Playoff roundup: Durango baseball on cusp of 4A title game — PHOTOS
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. Needles opens against Yerington at 1 p.m. Thursday, and Lake Mead faces West Wendover at 4 p.m.
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). Cole Concoby went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI to help Indian Springs. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Fernley. The Thunderbirds open against Excel Christian at 4 p.m. Thursday, and Pahranagat Valley plays Smith Valley at 1 p.m.
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-for-3 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 10-run 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). Emmy Powell went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs to help Needles, which scored nine runs in the first inning. Both teams advance to next week’s state tournament at Durango. The Mustangs open against Yerington at 4 p.m. Thursday, and White Pine faces Pershing County at 1 p.m.
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. Pahranagat Valley opens against Carlin at 4 p.m. Thursday, and Round Mountain faces Coleville at 1:30 p.m.
