SMALL SCHOOLS: Faith Lutheran rebounds, wins 3A Southern League softball series

Faith Lutheran’s Maya Barnes crouched at her position at shortstop, staring in disbelief at the outfield Saturday.

Virgin Valley’s Dru Zolman had just hit a walk-off two-run home run to hand the Crusaders a Class 3A Southern League playoff series loss on Faith Lutheran’s field.

Thankfully for Barnes and her teammates, Faith Lutheran had another chance.

And the Crusaders made the most of it, rebounding for a 16-4 win in Saturday’s second game and the rubber game of the best-of-3 series. Faith Lutheran (16-16) advanced to the state tournament, which begins Friday at the Crusaders’ field.

“Watching that home run was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in softball,” said Barnes, who went 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs in the second game. “We’ve worked hard all year, and it’s a team we knew we could beat. You don’t want to let it slip away.”
After winning Friday’s game via the mercy rule, Faith Lutheran squandered a 6-0 first-inning lead in Saturday’s opener.

“Their hearts sunk a little bit,” Faith Lutheran coach Kelli McCoy said. “We talked between games about pride and perseverance and about refocusing ourselves.”

The Crusaders bolted to a 6-1 lead in the second inning of the nightcap and almost saw it get away before scoring 10 runs in the final two innings.

Virgin Valley (9-22) pulled to within 6-4 and left two runners in scoring position in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth before Faith Lutheran’s bats came to life and the Bulldogs’ gloves abandoned them.

Michelle Beatty, who returned to the lineup this weekend after missing nearly 20 games with an injury, stroked a two-run, two-out single in the sixth, and the Crusaders tacked on eight runs on four hits and three Virgin Valley errors in the seventh to put the game away.

Beatty finished 4-for-5 with five RBIs. Barnes, Kellie Kersey and Beatty, the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters, were a combined 9-for-12 with 10 RBIs in the second game.

“It’s the most amazing feeling in the world,” Barnes said of winning the second game and going to state. “I like to be able to give that to our seniors.”

In the opener, Jacque Olive’s two-out, three-run homer to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning tied the game at 7, setting the stage for Zolman’s heroics.

With Jessica Tichenor on first base and one out in the seventh, Zolman smashed a 1-and-0 pitch over the fence in left-center to complete the comeback and force the decisive game.

Tiger Lilly was 3-for-4 for the Bulldogs. Ashley Simmons, Zolman and Kim Martinez each went 2-for-4.

Beatty was 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the opener for Faith Lutheran.

Boulder City 9, Moapa Valley 0 — At Boulder City, Dylan Scott pitched a two-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks to lead the Eagles (30-3) past the Pirates (7-20) and clinch a best-of-3 series, 2-0, for a trip to state.

Britty Patt, Karlee Koopman and Paxton Fleming all went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Boulder City.

Pahranagat Valley 2, Lake Mead 1 — At Alamo, Addie Canning spun a four-hitter and stranded the potential tying run on second base with a game-ending comebacker to the circle as the Panthers (18-8-1) downed Lake Mead (14-16-1) in the Class 1A Southern Region final.

Tami Spencer went 2-for-3 for Pahranagat Valley, which scored twice in the first inning.

Lynzee Freund tossed a four-hitter for the Eagles, who will join Pahranagat Valley in the state tournament, which begins Thursday at Majestic Park.