Comets win two games to take NSA state title

There was only one disappointment when the Nevada Comets picked up their championship trophy at the National Softball Association (NSA) state age group softball tournament Saturday afternoon at Edmonds Sports Complex. Since the Carson City-based 16 and under club rarely gets the chance to play at home, two games just didn't seem like enough.

The Comets won both of their games, sweeping a doubleheader against Reno's Nevada Lightning to secure their second state tournament championship within the last three weeks and to improve their overall summer record to 20-3. The Comets won five straight games to take the 16 and under title at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) state tournament two weeks ago in Reno.

This time, they needed only to beat the Lightning 8-1 and 7-3.

Originally, 25 teams were expected to play in four age divisions at the inaugural Nevada state NSA tournament, but due to schedule conflicts, only 11 showed up on Saturday. Six to seven teams were expected for the 16 and under bracket, according to Comets coach Jim Dunn.

"There's not much to say; it's just unfortunate that we didn't get more teams for a state tournament," Dunn said. "This is the first NSA state tournament, so we were looking forward to having all the teams from the South as well as all the teams from around here."

The Comets did have to play some catchup in both games.

Nevada Lightning took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener, but Brittany Puzey slammed a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning to give the Comets a lead they never relinquished. Calli Fisher delivered a run-scoring triple in the fourth as the Comets extended their lead to 4-1. Ashley Arneson and Catrina Cherry had RBI singles in the fifth as the Comets scored four more runs.

Fisher pitched a complete game one-hitter, allowing a single in the first inning. She struck out nine, walked four and hit two batters.

In game two, the Comets were down 3-2 before they scored four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Two players from Wooster High School's Nevada 4A state championship squad got the ball rolling as Katie Stevens walked and Andrea Lazzari single. Fisher followed with a run-scoring double to tie the score and Arneson doubled to drive home the go-ahead run. Sarah Hunt singled home another run during the rally.

Lazzari finished 2-for-3 and Arneson 2-for-2 to lead the Comets' 10-hit offense.

Kayla Dunn pitched a complete game two-hitter to earn credit for the win. Dunn struck out nine and walked six.

The Comets return to action next weekend in Modesto, Calif., when they play in a NSA qualifier to tune up for the NSA World Tournament, which will be held July 20-28 in Plano, Texas.