Pinch-hit HR sinks Rancho in title game

RENO — Cami Moore’s state softball tournament experience consisted of one at-bat and a few appearances as a courtesy runner before she stepped to the plate in the fourth inning of Saturday’s winner-take-all Division I final.

The diminutive Spanish Springs sophomore had never faced Rancho ace Sam Pochop, who allowed just one hit in the first three innings and had beaten the Cougars in the first game of the day.

Moore made her presence known in a big way, belting a pinch-hit two-run homer to left field to lift the Cougars to a 2-1 win over the Rams at UNR’s Hixson Park and to their fourth state title in 10 years.

“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Moore said. “I didn’t really expect to go in until my coach told me. I just stayed relaxed.”

Moore’s only previous at bat in the state tournament was a flyout to right us. It was a great equalizer.”

Silverado’s Devion Clayton won the 100-meter dash in a photo finish over Las Vegas’ Tre James, Bryan Espino was first in the 800 and Matthew Arnold won the triple jump, as the Skyhawks made up for the absence of Vernon Jackson, who missed the meet with a hamstring injury.

Clayton was slowed by a quadriceps injury early in the season but rebounded to upset James, the Sunrise Region champion. Clayton got off to a fast start and held off the hardcharging James to win by three-thousandths of a second as each crossed the line in 10.88 seconds.

“Much respect to Tre. I knew once I popped up and got out of my drive phase, it would be a battle,” Clayton said. “When they said it was a photo finish, I was nervous. I was sitting on the podium, praying. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Arnold set a personal best to win the triple jump with a mark of 48 feet, 4¼ inches. The senior had two jumps over 47 feet in his series — only one of the other eight competitors even cleared 46 feet — and posted his winning mark on his final attempt.

“It’s pretty cool because I’ve been working for it since sophomore year and I finally got it, so that was a good feeling,” Arnold said.

Espino was near the front of most of the 800 and outkicked Bishop Manogue’s Logan Spodobalski in the final 50 meters to win in 1:56.33. The Skyhawks also were second in the 1,600 relay to cap the meet and lock up the team title.

Savon Scarver was the lone individual champion for Centennial, as the junior won the 300 hurdles in a state-meet record 37.83 seconds.

Centennial’s girls claimed their sixth straight team title, using its superior depth to score 100 points. The Bulldogs opened the meet’s second day by winning the 3,200 relay and also got a victory from Karina Haymore in the 1,600.

“We convince our kids that after region we’re running for the team, and they’ll put individual accomplishments aside for the team,” Roy Session said. “This group works so hard. It speaks volumes. We weren’t sure, due to injuries, if we were going to be able to do it.”

Haymore was in the lead pack with teammate Alexis Gourrier and Abigail Pradere of Carson for the first half of the 1,600 before taking the lead on the third lap and pulling away. She also was third in the 400 less than an hour later.

Palo Verde was a distant second in the girls team standings with 55 points. Cydnee Bush set a stadium record in the long jump at 19-2¼ and was an inch shy of the meet record to lead the Panthers.

Green Valley’s Charleen Jordan successfully defended her title in the 100 hurdles, winning in a time of 14.28 seconds.

In Division I-A, Desert Pines earned its first boys team title, scoring 85 points to edge second-place Elko (78).

The Jaguars won the 400 relay, and the team of Jay Vone Bradford, Amari Calvillo-Tatum, Asti Crawford and Artis McCoy finished the meet in style by lowering their own meet record in the 1,600 relay (3:20.64).

“Our coach told us to finish strong just going after last year’s record,” McCoy said. “We put a lot of effort into it. And as seniors that’s what we want. We want our younger athletes to look up to us and keep this record going every year.”

Cheyenne’s girls 800 relay of Ejanae Coopwood, Angela Hammond, Marisha Harden and Germanie White set a meet record with a winning time of 1:43.85. Hammond also won the 200, and Ariel Washington was first in the discus as the Desert Shields were third in the team standings with 79 points.

Also, Spring Mountain won its second straight Division IV boys team title with 151 points, just ahead of Sierra Lutheran (147). O’Shea Jones won the 100 and 300 hurdles for the Golden Eagles.