Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
PREPS Durango edges Sierra Vista in 4A baseball playoffs
On cusp of final; better luck for Vista softball
Durango’s baseball team finished with just five hits Saturday, but Alexander Mercurius made sure that was enough.
The junior pitcher tossed a six-hitter to lead the Trailblazers (24-7), the No. 1 seed from the Mountain League, to a 2-1 home win over Sierra Vista (25-7), the No. 1 seed from the Sky League, in the winners’ bracket of the Class 4A state playoffs.
Mercurius also did his part at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Both Durango runs came in the third inning.
Durango plays Silverado at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran, with the winner advancing to the state title game. Sierra Vista plays Tech in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran.
■ No. 2S Silverado 4, No.
3S Bonanza 3: At Silverado, Giovanni Guariglia pitched four strong innings, striking out eight, to help the Skyhawks (19-12) beat the Bengals (14-17). Marek Piekarski recorded the save for Silverado, which took the lead for good with a two-run fifth inning. Teammate Xavier Troilo drove in two runs. Bonanza plays Clark in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran.
■ No. 2D Clark 5, No. 4M
Western 4: At Clark, Roberto Madrigal went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as the Chargers (14-11) overcame a four-run deficit to defeat the Warriors (13-12) in an elimination game. Reliever Cole Baren pitched the seventh inning and got the win after Clark scored two runs in the seventh.
■ No. 1D Tech 8, No. 2M Rancho 4: At Tech, Brock
Barlow went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIS as the Roadrunners (27-6) scored six runs in the first two innings to eliminate the Rams (16-16). Asa Briggs earned the win for Tech, allowing three hits in five innings while striking out seven. Class 2A
■ No. 2 Needles 2-6, No. 1
Lake Mead 3-5: At Needles, the Mustangs (25-8) scored all six of their runs in the final two innings and survived a seventh-inning rally by the Eagles (20-3) to win the Southern League title 6-5. Lake Mead forced the deciding game by building a 3-0 lead in the first game and hanging on for a 3-2 win. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Durango. Class 1A
■ No. 1C Indian Springs 12, No. 1S Pahranagat
Valley 6: At Tonopah, Matthew Digregorio went 3-for-4 with four RBIS to lead the Thunderbirds (18-1) to the Southern Region title over the Panthers (19-8). Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Fernley. Softball
Class 4A
■ No. 2S Sierra Vista 2, No. 1D Rancho 1: At Rancho, Reagan Foglia struck out 16 while pitching a no-hitter to lead the Mountain Lions (17-10) past the Rams (15-4) in a winners’ bracket game. Kamryn Castillo went 2-for3 with a triple for Sierra Vista, which won with just three hits. The Mountain Lions play Desert Oasis at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran, with the winner advancing to the state title game. Rancho plays Doral Academy in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran.
■ No. 1M Desert Oasis
8, No. 1S Basic 2: At Desert Oasis, the Diamondbacks (15-8) erupted for six runs in the fifth inning and rolled past Basic (21-7) in the other winners’ bracket game.
Basic plays Spring Valley in an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran.
■ No. 4S Doral Academy
20, No. 3D Legacy 11: At Legacy, Megan Upp went 4-for-5 with two triples, a double and seven RBIS, and the Dragons (16-13) racked up 18 hits to eliminate the Longhorns (16-14). Jenna Becker went 5-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIS, and Emma Van Wagoner went 3-for-5 with two RBIS for Doral Academy.
■ No. 3S Spring Valley 19, No. 3M Foothill
1: At Foothill, Cheyenne Stephens-davis earned a four-inning victory as the Grizzlies (14-15) crushed the Falcons (14-11) in an elimination game. Aubree Holcombe went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIS to help Spring Valley, which ended the game with a 10run fourth inning. Class 2A
■ No. 1 Needles 15, No. 2
White Pine 0: At Needles, Jaelyn Garcia went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIS as the Mustangs (25-4) cruised to the Southern League title over the Bobcats (17-11-1). Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Durango. Class 1A
■ No. 1 Pahranagat Valley 8, No. 2 Round Mountain 7: At Tonopah, the Panthers (22-7) edged the Knights (22-9) to claim the Southern Region title. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Fernley.