Errant homer all right

As Adam Jones' bat connected with the ball in the third inning of the Class 3A state baseball championship game Saturday, the Faith Lutheran senior wasn't thinking about hitting a home run or delivering the game-winning RBIs.

"I thought, 'Oh God, Coach is going to kill me,' " Jones said.

Before his at-bat, Jones said, he had been directed by Faith Lutheran coach Tony Girod to hit to the opposite field. Instead, the right-handed batter delivered a tiebreaking two-run homer over the left-field fence to propel the Crusaders to the championship with a 6-1 victory over Pahrump Valley at Faith Lutheran.

After his initial dread, Jones said he quickly realized it was going to work out.

"I just pulled the hell out of that one," Jones said. "But then I just knew it was gone, and there was just a big smile on my face. It just felt good to put the team up 3-1."

Crusaders pitcher Tyler Iodence took care of the rest, tossing a three-hitter while striking out nine with three walks.

"That's probably the best performance Tyler has had all year. It came at the right time," Girod said. "He was very sharp today. He put a lot of time and effort into it. That time and work did pay off."

Iodence had a different view of being a champion.

"It hurts because I was on the bottom of the dog pile," said Iodence, who struck out the final batter and was promptly blindsided and buried in a heap of celebrating teammates. "But it's the best feeling right now. There's nothing better."

Faith Lutheran padded the lead with three runs in the fourth, two on a fielding error.

The victory completed a season sweep of Pahrump Valley, as the Crusaders went 7-0 against the Trojans.

"We don't ever take them lightly. They were in the state championship game for a reason," Jones said. "It was an even game today. We just played error-free, hard-knock baseball."

As a result, Jones finished his career as a Crusader by winning a state title on his home field.

"It won't get better than that right there," he said, "unless I win a World Series or something."

SOFTBALL

Heather Mathews tossed a two-hitter and struck out six to power Fernley to a 10-2 victory over Lowry in the championship game of the 3A state softball tournament at Faith Lutheran.

Sevreana Johnson, Frances Estrada and Seandra Beck each had two hits and scored twice for Fernley.

Lowry's Samantha Rice had a two-run homer.