Wildcats set for opening home series

Western Nevada College will welcome an experienced Arizona Western College baseball team for its home opener at John L. Harvey Field on Friday.

“Arizona Western has a tremendous team and a solid program,” said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore. “We are pumped to compete with them and understand we will have to play good-to-great baseball to come out on top.”

Arizona Western of Yuma, Ariz., posted a 32-23 record a year ago and made it to the Region I semifinals. The Matadors, whose roster contains 16 sophomores, are off to a 6-3 start this season and are ranked 37th in the country by Perfect Game.

WNC was originally scheduled to play its home opener against South Mountain Community College on Jan. 29. Snow and cold weather forced the Wildcats to shift the series to Phoenix.

“It is very nice to get some home games before conference starts, which is unusual for us,” Whittemore said. “Over the years, I think we have played 176 nonconference games with over 150 of those coming on the road. It’s a treat to sleep in our beds and be in our routine and pitching off our mound, etc.”

The Wildcats enter the four-game series on a four-game winning streak. WNC completed a four-game sweep of 13th-ranked Cochise on Saturday in Henderson.

Friday’s game starts at 2 p.m., Saturday’s first pitch for a doubleheader is set for noon and Sunday’s series finale begins at 11 a.m.