RANGELY, Colo. — Lauren Lesniak slammed her second grand slam in three weeks, Kristina George tossed a three-hit shutout and Gabriella Canibeyaz doubled twice as Western Nevada College swept a softball doubleheader from Colorado Northwestern on Friday.
Lesniak’s 4-for-4 performance at the plate in WNC’s 13-0 victory in the opener also included a solo homer and a double. The Wildcats completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory as Canibeyaz went 3 for 4 and Nicole Lesniak shined in relief of starting pitcher Sadee Sorensen.
Lauren Lesniak, a sophomore catcher, finished with seven RBI.
The Wildcats, who raised their SWAC record to 3-6, will go for a four-game sweep today. The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
“Lauren had great pitch selection,” said WNC coach Leah Wentworth. “She’s totally relaxed and confident when she’s at the plate.”
Lauren Lesniak’s season-best output made a five-inning winner out of George, who struck out two.
The Wildcats totaled 15 hits in the opener. Melanie Mecham went 3 for 4 and Briauna Carter was 2 for 4 with a triple. Canibeyaz, Makaylee Jaussi, Katilyn Covione, Bailey Henderson, Pamela Sakuma and Samantha Bell also delivered base hits for the Wildcats.
“We know we have the bats offensively, but we’ve had a hard time stringing them together and having everyone firing at the same time,” Wentworth said. “We’ve been letting a lot of strikes go by and today our pitch selection was much better.”
Nicole Lesniak relieved Sorensen in the fourth inning with the Wildcats leading 7-5. She surrendered only four hits and one run over the final four frames to pick up the save.
“Nicole did a good job of keeping their hitters off balance to secure the win,” Wentworth said.
Besides Canibeyaz’s three-hit output, she scored twice and knocked in two runs. Jaussi was also active on the base paths, going 2 for 4, stealing two bases and scoring two runs.
PREP SOFTBALL
Carson blanked, 8-0
SACRAMENTO — Carson’s offense continued to struggle at the Victory Preseason TOC on Friday.
Gabriela Winder’s single was the only hit Carson mustered in an 8-0 loss to Bella Vista. The Senators have mustered just four hits in three tournament games.
Makenzie Tucker gave up three runs in the first, and Lauren Lemburg threw the rest of the way, allowing five runs. The game was halted after five innings.
“We played better in the field,” coach Shane Quilling said. “We just aren’t hitting the ball.”
Carson plays today at 9 and 10:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
Tigers top Vacaville
ELK GROVE — Eight different players contributed to an eight-hit attack and Kali Sargent pitched a complete game six-hitter Friday to help lift the Douglas High softball team to a 7-4 victory against Vacaville at the 24th annual Victory Preseason Tournament.
Sargent struck out six, walked none and only allowed two earned runs as Douglas (5-1 overall) gained a measure of payback for its 7-0 loss to the Bulldogs in the 2014 Victory Tournament Blue Division finals. Vacaville is the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion.
Leonna Mortimer hit 1-for-4 with a double and RBI, while Sargent went 1-for-3 with an RBI, Mackenzie Brixey 1-for-3 with an RBI, Morgan Gunnell 1-for-2 with an RBI, Madison Parks 1-for-3 with anRBI, and Shaena Robinson 1-for-2 with two runs scored.
PREP BASEBALL
Dayton loses 1A opener
DAYTON — Spring Creek scored in six of its seven at-bats en route to a 20-13 win over Dayton, spoiling Mike Burrows’ head coaching debut.
“It wasn’t the debut I’d hoped for, but I was happy with our offense for only having one scrimmage and no preseason games,” Burows said. “We were sloppy defensively early which contributed to their lead. The kids battled back twice to make it a game. I’m proud that we didn’t lay down and quit.”
Gage Duke’s two-run homer in the third cut Spring Creek’s lead to 8-6, and a three-run double by Austin Rodgers cut the lead to 13-12 in the fifth.
Spring Creek outscored Dayton 7-1 over the final two innings.
Jared Reed went 3-for-5 with two RBI, and Jesse Schmidt went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs. D.J. Baker went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Damonte pounds Tigers
RENO — Damonte Ranch scored seven runs in the second inning Friday on its way to a 14-5 Northern Division I victory at home against Douglas.
Douglas (0-2 conference, 2-5 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, only to see the Mustangs come back to take charge in the second.
Spencer Trivitt hit 2-for-3, Caleb Kynett contributed an RBI double in the first inning and Tomas Leitenbauer doubled home a run in the fourth. Douglas scored four runs in the fourth inning.
Daniel Page went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the second inning. Page finished with 5 RBI.
COLLEGE
Lobos edge Nevada
RENO — The Nevada baseball team’s undefeated record at Peccole Park came to an end as New Mexico topped the No. 28 Wolf Pack, 3-1, Friday afternoon.
Junior Ryan Howell hit his seventh home run of the season but Nevada (13-4, 5-2) was held to four hits in a pitcher’s duel. Nevada falls to 7-1 at home while losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Wolf Pack and Lobos (11-4, 5-2) are now tied atop Mountain West standings with 5-2 conference records.
Pack women blank PSU
RENO – Junior Megan Sweet finished with a career-high six RBI and a grand slam and classmate Amanda Weis went 1-for-2 with a solo home run as the Nevada softball team topped Portland State, 8-0, on the first day of the Wolf Pack Classic on Friday.
Sophomore McKenna Isenberg (2-8) tossed a complete game shutout for her second straight win for the Pack (6-18, 0-0 MW). With the win, Nevada successfully avenged its 9-7 loss to Portland State back on Feb. 6 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
