded the ball off his chest for an error, allowing Potkay to score to make it 2-1.
Klein and Sigado pulled off a double steal with Klein scoring to make it 2-2. Tanner Nielsen singled home a run and Chris Woolley doubled home a run to make it 4-2.
Sigado came up big again in the third when he tripled to right-center field to score Beau Day and Klein, who had walked and reached on a fielder's choice, respectively.
CSI roared back with three in the fourth to make it 6-5. The big blow was a two-run homer by No. 9 hitter Andrew Freter, his first round-tripper of the year. Freter hit the ball hard, but the wind was blowing out to center the entire game.
In the fifth, WNC put the game out of reach with its last two scores of the game. Klein drove in the first with a sacrifice fly and Sigado drove in the second with a bloop double to left that Lively was unable to catch after a long run.
Consiglio departed after pitching a scoreless fifth and sixth, and closer Chris Garrison pitched the seventh. He allowed a one-out homer to Parker Morin before retiring the side. Five of CSI's six runs came on homers.
"Anthony and Pat (catcher McMeel) did a phenomenal job protecting the lead once it got to 6-5," Whittemore said. "Anthony didn't have his best stuff, but he found a way to win. I'd give him a 10.
"It's a good thing they don't panic (when they get behind early). I'm full of panic. They don't feel the pressure."
The second game started out as a great pitcher's duel between WNC's Gorden and CSI lefty Mike Renner.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings before CSI pushed across a run in the fourth when Ben Douglas scored on a wild pitch.
WNC went ahead for good in the fifth when Sigado walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on Bobby Pappin's infield single. Both runners scored on Woolley's triple to the gap in left-centerfield to make it 2-1.
That hit seemed to kick-start the offense. Day hit a two-run opposite-field homer in the sixth to make it 4-1 and the Wildcats added two more in the seventh to put the Golden Eagles and Renner away. The CSI starter did strike out 11 in 6.2 innings.
"That was nice," Day said of his homer. "It's only the second (off-field homer) I've hit all year."
Except for the fourth, Gorden had a pretty easy time of it even though his fastball wasn't as consistent as Whittemore would have liked. He was pulled after allowing a one-out single in the seventh.
"My control wasn't all there," Gorden said. "When I can throw my curveball for strikes (which he did Friday), it makes my fastball better. I didn't always have control of it (the fastball). The defense played great behind me."
Brandon Jackson finished up for WNC, allowing a run on two hits. The WNC reliever gave up a two-out solo homer to Webster in the ninth.
"Kody's fastball was sporadic," Whittemore said. "I had a guy in the bullpen (Jackson) that I have confidence in his ability to throw strikes."
