Softball
Reed sweeps Reno, Jensen reaches milestone
RENO – One win was easy. The other was not. Reed will take both.
The Raiders stretched their winning streak to 18 games on Saturday with a pair of contrasting road wins at Reno – a 14-0 five-inning rout in game one followed by a 3-2 victory in nine innings.
“You can never take anybody for granted,” Reed coach Jon Wunder said. “When you go up 14-0 in the first game then you come out and score too early … you have to refocus.”
The Raiders (23-2-1, 13-2) are still tied with Spanish Springs for first place. The Huskies tumbled to 11-12, 8-7 with their fifth-straight defeat excluding a pair of Hug forfeits.
Reed will host Wooster on Thursday.
Reed 3, Reno 2 (9 innings)
Reed senior Gabby Kahl belted her first career home run in the top of the ninth and Julia Jensen spun a 1-2-3 bottom half to preserve the one-run victory.
“That was a perfect time for her (Kahl) to get ahold of one,” Wunder said. “The kid is providing the power. She saw it well and stroked it.”
Jensen, a Nevada commit, was her dominant self throughout. She struck out 15 and did not allowed an earned run while scattering three hits over nine innings. She did not walk a batter.
She struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth to reach 1,000 for her career. She trails only Wooster’s Brianne McGowan, who fanned 1,318 from 2000-03, and Centennial’s Shannon Crisp, who sat down 1,234 from 2001-04, on Nevada’s career strikeout list.
McGowan went on to have a shining career at Oregon State and is an assistant at Nevada.
Jensen was unaware of her accomplishment until she got to the dugout.
“I had no idea, at all,” Jensen said. “I didn’t know why they were hugging me, but it feels good. I know it’s a really big accomplishment.”
A pair of defensive errors in the bottom of the sixth helped the Huskies score twice and tie the contest. A dropped fly ball put the leadoff at second and two batters later, Carys Cook blooped a double just inside the left-field line, allowing Brea Pacheco to score. A booted ground ball with two outs brought the tying run home.
Before Kahl’s blast, Reed had the opportunity to take the lead in the eighth with runners on second and third with one out following Bianca Beterano double into the right-field corner. However, a base-running miscue dulled the rally.
“Uncharacteristically, we made four mistakes: One base running and three on defense,” Wunder said. “You know, it’s easy to say it because we won the game, that stuff is good for you. It helps you in those situations.”
Reno’s Anya Weiss was the tough-luck loser. She also threw a nine-inning complete game, allowing three runs (two earned) on just four hits. She struck out five and worked around six walks.
The Raiders took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first without a hit. Two walks, two stolen bases, a sac fly and run-scoring error provided the early cushion.
Reed’s inability to come through with a timely hit was foreshadowing. The Raiders finished the game 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Said Wunder: “We have to do a better job than that.”
Reed 14, Reno 0 (5 innings)
The only comparison game one had with game two was Jensen.
Before striking out 15 in the nightcap, Jensen twirled a five-inning one hitter, striking out 12 and did not walk a batter.
Aliya Lange only had one hit, but made it hurt. Her grand slam in the top of the fourth pushed the Raiders up 10-0. Carla Hernandez (2-for-3, home run, three RBI, two runs) also went deep.
Jensen helped her own cause, going 3-for-4 with three doubles, two RBIs and scoring three times.
Spanish Springs handles North Valleys
First-place Spanish Springs did not have any trouble with last-place North Valleys in Saturday’s home doubleheader.
The Cougars (21-5, 13-2) disposed of the Panthers (1-17, 1-14) by an aggregate total of 25 runs over the two contests.
Damonte Ranch will host Spanish Springs on Thursday.
Spanish Springs 16, North Valleys 1 (4 innings)
The Cougars only outhit the Panthers 9-5 in the second game of Saturday’s double dip, but benefited from 10 walks and five North Valleys defensive errors.
Freshman Tyra Clary threw a four-inning complete game. She struck out six and did not walk a batter, allowing a lone earned run on five hits.
Freshman shortstop Kilee Pender went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Aubrey Parks (2-for-4, two RBIs) and Hunter Travers (2-for-2, double, two RBIs, three runs) also had nice games at the plate.
The Cougars scored five times in the first and eight times in the second.
Spanish Springs 12, North Valleys 2 (5 innings)
The Cougars pounded out 16 hits in Saturday’s initial contest and rolled to their first of two mercy-rule-shortened victories.
Parks (3-for-3, four RBIs, two runs), Pender (3-for-4, two RBIs, three runs) and Alysa Micone (3-for-4, three runs) all gave North Valleys pitching problems.
Mirinda Nichols rode the offense to the win in the circle. Both runs she allowed in the five-inning complete game were unearned. She surrendered just two hits and struck out seven compared with three walks.
The Cougars stole six bases as a team.
Sparks drops pair to Dayton
The Railroaders were on the wrong end of 9-5 and 16-3 (five innings) decisions on Saturday afternoon at home against Dayton.
With the two defeats, Sparks (5-16-1, 2-15) has now dropped seven straight. Dayton jumped to 6-15, 5-11.
Sparks heads to Spring Creek for a three-game series next weekend.
