DIVISION III BASEBALL: Key errors haunt Laughlin in loss to Needles

Losing to rival Needles never sits well with Tony Petrik.

But Friday’s setback was especially difficult to swallow for the Laughlin baseball coach.

Pinch runner Devin Darrow stole second and scored the winning run after two throwing errors by the Cougars in the bottom of the seventh as Needles advanced to the championship of the Division III state tournament with a 9-8 victory at The Meadows.

The Mustangs (19-6) will face Yerington (23-9-1) at 10 a.m. Saturday at The Meadows. The Lions, who eliminated Laughlin 20-7 in five innings in the loser’s brackt final, must win to force a second title game at approximately 12:30 p.m.

“Any time we lose to Needles is difficult,” Petrik said. “For it to be on a stage like this, and for it to go down the way it did, is a little bit more stinging.”

Laughlin scored six times in the second inning and led 8-4 after Haylan Drescher’s run-scoring single in the sixth.

Needles answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth as Devin Truscott had a two-run double and Benny Robinson followed with a run-scoring single that tied the game at 8.

“That’s the awesome thing about baseball,” Needles coach Ken Parker said. “You can be down the whole time and still find a way to win. These kids grind it out no matter what happens.”

Mason Paget led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk, and Darrow came on as a pinch runner. He stole second and continued to third when catcher Averie Prosise’s throw took a crazy bounce and went into center field.

The throw to third then skipped into the Needles dugout, allowing Darrow to trot home with the winning run.

“We were close, we just didn’t get it done,” Petrik said. “Give credit to Needles. They know how to finish the deal.”

Mason Cisneros went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Needles.

Prosise was 3-for-3, and teammate A.J. Nelson finished 2-for-3 with a two-run double in the second inning that put the Cougars on top, 5-4.

Yerington 20, Laughlin 7 — At The Meadows, the Lions batted around twice and scored 13 runs in the second inning to eliminate the Cougars (24-10).

Laughlin was outscored 21-0 in the final two innings of its loss to Needles and the first two innings against Yerington.

“You’re dealing with 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids, and emotionally there was nothing left in them,” Petrik said.

Sam Monahan drove in four runs in the second with a double and a triple for Yerington. He finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs.

John Lemos, Tyler Jones and Chase Ogolin each had two-run singles in the second for the Lions.

“It didn’t seem to matter what we tried,” Petrik said. “No matter what we did, it just kept rolling downhill.

“That’s baseball. One person hits and the next person thinks he can do it, too, and the next thing you know, there’s three, four, five people in a row on base.”

Haylan Drescher and Corey Beggs each delievered two-run singles, and Justin Quibell doubled twice for Laughlin.

“We have 13 kids in our entire program and six of them are seniors that have been with me since seventh grade,” Petrik said. “Our seniors have done a remarkable job for our program as far as leadership and setting the tone. It’s a really good group of kids.”