HENDERSON, Nev. (January 30, 2021) – The 2021 season is underway for the College of Southern Nevada baseball team and the Coyotes opened in strong form Saturday.
Hosting the opening day of a two-day tourney, CSN picked up a pair of non-conference wins over Scenic West Athletic Conference rivals. Southern Nevada picked up a 19-5 win over Salt Lake Community College, followed up with a 12-6 win over the College of Southern Idaho.
CSN will play both programs again on Sunday, with an 11:30 a.m. start against Southern Idaho and a 2:00 p.m. start against Salt Lake. All games will be played at Morse Stadium.
Southern Nevada 19, Salt Lake 5: Consistency at the plate keyed CSN to a victory in the first game of the season.
Southern Nevada scored in all but one frame, allowing the team to roll to a 14-run victory in a game where they only picked up 11 hits. A
Justin Olson two-run RBI double in the first inning was the sign of good things to come for the Coyotes, with CSN taking a 4-2 lead. Leading 8-2 in the fifth inning,
Damiano Palmegiani hit a three-run home run to right-center field, boosting the lead to 11-2.
Palmegiani led CSN with a 2-of-3 performance at the plate, finishing with five RBI's along with scoring three runs himself.
Johnny Cuevas earned the pitching victory, throwing five innings while allowing just four hits and striking out five SLCC batters.
Southern Nevada 12, Southern Idaho 6: CSN battled back from an early deficit, using a few big innings to power to the win.
Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning, Southern Nevada utilized a two-run
Justin Olson double to tie the game at 3-3, with
Joseph Walls hitting a double immediately after to give CSN its first lead. After Southern Idaho retook a 6-5 lead, the Coyotes utilized a series of passed balls and wild pitches to reclaim the lead, with
Dax Fellows hitting a two-run single in the fifth inning to give Southern Nevada some much needed breathing room.
Fellows and
Austin Plante both finished 2-of-3 at the plate, with Fellows and Olson led the team with a pair of RBI's each.
Demetrius Vigil earned the pitching win for Southern Nevada in relief, throwing 2.2 innings while allowing four hits.