PVHS softball, baseball teams win regional championships

The Pahranagat Valley High School softball team is set to play Pyramid Lake and the baseball team plays Mineral County on Thursday, May 14, after both teams won regional championships on Saturday, May 9.

The Lady Panthers remained unbeaten against league opponents by defeating Laughlin 15-2 on Thursday, May 7, and Round Mountain 17-2 on Friday, and 15-5 on Saturday. No game went more than five innings, as PVHS mercy-ruled the field.

Junior Evie Davis allowed just two hits and three walks over five innings, and all of her runs allowed were unearned to secure the championship for the Lady Panthers. She also had two hits, including a double. Senior Shada Spencer paced the offense, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a stolen base, four RBIs and two runs scored. Classmate Cami Cannon doubled in two runs and scored once.

The Panther offense was even more overwhelming in the first championship game, as Spencer once again homered, drove in three and scored two. Davis was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and allowed four hits and a walk over four innings pitched. Junior Sofie Walch stole three bases and scored three runs.

Davis didn’t allow a single earned run in the regional tournament. The two runs Laughlin scored were unearned, as Davis allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five. Spencer found the swing that helped the Panthers sweep the tournament field, clearing the bases with a double and later scoring. Senior Alivia Walch was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

“I believe that our team has all the ability, talent, drive to go out and face the same teams as last year and obtain the same result as last year and defend their state championship,” Pahranagat Valley head coach Mike Sparrow said. “They’ve put in the work and are prepared. The next step is continuing to trust each other and trust their preparation and do what they know how to do.”

If the Leopards and Panthers both beat their underdog opponents in round one, they’ll play each other at 10 a.m on Friday, May 15. The championship games will be played Saturday.

The boys didn’t get much resistance in the regional playoffs, either, beating Round Mountain 15-0 on Thursday, May 7,  and Liberty Baptist 18-3 on Friday and 15-0 on Saturday. The Panthers needed just three innings to secure the championship on Saturday, as junior Braxten Tsosie drove in two runs with two doubles, stole a base and scored three times himself. Senior Colin Howard was 3-for-3 with a double and five RBIs. 

Jesse Stewart allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out five in the shutout. Senior Flint Higbee was nearly as effective in the first championship game, allowing just two earned runs over four innings despite striking out no one. He was also 2-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Stewart singled, doubled, drove in three and scored twice. 

Sophomore Colton Williams tripled, driving in two runs and scoring three times, and senior Trevor Thiriot was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored. 

Senior Todd Hansen got the Panthers’ playoff run off on the right foot, tossing a three-inning no-hitter against Round Mountain. He struck out five and walked just one while doubling and scoring a run at the dish.

Williams was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored, and sophomore Bronson Fiatoa was 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Classmate Ethan Zander also went 2-for-2 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. 

The Panthers play the north’s two seed, Mineral County (16-7, 9-3), at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Top-seeded host Smith Valley (19-2, 10-2) likely awaits Pahranagat Valley in the semifinals scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, May 15. The first of two championship games (if necessary) is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday.

PVHS head coach Adam Lytle expects every game at state to be a good one, and his team used its final practices to prepare for what they might see from northern opponents Pyramid Lake (23-8, 12-2) and Wells (21-4, 15-0). “Went over a few situations we think we might run into, but otherwise kept everything the same. At this point, we’re just trying to keep them sharp,” he said.