College of Southern Nevada Coyotes

Movin' On Up: CSN ranked #4 following successful weekend in Salt Lake

3/14/2013 9:30:00 AM

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The College of Southern Nevada baseball team had a strong showing last week in Salt Lake City, answering the tough challenge of defeating Salt Lake Community College on their home turf by winning three games out of the four-game set at Cate Field last Thursday and Friday.

The hard work paid off, allowing the Coyotes to move up three spots to No. 4 in the nation in the latest NJCAA National Baseball Poll released on Wednesday.

Perfect Game Crosschecker also released their Junior College National Poll on Wednesday, which includes not only NJCAA schools, but all junior colleges from California and the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC).  CSN ranks No. 8 in that poll.

The Coyotes (19-6, 7-1 Scenic West Athletic Conference) played a seesaw battle in the first game of the series last Thursday in Salt Lake, finally pulling away from the Bruins with a four-run fifth inning that put CSN ahead 11-6, en route to a 14-7 win. Evan Van Hoosier hit a two-run homer, and Chad Whiteaker and Chevas Numata both hit RBI doubles in the inning.

CSN added three more runs in the final inning, which included a solo home run by Morgan Stotts and an RBI triple by Bobby Shiroky.

In the second game, Salt Lake (13-9, 7-5 SWAC) led 3-0 after six innings of play before the Coyotes got on the board with a solo home run by Van Hoosier in the seventh. The score remained 3-1 through the ninth inning, and that's when the late-inning heroics began for CSN.

With runners on the corners and one out, Van Hoosier hit a grounder to the left side. The SLCC shortstop was content enough to go after the runner at second, allowing Shiroky to score and make it 3-2 with a runner at first and two outs. Van Hoosier then advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches, getting into scoring position for Cory Welch. Welch then singled in Van Hoosier to tie the game at 3, and immediately after that, Whiteaker scored Welch on a double to give CSN a stunning 4-3 lead.

Welch came in to pitch in the ninth to close the deal, but it didn't happen without some drama. With a runner at first and two outs, Welch walked the next two batters to load the bases up. He was then able to get Kade Teter to pop up to first base to end the game.

Salt Lake scored four runs in the second inning of last Friday's opener, never looking back in a 5-3 defeat for CSN.  A bases-clearing triple for SLCC was the dagger. Welch blasted a two-run homer in the fifth to cut the Bruins lead to 4-3, but Salt Lake added a run in the bottom half of the frame and held the Coyotes.

CSN had a dagger of its own in the final game of the series, when Thomas Pannone blasted a three-run home run in the second inning to give the Coyotes a 3-1 lead. A solo blast by Stotts in the fourth and an RBI single by Numata in the sixth rounded out the scoring for CSN in a 5-2 victory. Starting pitcher John Conquy struck out six in 4.1 innings for the Coyotes.

Up next for CSN is a four-game home series against the College of Southern Idaho. The Golden Eagles are coming off a bye week following a four-game sweep of Colorado Northwestern at home two weeks ago.