Dayton 16, Sparks 3 (5 innings)
The Dust Devils scored at least two runs in each of their at bats, rolling to a five-inning victory in Saturday’s series finale.
Dayton 9, Sparks 5
Dayton scored seven unanswered runs after Sparks pushed one across in the first and cruised to a four-run victory in Saturday’s first game.
4A North softball standings 4.22
Reed 13-2
SS 13-2
BM 11-2
McQ 10-4
DR 9-6
Reno 8-7
Carson 5-8
Douglas 5-10
Galena 4-8
Wooster 4-11
NV 1-14— Nathan Shoup (@Trib_Shoup) April 23, 2017
Baseball
Spanish Springs remains in first
By Brian Walther, reporting intern
With a strong early pitching performance and some exceptional hitting, Spanish Springs handled North Valleys in both ends of Saturday’s road doubleheader.
By extending their winning streak to eight games, the Cougars (17-4, 13-3) remained deadlocked with Reno for first place in the 4A North. Reno took both ends of a home doubleheader from Reed on Saturday.
North Valleys dropped to 8-17, 2-14 in the 4A North with the two losses.
Spanish Springs will take on Hug (2-22, 0-16) at home on Tuesday. First pitch is at 3:45 p.m.
Spanish Springs 13, North Valleys 6
Spanish Springs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Saturday’s second game after a double from senior Josh Prizina (1-for-3, two RBIs, run), but the Panthers answered right back in the bottom half, scoring three runs to make it 3-1.
Marlin Brucato tied things back up in third inning with a two-run home run to left field. Brucato had a monster day at the plate, collecting four hits, three RBIs, and a walk.
“We hit the ball as good as we could probably hit it today,” Spanish Springs coach Matt Ortiz said.
The Panthers took the lead back once again in the third inning only for Spanish Springs to break things wide open in the fourth.
Malik Lariviere started things with a solo home run to left field tying things up once again, followed by a two-run double from Dawson Martin (2-for-4, two RBIs, two runs).
North Valleys would struggle to get out of the inning, and by the time it did, it trailed 11-6.
“We took advantage of a few of their mistakes and the scoreboard shows that,” Ortiz said.
Brucato came in to pitch the final two innings and did not surrender a run.
“Coming out here on a double header and playing fourteen innings, I think we handled that well,” Ortiz said.
Spanish Springs 9, North Valleys 1
Casey Miller started off the double header with a dominant pitching performance. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up just one run on four hits.
“We had a great outing from Casey Miller, that kind of set the tone for the rest of the day,” Ortiz said.
Martin also played a big part in the Spanish Springs victory. He had a total of five RBIs on the day, along with three hits and a walk.
He would give the Cougars their first runs of the day with a two-run single to center field in the third inning.
Tanner Smith (2-for-3, two RBIs, run) added on to the Cougars’ lead, leading off the third inning with a home run to left field.
Prizina had a solid day at the plate going 3-for-4 with a run scored.
The only run allowed in the game by the Cougars came on a passed ball in sixth inning.
Tristan Dahir shut the door on the Panthers, pitching the sixth and seventh inning while giving up just one hit to give Spanish Springs the win.
Reed swept at Reno
Reed’s four-game winning was halted in convincing fashion on Saturday afternoon at Reno.
The Huskies (22-4, 13-3) handled the Raiders 11-1 (six innings) and 14-0 (five innings) to stay tied atop the 4A North with Spanish Springs.
Reed sunk to 10-16, 7-9 in the 4A North and will attempt to get back in the win column on Tuesday when it hosts McQueen (12-14, 9-7).
Reno 14, Reed 0 (5 innings)
Saturday’s second game went five innings, but it was over after two.
The Huskies poured it on in the second frame, scoring 12 runs on 10 hits – nine singles and an Austin Whan grand slam.
Reed mustered just three hits, one apiece from Brandon Biggs, Joey Brown and Miah Harmon (double).
Whan also picked up the victory on the hill, allowing just three hits over four shutout innings while striking out five.
Reno 11, Reed 1 (6 innings)
The Raiders trailed just 2-1 going to the bottom of the fourth in Saturday’s first game before a big inning, as it would in the second contest, put the game out of reach.
Reno pushed six across in the home half of the fourth to run away with it.
The Raiders were outhit 11-2.
Tanner Clabaugh’s RBI single that plated Harmon snuck the Raiders within a run in the top of the third.
Sparks swept by Dayton
Dayton quickly ended any thoughts Sparks had of salvaging the third game of the series on Saturday morning.
The Dust Devils scored once in the first before exploding for five in the second and nine in the third in a 15-0 three-inning win at Sparks, which lost for the 10th straight game. Dayton (17-4-1, 14-3) grew its winning streak to 13.
Senior Matt Longland went 2-for-2, accounting for half of the Railroaders’ hits.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Friday. Dayton won those contests 6-2 and 6-0.
Sparks (5-16, 2-12) goes to Spring Creek next weekend for a three-game series.
4A North baseball standings 4.22
Reno 13-3
SS 13-3
Gal 12-4
DR 10-6
BM 9-7
McQ 9-7
Woost 8-8
Cars 7-9
Doug 7-9
Reed 7-9
NV 2-14
Hug 0-16— Nathan Shoup (@Trib_Shoup) April 23, 2017
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