BEHIND THE PLATE: Fallon wraps up spring season this weekend

The Greenwave spring season concludes this weekend and while it hasn’t matched the first two years in the Division I-A, Fallon is still making noise across the state.

Lester de Braga’s baseball team came two runs shy of returning to this week’s state tournament in Henderson. The softball team, though, resumed their quest for a three-peat today. Under first-year coach Bill Archer, the Lady Wave softball team opened with a win over Faith Lutheran Thursday and needs one more win to reach the title game and two (or three if coming from the consolation bracket) to win another crown.

Both diamond clubs don’t have the same strength as the previous teams but they still have the same determination and heart of competing and leaving it all on the field. The baseball team’s crushing loss to defending state champ Truckee in last weekend’s regional tournament will sting as it did last year when Fallon was a couple innings away from defeating the California school and reaching the state title game in Reno.

The softball team, on the other hand, lost its best pitcher to graduation last season and then lost its best hitter two months ago to a leg injury. Fallon, though, bounced back and although it didn’t win the Lahontan League, it avenged that void by beating Fernley in two of the last three meetings, including the regional championship last weekend. Fallon’s rolling at the right time and depending on today’s outcome against Faith Lutheran, it would come as no surprise if the Lady Wave and Vaqueros will battle for the state crown on Saturday at UNLV. Fallon dropped Faith Lutheran, 10-3, on Friday, while Fernley beat Boulder City to advance to the semis.

But the softball team isn’t the only club trying to three-peat.

The boys track and field team easily won the Northern Division I-A regional last week in Yerington and looks poised to make another run for the title. However, the realignment in the South shifted some of the Division I schools into Fallon’s class, which could turn out to be the Greenwave’s biggest challenge in three years.

While the boys were dominating, the girls team wasn’t too far behind. The Lady Wave finished third in the regional last week and are looking for another top-five finish in the state, which could help drive this team into becoming the best next season.

The swimming teams compete in Carson this weekend for state and will go against schools of the same size. Unlike previous seasons when Fallon had to battle with the Renos, the Reeds and the McQueens, the Greenwave will get the opportunity to win some gold and not worry about trying to compete with the biggest schools in the state.

The only team that competed in state but finished before this weekend had a tough time. The Greenwave boys golf team qualified only one for the state tournament this week in Reno after sending two to Las Vegas last year. Sophomore Jeff Evett competed for Fallon as this program gears toward the offseason and preparing for a return trip to state after winning it all two years ago.

The Greenwave are in good shape to bring home more gold this spring but it will have difficulty matching the last two seasons. But some gold is always better than none, just like it how it used to be in the Division I.

Thomas Ranson can be contacted at lvnsports.com.