Call Eric Flores an opportunist. The Western Nevada College freshman first baseman has made the most of his part-time role with the Wildcats the spring.
On Saturday afternoon, Flores took advantage of a starting role, blasting a first-inning grand slam as WNC won the opening game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader against Salt Lake, 10-1, at John L. Harvey Field in Carson City.
Flores' first homer of the season provided ample offensive support for freshman left-hander Jordan Ragan, who held the Bruins to four hits in his second complete game in three starts.
The "Jordan" pitching theme continued in Game 2 as Wildcat sophomore Jordan Dreibelbis fired a three-hit complete game in a 9-1 Wildcat victory.
Flores' slam wiped out a 1-0 deficit and triggered a seven-run uprising.
"I'm just coming in in clutch opportunities and producing with this ball club, and it has really helped me mentally," Flores said. "He was working all four pitches low and in, and I just happened to connect with one and get it over the fence. It came at a big time, trying to go for a sweep on these guys, so it helped out the team for a few extra runs."
Pitching with a six-run lead calmed down Ragan, who ran his record to 5-1.
"The only thing that changes is less pressure," Ragan said of the big lead. "You still have hold them to however many runs, so I just try to hold them to however many runs they can score (and still be ahead).
"I have all three of my pitches working now and I'm throwing the ball lower. That's all it really is: changing speeds and throwing it low."
Ragan gave up a first-inning home run, but his roommate, who just so happens to be Flores, had his back.
"I knew we were going to score a whole bunch," Ragan said. "Eric actually came up to me after that kid hit the home run and said, 'Hey, I hit home runs, too.' And he ended up hitting a grand slam the next inning. It was nice."
Salyers was behind the plate for both complete-game pitching efforts.
"(Ragan) has been really working hard on his accuracy," Salyers said. "He doesn't throw the hardest, but you can throw a curveball, a fastball and a changeup wherever you want, it's hard to hit against that.
"(Ragan) wasn't the best that I've seen him, but his two-seam (fastball) was working. That is the beauty of pitchers; they have so many pitches, that you just find the one that is working and you ride that puppy until the end of the day."
With the series sweep, WNC (20-8) remained four games behind first-place College of Southern Nevada. The Wildcats improved to 30-14 overall, guaranteeing the program its 11th straight winning season.
An unfortunate accident transpired in the first inning of the opener when Salt Lake freshman pitcher Mason Abrath was hit in the head on a comebacker off the bat of Tim Lichty. Abrath was able to get on a stretcher on his own and was transported to a Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.
"Our prayers are with him, for sure," said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore, who was told that Abrath has suffered skull fractures and is being treated in Renown's Intensive Care Unit.
Dreibelbis (5-2) held the Bruins hitless in six of the seven innings. All three Salt Lake hits came in the fourth inning.
"My splitter was on today, and I felt like I had really good command of the ball," Dreibelbis said. "I wasn't very wild today; everything was in the strike zone. That was what got me into trouble in the fourth inning was that I was putting it in the strike zone too much."
The first three WNC hitters reached base in the second game. David Modler, Chandler Barkdull and DJ Peters hit consecutive singles to load the bases. Following the first out, Brogan Secrist put down a bunt along the first-base line to squeeze in Modler. Salt Lake first baseman Austin Ovard dropped the throw from the catcher, giving Barkdull time to cross the plate on the error.
Trevor Peterson's RBI single in the fourth cut WNC's lead in half, 2-1.
But Peters launched his 10th homer of the season to touch off a six-run fifth inning. The sophomore outfielder hit a fastball that reliever Andrew Reich located near the middle of the plate.
"It felt good," Peters said. "That is just knowing that if he is going to throw it hard, it's probably going to be over the middle of the plate, being the first batter of the inning."
After the homer, Reich lost control of the strike zone, hitting Lichty and Secrist, then walking Justin Mannens and Flores to force home a run. Lichty remained on the ground for a few minutes after the ball hit him just under the back of his helmet. He eventually walked to first base and was removed from the game. He was later taken to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center.
Whittemore said that Lichty suffered a concussion and was scheduled to be released from the hospital late Saturday night.
"He is doing well, and he'll need to keep a close eye on it over the next 48 hours," Whittemore said.
The Wildcats extended the rally in the fifth as back-to-back, two-run doubles by Salyers and Casey Cornwell made the score 8-1.
"I've been working really hard on my hitting to do this today," said Salyers, who went 2 for 4 with two RBI in the second game. "It feels good to help and contribute to the scoring. Defense is my thing, but if I can start hitting and Casey gets on a roll again, our team can do a whole lot. Our team can do a whole lot anyways."
