HENDERSON — Western Nevada College had Salt Lake starting pitcher Chris Bradford on the ropes and nearly out of the game in the third inning Thursday night.
But Bradford survived the Wildcats’ three-run outburst and pitched the Bruins to a 4-3 victory in the Region 18 Baseball Tournament.
The Wildcats play College of Southern Idaho, which gave College of Southern Nevada a scare in a 6-4 defeat, at 3:30 p.m. today in an elimination game. The winner of that game will meet the loser of the Salt Lake-CSN game at 7 p.m. WNC will need to win both games to advance to Saturday’s title game(s) and earn a spot in the Western District Tournament.
WNC starting pitcher Matt Young wasn’t able to overcome the Bruins’ mid-game rallies and exited in the sixth with the Wildcats trailing 4-3. Young (8-4) gave up seven hits and four earned runs. The freshman left-hander struck out six and walked six.
Like many of their scoring flurries this season, the Wildcats’ three-run third started with Jake Bennett reaching base. Base hits by Bennett and David Modler set the table for the middle of WNC’s batting order. Following a walk to D.J. Peters to load the bases, Reynolds roped a two-run single to center field, putting WNC on top, 2-1. Tim Lichty added a sacrifice bunt to plate Peters for a 3-1 Wildcat lead.
Second-seeded Salt Lake improved to 35-22, while the Wildcats, the No. 3 seed, dropped to 32-25.
The winner of the Region 18 Tournament plays host to the Western District Tournament May 14-16. The runner-up also advances to the next round of postseason play.
JC SOFTBALL
WNC splits at tournament
SALT LAKE — Western Nevada College’s softball team split two games Thursday at the Scenic West Athletic Conference.
The Wildcats opened with a 6-5 extra-inning victory over Snow College, and then were blanked 8-0 by Salt Lake. The Wildcats have an elimination game today at 8:30 a.m. against Colorado Northwestern.
The Wildcats were on the board in the second inning when Kacie Freudenberger singled and scored on a single by Kelsie Callahan. Makaylee Jaussi led off the third inning with a solo home run to give WNC a 2-0 advantage.
Katilyn Covione’s single that scored Briauna Carter gave WNC a 3-2 lead.
WNC knotted the score at 4 in the bottom of the sixth when Carter singled and scored on Freudenberger’s sacrifice fly.
In the seventh inning, Snow’s Mariah Peterson delivered a solo home run, giving Snow a 5-4 advantage.
WNC fought back to push the game into extra innings. Pamela Sakuma walked, Freudenberger hit a double and Carter had a run-scoring single.
In the seventh, Jaussi singled and scored on a single by Melanie Mecham for the winning run. Kristina George picked up the win.
Coach Leah Wentworth said her team played its best game of the season.
The Bruins came out strong, scoring three runs in the first inning. The Bruins maintained their lead the entire game, putting up two more in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.
The Bruins held the Wildcats to only one hit, a single by Mecham.
George took the loss for WNC, allowing 10 hits.
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK
Dayton ready for 1A meet
Dayton High starts its postseason quest at the Division 1A regional meet today (2 p.m. start) at Fernley High School.
The top four finishers in each event advance to the state meet at Del Sol High School on May 15-16.
Dayton’s boys are led by Tobias Tapley (100, 200), J.J. Ply (high jump, hurdles), Benji Ply (pole vault, hurdles, high jump), Dallon Mendoza (400, relays), Brady Heusser (distance), Jesus Castaneda (shot and discus) and Zach Hawley (shot, discus).
Tapley is ranked seventh in the state in the 200 (22.84) and is the top entrant from the north. Hawley leads the 1A state throwers in both events (164-5 and 57-9 3/4), while Mendoza’s 50.91 leads the state. Benji Ply leads area 110 hurdlers (15.22) and the high jumpers at 6-6. He’s second in the pole vault (14-6) behind Fallon’s Nathan Heck. J.J. Ply is third in the 110 hurdles (15.54), third in the high jump (6-4) and fourth in the pole vault (13-0). Heusser is fourth in the 1600 (4:40.50), Castaneda is ranked third in the shot (48-7 1/2).
Dayton’s 800 and 1600-meter relay squads should also advance barring mishap.
Kaylee Turner (shot and discus) leads the girls contingent. She’s ranked first in the discus (128-4) and third in the shot (38-0).
The quartet of Sydney Strickler, Rebecca and Ashley Mason and Savannah Rodriguez are ranked No. 2 in the 800 relay (1:50.53).
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
Tigers split in regionals
RENO — The Douglas High softball team is following a familiar route through the Northern Division I Region Tournament.
Douglas lost its region tournament opener for the second year in a row, this time the result of a 3-2 decision on Thursday against tournament host Bishop Manogue. The Tigers kept their season alive later on a cold and breezy afternoon with a 12-2 win against Damonte Ranch.
Douglas (22-12 overall) plays again today at 2:30 p.m. against either Reno or Reed in an elimination game.
Kali Sargent and Shaena Robinson hit home runs to lead the Tigers past Damonte Ranch. Sargent’s walk-off shot in the fifth gave the Tigers their 10-run rule win. Sargent also pitched a two-hitter to earn the win.
In the first round contest, Manogue scored three runs on three solo homers and then held on to knock off the Tigers. Sammi Tallman homered in the third iwhile Grace Bayless and Stevie Ellis connected for back-to-back shots in the fourth. The Miners also received a key defensive play when center fielder Alex Day threw out a runner at home.
Kylie Swan delivered a key two-run double to account for the Tigers’ offense.
Douglas lost its region opener last year by a 5-4 score against Galena, however, the Tigers came back to eventually finish third in the tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING
Region meet this weekend in Carson
The annual regional swim meet is set for today (3 p.m.) and Saturday (9 a.m.) at Carson Aquatic Center.
The top four 1-A finishers advance to the state meet and the top three in D-1 event move on. The state meet is May 16 in Carson.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Rams crush Nevada
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State (7-15) scored all 10 of its runs in the second inning en route to a 10-2 win over Nevada (5-17) Thursday afternoon in a Mountain West contest.
Jennifer Purcell drove in Nevada’s second run with a bases-loaded walk. Former Spanish Springs star Karly Hopkins had two of Nevada’s six hits.
Western Nevada College contributed to this report.
