For the past decade, Douglas High School has found ways to beat South Tahoe High on the diamond. They found another means to victory after losing a Northern 4A Conference game 9-8 Tuesday in Minden.
South Tahoe learned Wednesday a misinterpretation of a pitcher usage rule cost the club one of its best starts (2-2) since posting a 10-10 record in 1994 - the year of the Vikings' only postseason appearance since joining the conference in 1982-83.
Ryan Cullen, who pitched a seven-inning complete game as the Vikings edged the Tigers, exceeded the 11-inning allotment for pitchers over a four-day period.
"It's not put in writing yet, but everybody seems to agree that a rule was broken," said Donnie Nelson, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association sports information director. "(Executive director) Dr. Jerry Hughes says it's going to happen. It's a matter of getting the scorebook to finalize it. "
Cullen started his four-day stint with a five-inning outing in the Vikings' doubleheader loss to Wooster on Saturday in Reno.
"I'm disappointed in myself," said STHS manager Doug Russell. "I've let the team down, the school down and have no one to blame but myself. As a head coach, I need to make sure I'm familiar with the particulars of league rules. There's no national policy on this. This is a rule that is specified to our league, but that doesn't excuse someone in my position from making that kind of error in judgment."
Russell interpreted the rule to mean pitchers couldn't exceed 11 innings work from Sunday to Sunday.
"It could be any four-day stretch together," Nelson said. "It doesn't necessarily mean Monday through Thursday. It's the first time it's happened since the rule was written. It's an unfortunate set of circumstances, but a rule is a rule, and you have to follow it."
The NIAA was informed of the infraction by an undisclosed source Wednesday morning.
"Somebody has to report it," Nelson said."We don't check all of the box scores
Douglas first-year varsity coach Fred Bendure was aware of Cullen's innings and filed a protest with the umpires in the seventh inning.
"The umpires don't monitor it, so it's basically a call to the NIAA to investigate if there is a question," Bendure said. "It's not a great way to get a victory, that's for sure. It's unfortunate for them."
Russell said the Vikings won't protest the decision.
"It's a shame that we should play so well and come out of that game feeling so good about ourselves and lose it in this fashion," Russell said.
3A Track and Field
Boys Team Results
Dayton 190, Whittel 134, Yerington 86, Incline 55
Girls Team Results
Dayton 162, Yerington 147, Whittell 44, Incline 42
The highlight of the four-way 3A track and field meet in Yerington was the track itself, as the new Yerington High track facility was debuted on Wednesday. The Lions' new synthetic track was funded primarily by a donation by William Weaver.
Dayton dominated the team competition as the Dust Devils swept several events 1-2-3, including the boys shot put, the girls 800 meters and the girls long jump.
Some of the top performances included:
n Sara Hubbel's winning time of 13.55 for Yerington in the girls 100 meters.
n Tiffany Jenkes' high jump mark of 5 feet for Incline.
n Kim Wilson's clocking of 28.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash for Dayton.
n Josh Allen was a double-event winner for Yerington, taking both the 110 hurdles (16.2) and the 300 intermediate hurdles (42.83).
n Luke Forvilly recorded a quick 11.69 in the 100-meter dash for Whittell.
3A Softball
Dayton 6, Fernley 4
The Dust Devils, led by the pitcher-catcher combo of Jen Dillie and Carrie Kordonowy, continued their torrid start to the 2000 season by picking up their sixth straight win to begin the season.
Dillie, who was the winning pitcher on Wednesday, picked up her sixth win against the Vaqueros. Kordonowy went 1-for-2 against Fernley with an RBI; in her last 14 at-bats, she has 10 hits, including a triple and home run for a .714 average.
The game was tied 3-3 heading into the seventh, but the Dust Devils scored three times in their half of the inning to take the lead. Dillie was then able to limit the Vaqueros to one run in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game.
Dillie helped herself by recording three RBIs in the game.
Cayla Reese has also been hitting well for Dayton recently. She was 2-for-2 on Wednesday.
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