Flores pushed WNC's lead to 9-1 with his RBI single to right in the sixth.
WNC ran its conference home record to 8-0 going into a four-game series with Colorado Northwestern that opens on Friday.
"You don't want to lose any games at home," Peters said. "The home games are special. You should win the home games no matter how good the team is that you are playing."
Meanwhile, in WNC softball action: After tossing a 10-inning complete-game victory on Friday, what would Western Nevada College sophomore pitcher Kristina George have left against fourth-ranked Salt Lake a day later? Plenty!
George gave up just one hit through the first four innings, but the Bruins capitalized on several defensive lapses in the fifth inning to score five runs on their way to a 7-0 Scenic West Athletic Conference softball victory at Pete Livermore Sports Complex in Carson City. The Bruins completed the second-day sweep as Lauren Frailey and Kylie Everill combined on an 8-0 shutout win.
"Coach Leah (Wentworth) has given me a lot of confidence to make the pitches that I am," George said. "Any coach believing in you will give any player the confidence of the world that they can do anything they want as long as they know they are believed in."
An infield single by Briauna Carter was the only hit off Salt Lake's Addie Jensen in the opener.
Karly Bunderson broke up George's no-hit bid with a sharp single through the right side of the infield with one out in the fourth inning. Bunderson stole second base. A dropped infield popup put two Bruins on base, but George escaped the scoring opportunity with a couple of infield popups.
George, who grew up 37 miles northwest of Salt Lake City in Hooper, Utah, consistently worked ahead in the count against some players she knows well. Nine of her outs in the first four frames were from popups or fly outs.
"It does give me some momentum facing them because I'm trying to prove myself to them and making sure that we get them out because some of them are my really good friends from back home," George said.
Jensen used groundball outs to shut down the Wildcat offense throughout. Fifteen of her 21 outs were groundouts.
A defense lapse presented Salt Lake with a considerable scoring chance in the fifth, and the Bruins capitalized. The Bruins put their third runner on base when catcher Bailey Henderson dropped a third strike to Brittni Chase, and Henderson's ensuing wide throw to first glanced off the glove of first baseman Dakota Robinson, allowing Chase to advance to second.
"It was frustrating," Wentworth said. "John Wooden said it, but 'little things make big things happen.' There's no play on the field that is routine. Every play requires absolutely all of your focus.
"It just gave an offense that has so much speed an opportunity to start generating some momentum with their speed using the short game. Against the No. 4 team in the nation we have to make them earn their runs."
Next, Kelsey Rodriguez reached base when George caught the comebacker and the ball slipped out of her hand while attempting to throw out Chase at third base. Kaylee Bott's bunt single loaded the bases and Tina Ford's bunt to the right of George brought home Chase with the first run. Bunderson's two-run single to center made the score 3-0. A throwing error by shortstop Makaylee Jaussi and a RBI base hit off the bat of Ashlee Crabtree plated two more Bruin runs as Salt Lake built a 5-0 cushion.
"They were too many errors that spiraled out of hand," George said. "It seems like we do so well at the beginning and struggle keeping the intensity up in the middle innings. That's something we can definitely work on at practice this week, trying to keep intensity level up throughout the game.
"There are just a couple of plays that can take you out of a ballgame. We're a good team, and we're going to bounce back."
Carter spoiled Jensen's attempt at a no-hitter, beating out an infield hit with one out in the fifth. George left after the fifth inning. She surrendered five hits and two earned runs.
"About every pitch she throws different speeds, and she puts so much spin on the ball, it's really hard to get a good solid piece of it," Wentworth said.
In the sixth, Bott belted a two-run homer off reliever McKell Marble for a 7-0 edge.
In Game 2, Bunderson did the heavy lifting for Salt Lake. She homered off Kaitlyn Jimmy in the first inning, then ripped a two-run single during a six-run third inning.
The Wildcats had more scoring opportunities in Game 2. Freudenberger singled to start the Wildcat second inning and was sacrificed to second by Carter. But Frailey retired the next two Wildcats.
WNC threatened in the third with two outs. Jaussi singled to right field and Bailey Henderson walked. Melanie Mecham, however, grounded out to end the inning. In the fourth, Noa Talia walked and Gabrielle Canibeyaz lined a single to left, but they were stranded on the bases. Everill retired the Wildcats in order in the fifth to complete the five-inning shutout.
Marble, a freshman, worked the final 2 1/3 innings in the circle. She allowed one earned run without giving up a hit.
WNC (9-19 SWAC and 14-25 overall) travels to Colorado Northwestern to open a four-game series on Friday.