Panthers defend regional title

Pahranagat Valley won their seventh consecutive 1A Southern League tournament championship Saturday at Indian Springs, and did it in dramatic fashion.

Duston Stewart hit a walk-off, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Tabor Maxwell and give the Panthers the Class 1A Southern Region title with a 10-9 victory.

Tied at nine going into the inning, Maxwell had reached first on an error to begin the inning.

Christian Higbee followed with a single, then Garrett Higbee drew a walk before Stewart ended the game with a line drive belt off closer Nino Alverez over a drawn-in infield and left fielder.

Pahranagat?s Ike Taylor accounted for three runs batted in and also two stolen bases, Asher Haworth and Christian Higbee also both doubled.

Maxwell earned the win in relief for the Panthers, who fell behind 5-1 when Indian Springs scored five runs driven by a double from Jordan Flamm, a single by Isaiah Jones and a three-run home run by Nino Alverez. ?

But PVHS came back with three runs in the third inning and four in the fourth to retake the lead 8-5.

Indian Springs knotted the game at eight in the fourth inning. T. Maxwell relieved S. Maxwell on the mound. The Thunderbirds scored on a single, an error, and two walks. Both teams added another run in the sixth inning as the game moved toward extra innings.

The Panthers had a runner on second with one out in the seventh, but a double play ended the inning. Maxwell retired the side for the Thunderbirds in the top of the eighth.

In the Friday championship semifinal with Indian Springs, Pahranagat rallied from an early two-run deficit to take a 14-9 win, breaking Indian Springs 17-game win streak. ?

Indian Springs led 5-3 after three innings, but the Panthers scored three runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to pull away.

Indian Springs then crushed Beatty 17-3, scoring 13 runs in the first inning, to move into championship rematch with Pahranagat. ?

Alamo had opened the tournament on Thursday with a 16-5 win over Tonopah. S. Maxwell led the team with four hits in five at bats.

The Panthers scored nine runs in the third inning, six of which were the result of Tonopah errors.

The state tournament, in which PVHS is the defending champion, began yesterday at Durango High in Las Vegas.

Indian Spring (23-4) against Virginia City (16-4) and Pahranagat against Mineral County (22-9-1). ?The championship game is Saturday at 10 a.m.