Carson High grad Kyle Stone has always been a good hitter, and he's gotten even better after two years at Feather River College.
Stone, in just his second game back since his season ended three weeks ago, went 4-for-5 and scored three times from his No. 9 spot in the lineup to help the Nevada Bullets grab a 13-5 win over the San Francisco Seals Thursday afternoon at Western Nevada College.
The was the Bullets' fourth straight win. They go after No. 5 today at 4 when they host the Seals at WNC. Darin Wiltgen gets the call on the mound for the Bullets.
Stone, who hit .355 at FRC, is 7-for-9 in his first two starts for the Bullets. He wasn't the only success at the bottom of the order for Nevada. Griffin Kirsch from College of San Mateo went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and No. 7 hitter Craig Merideth went 2-for-4 with two runs an RBI. The trio went 8-for-11 with seven runs scored and two RBIs.
"Stone is a leadoff hitter," manager Jim Blueberg said. "I consider the No. 9 hitter a second leadoff hitter. I could easily flip-flop he and (Chris) Woolley. Kyle is a polished college player.
"I know they have a pretty good team (the Seals). We jumped on that starting pitcher and it took off from there. We have a good hitting team overall."
Stone is going to Jacksonville State in the fall, and said that he will probably play second or third when he gets there. He likes what he sees of his new teammates.
"I think we have a really good team here," Stone said. "We have a lot of talent. I think we should do well this summer."
Especially if the Bullets keep swinging the bat like they did against the Seals.
The Bullets jumped on Seals starter Tom O'Malley for three first-inning runs, as C.J. Maldanado and Brooks Klein delivered run-scoring hits. A third run scored on a passed ball. The damage could have been worse had Woolley not been picked off second and Colby Blueberg not been thrown out at home trying to score from third on a wild pitch.
"C.J. is seeing the ball well and hitting it square," Blueberg said.
The Bullets made it 5-0 in the second when Kirsch was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a Stone single. Stone eventually scored on an error. The Bullets tried to be aggressive on the bases, but had two runners thrown out trying to steal second.
Andrew Woeck, who played a key role in WNC's Scenic West Athletic Conference success, gave up a run in the fourth when Spencer Wood doubled and scored on O'Malley's single to make it 5-1.
It was the last hit off Woeck, who allowed just three over six innings. He fanned 11 and walked two. He retired nine of the last 12 he faced, including seven by strikeout.
"I was stiff at the start of the game," said Woeck, who expects to return to WNC next fall. "I was able to make it through without my best stuff. The last few innings were better. I was able to hit a spot when I needed to."
"I thought he battled," Blueberg said. "He threw a lot of pitches. He's one of those guys that is going to do that. He didn't have his best stuff, but he got through it."
Woolley drove in a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-1, and the Bullets blew it open with four in the fifth and three in the sixth to make it 13-1. Kevin Schulewitch had a two-run single in the sixth, while Klein, Zach Hendrix, Woolley and Merideth had RBIs in the fifth.
The Seals extended the game to nine innings by scoring four times in the seventh off reliever Zac Hewson. Three hits and two walks plus throwing errors by Woolley and Blueberg helped the Seals' cause.
