Final-inning comebacks don't ever get old, even for 10th-year Western Nevada College coach D.J. Whittemore.
Even after College of Southern Idaho decisively swung the momentum to its side by scoring the tying run in its last at-bat and forged in front on Mikey Ortega's home run an inning later, the Wildcats didn't flinch Friday in the first game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader.
Not with their top hitters coming to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cleanup hitter Kody Reynolds' knotted the score with a RBI single and Corey Pool delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly as WNC rallied for a 5-4 victory, starting a doubleheader sweep for the Wildcats.
"No they don't. They make a big difference on how you feel, that's for sure," Whittemore said of his team's gritty comeback. "We were really glad to see the top of our lineup and heart of our order coming up, because those are the guys who have been getting it done."
Reynolds knocked in two runs and freshman pitcher Ty Fox earned his first win as the Wildcats completed the sweep with a 5-3 victory in game two.
WNC concluded the first week of conference play with a 3-1 record. CSI (9-7 overall, 1-3 in SWAC) tied the score in the seventh inning on Jordan Freese's one-out sacrifice fly off WNC starting pitcher Chase Kaplan.
The Golden Eagles carried that momentum over into the eighth inning as Ortega homered with one out, putting CSI ahead 4-3. With Jake Boyd on third base and two outs, Whittemore brought Cody Kerns in from the bullpen. Kerns kept the Wildcats within a run by striking out Quentin Marcelin looking.
The hold by Kerns proved to be pivotal as the Wildcats rallied in the bottom of the eighth.
The rally started when Bradley Lewis' hot shot to third base bounced out of Sam Gerhold's glove. Jake Bennett followed with a base hit to right field, and both runners moved up a base on a balk by reliever Parker Loutensock.
"We weren't on take. We wanted to hit the first pitch," Pool said. "Brad hit a first-pitch groundball down the line and got on base, got the rally going and we just fed off of that.
"Everybody was dialed in in the last inning when we really needed it."
With a base open, the Golden Eagles elected to pitch to the hot-hitting Reynolds and paid the price. Whittemore considered instructing Reynolds to bunt, but after calling time-out to confer with hitting coach Aaron Demosthenes, he decided to have his cleanup hitter swing away.
Reynolds fouled off several two-strike pitches before lifting a base hit into left field to score Lewis with the tying run.
"He has been swinging the bat well all year but hasn't had a lot of hits to show for it," Whittemore said. "When your cleanup hitter is hot, that's a good sign."
After Tim Lichty was hit by a pitch, Pool came through with a game-winning sacrifice fly to left field.
"Based on my at-bats before, I knew a curveball was coming, so I just sat back and just missed it, but it got the job done," Pool said.
Whittemore didn't consider bunting either Lichty or Pool in an effort to bring home the winning run.
"Their defense was set to take the bunt away, so they were going to make us beat them swinging the bat, so that's what we did," Whittemore said.
Kaplan threw a season-high 105 pitches while working 7 2/3 innings.
"I didn't have a lot left in me. I didn't mind not going the distance. I knew my job was done," Kaplan said. "In those situations with our offense, we're clutch and they have my back."
Kaplan gave up six hits and two earned runs while fanning six and walking three.
"Chase competed really well, threw the ball well, kept us in the game and deserves a lot of credit," Whittemore said.
Kerns improved to 2-0 after striking out the only batter he faced in the eighth. The teams opened the doubleheader with a drizzle falling and a strong wind blowing toward left field.
Bodie Cooper belted a two-run homer with two outs in the first inning, giving CSI a 2-0 lead.
WNC cut its deficit in half by scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the first. Lewis hit a one-out single to center field and advanced to third when second baseman Ethan Ibarra couldn't come up with the throw from shortstop Cole Walters on Bennett's groundball. Reynolds pushed a bunt to the right side of the infield to bring home Lewis.
The Wildcats went ahead in the third inning, taking advantage of a pair of throwing errors by shortstop Walters. With one out, Lewis beat out an infield single and advanced to second when Walters' throw sailed over first baseman Cody Jenkins' head. The error was compounded when Walters' low throw on Bennett's groundball skipped past Jenkins, enabling Lewis to cross the plate with the tying run.
Next, CSI pitcher Mason Hilty appeared to be unintentionally walking cleanup Reynolds, falling behind 3-0. Whittemore gave Reynolds the green light on the fourth pitch, and the sophomore deposited the fastball against the center-field fence to score Bennett to put WNC ahead for the first time, 3-2.
A key point in Kaplan's outing came in the third inning when a two-out throwing error by Reynolds led to the Golden Eagles loading the bases. But Kaplan got out of the tough spot by striking out Ortega to keep the score 2-1.
Kaplan also escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. After two were out, Ortega walked and Harrison Ramey doubled him to third. Following a walk to Jake Boyd, Kaplan froze Quentin Marcelin with a third-strike changeup to end the threat.
"I missed a couple of pitches and let them hit the ball hard," Kaplan said. "A couple of tough plays were made and couple tough were missed, me included. It's just baseball, and that's why I love it."
In the sixth, the Wildcats missed an opportunity to add to its 3-2 lead. Hilty struck out Pool and DJ Peters with runners on second and third bases. Bennett started the rally with a walk and moved up to second base on a base hit by Reynolds. Lichty's sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position.
In the second game, CSI jumped on top 1-0 in the first inning on a RBI single by Cooper.
However, the Wildcats produced three runs in their first at-bat, utilizing a couple of successful bunts to fuel the uprising. Lewis put down a bunt between singles by David Modler and Bennett, positioning Reynolds for a two-run double into the right-field corner. A one-out wild pitch sent Reynolds to third base, setting up Pool for a suicide squeeze bunt to plate the Wildcats' third run of the inning.
After the Golden Eagles scored a run on a safety squeeze bunt in the top of the second inning to cut WNC's lead to 3-2, the Wildcats retrieved the run when Brogan Secrist came home on a wild pitch.
Peters nearly cleared the green monster in center field in the fourth inning, doubling off the fence. He later scored on Blake Morin's sacrifice fly to push the Wildcats' lead to 5-2.
That was more than enough cushion for Fox, who left in the seventh inning with a 5-3 lead.
"Brandon Lapointe did a really good job of calling his game and getting him through six-plus innings," Whittemore said. "Ty is a good competitor and he played in a great high school program and won a lot of games. He's no stranger to success. He's got one of the secret recipes: three pitches for strikes."
With the tying runs on base with one out in the seventh, Jon Guzman replaced Fox. The left-hander rose to the occasion, inducing Freese to hit into a game-ending double play.
Fox allowed six hits and three earned runs. He struck out five and walked two. WNC (12-8 overall) travels to Salt Lake Community College for games March 5-7.