EPHRAIM – The Snow College pitching staff showed its stuff in a four-game home series this past weekend, winning three of four games against the Wildcats of Western Nevada College (WNC). The Lady Badger corps held WNC scoreless in 25 of the 32 innings played. Snow took all three games played on Friday – with one of Saturday's planned games moved forward to avoid a predicted rainstorm – by scores of 2-0, 11-4 and 6-5 in an 11-inning marathon. WNC scored all seven of its runs in the second inning of Saturday's 7-4 win to avoid being swept.

Riley Cox was in the circle for Snow in the series opener, shutting out the Wildcats on six hits while striking out five to record her third shutout of the season. The Badgers could manage only four hits, but made the most of them with BritLee Anderson and Brooke Davis both doubling in the second inning to make it 1-0. Anderson got her second hit of the game in the sixth inning, a single down the left field line to bring home Kayla Larson with an insurance run to make it 2-0.

The Badger bats broke loose in the second game, pounding out 13 hits to take an 11-4 win. Sophomore hurler Belle Stoddard gave up only one earned run which came on a solo homerun by WNC's Pamela Sakuma in the sixth inning. The Wildcats' other runs were unearned as both Badger errors in the game came on the same play in the top of the second when WNC scored three times.

Anderson again led the Badger attack going three-for-four with a double and a homer, driving in four runs. Larson had a two-run double and Kenzie Rasmussen lined a two-run homer in the third as the Badgers scored five times.

Freshman Riley Cleverly, who has been outstanding for the Badgers in relief in the past few weeks, got a chance to start the third game of the day and made the most of it, going all 11 innings to earn a 6-5 complete game win. WNC scored once in the first and twice in the second to take a 3-0 lead before Rasmussen hit her second homerun of the day just inside the right field foul pole to make it 3-1.

The Wildcats added a run in the third, but Snow scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to tie the score at four. Emily Adams had the big hit for the Badgers in the fifth with a double to the gap in right to bring in Larson, and later scored herself on a sacrifice fly by Karlee Manzione.

It remained tied until the top of the seventh when Cleverly uncorked a wild pitch to let WNC retake the lead at 5-4. But with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Manzione lined a solo homer deep over the  centerfield fence to send the game into extra innings.

WNC had a chance to go ahead in the top of the 11th inning. With pinch runner Kaitlyn Covione on third and one out, Sakuma lined the ball to centerfield where Snow's Emily Street made the catch and fired to Badger shortstop Cassidy Anderson who relayed to Brooke Davis behind the plate to nail Covione to end the inning. Davis would then score from third on a wild pitch with one out in the bottom of the inning to end the game.

Cox was the starter for Snow in Saturday's finale, but did not have her best stuff as WNC scored all seven of its runs on six hits in the top of the second inning. The Badgers did not have any extra base hits in the game, stroking eight singles, three of them off Manzione's bat as she drove in two of the Badgers' four runs. Cleverly came on in the top of the third in relief and held the Wildcats scoreless over the last five innings, giving up only three hits and striking out four.

Saturday's win puts WNC a game-and-a-half ahead of the Badgers for fourth place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference. Snow will host Colorado Northwestern this weekend in the final series of the regular season while WNC will finish at Southern Nevada. However, the Wildcats and Badgers will see each other the next week at 9:30 a.m. when the conference double elimination tournament opens on Thursday, May 7, in either Salt Lake City or Twin Falls, Ida.