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The Coyotes move into first place in the SWAC Conference, winning road series against the Wildcats 

By Harrison Howard/csncoyotes.com
March 31, 2015
 
Las Vegas, NV- The College of Southern Nevada Coyotes entered this week's series in second place in the SWAC Conference, and with a losing road record.  The CSN Coyotes had a huge opportunity to gain ground in the SWAC Conference and improve their road record if they could win the weekend series against the SWAC leading WNC Wildcats.  Earlier in the season, the Coyotes defeated the Wildcats 5 to 4 during the SWAC Round Robin Tournament they hosted.  This week's series wasn't going to be easy, but if the Coyotes wanted to take first place in the SWAC, they had to start this weekend on the road against the Wildcats.
 
Anthony Martine got the start in game #1, and had the first chance to take down the Wildcats.  Martine went 6 strong innings, only allowing one unearned run, before exiting the game.  The Coyotes' bats finally came alive in the last three innings, scoring 2 runs in the 7^th and 8^th inning, and 1 more run in the 9^th as well.  Pitcher Alex Hutt relieved Anthony Martine in the bottom of the 7^th and completed the game.  Hutt only allowed one run to the Wildcats and earned the victory for the Coyotes.  Martine threw well enough to win, missing out on earning the victory.  The final score for game #1 was Coyotes 5, Wildcats 2.
 
Game #1 of the Friday double header showcased Coyotes' starting pitcher Aj Jones, who dominated the Wildcats for 7 strong innings.  Through the 7 innings pitched, Jones allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5 batters.  In the top of the 8^th inning, CSN's outfielder, Kenny Meimerstorf, broke the 1 to 1 tie with a RBI ground out, taking the lead 2 to 1.  Coyotes' closer, Josh Nuernberg, threw a perfect 8^th inning to finish off the Wildcats, and earned his 5^th save of the season.  Aj Jones was the winning pitcher for the game, improving his record to 6-3 on the season. 
 
Gabe Gonzalez took the mound for the 2^nd game of the double header, looking for his 5^th win of the season.  The Western Nevada College Wildcats had something else in mind, jumping to an early 2 run lead in the 1^st inning.  The Coyotes answered back with 4 runs in the 2^nd inning.  But the Wildcats weren't finished scoring just yet, tallying 2 runs in the 5^th inning off of Gonzalez, and 4 runs in the 6^th inning off of relief pitcher Kayden Porter.  The Coyotes weren't able to answer with any runs of their own and lost the game to the Wildcats 9 to 4.
 
The Coyotes entered the final game of the series on Saturday against the Wildcats with their best pitcher, Phil Bickford.  But the Western Nevada College Wildcats wouldn't go down without a fight.  It was a back and forth game until the the Coyotes scored 7 runs in the 6^th inning, taking a 9 to 3 lead over the Wildcats.  The Coyotes were able to finish the game only allowing 3 more runs, winning the final game of the series 11 to 6.  Bickford earned his 5^th win of the season, allowing 8 hits, 1 walk, 3 earned runs, while striking out 7 batters in 5 and 2/3's innings.
 
The CSN Coyotes were finally able to win a road series, taking 3 out of 4 from the WNC Wildcats.  This was the first time in program history that the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes had won a road series against the Western Nevada College Wildcats, and it couldn't have come at a better time.  The Coyotes have jumped into first place in the SWAC Conference, and seem to be on the right track for the remainder of the season.  The College of Southern Nevada Coyotes will attempt to continue their winning ways this week at home against the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans.
 
For the latest news, the complete 2015 Coyote baseball schedule, and more of my articles covering each weekend series, please visit www.csncoyotes.com.  Follow us on Twitter @CSNCoyotes, for live scoring updates and in game tweets.