Fallon baseball on verge of title

After being swept at Elko last month, the Greenwave baseball team’s chances of nabbing the league’s top seed seemed dim.

Since then, however, Fallon (15-6) has not lost another series and enters a pivotal showdown against visiting South Tahoe (14-7) for the second seed of the regional tournament, which begins next week. A series sweep coupled with an Elko (15-6) loss in its series against Dayton (7-14) would give Fallon the top seed.

The South Tahoe series begins today at 3 p.m. and concludes with an 11.a.m. doubleheader on Saturday at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex.

Before the regional tournament and worrying about seeding, Fallon is focused on taking care of South Tahoe, the surprise team of the region after missing the playoffs every year since the realignment four years ago.

The Vikings held the top spot in the league for most of the season before getting swept in a doubleheader by Fernley last month. South Tahoe won the season series against Elko beforehand but since the Fernley sweep, the Vikings have been fluctuating in the second half of the season.

Throw in one of the hottest teams in Spring Creek (14-7) plus Fernley (11-10) and Lowry (11-10) and you get a cluster of teams battling for the fourth and final seed. The Spartans swept a doubleheader over the Vikings last weekend to force a tie for third.

Fallon looks to ride on its pitching staff after it held Sparks to only two runs in a three-game road sweep last week.

Freshman Alex Mendez and senior Tristen Salazar have paced the Greenwave this season with both compiling ERAs below two runs per game. Mendez (4-2) has held the opposition to 2.75 earned runs per game, while striking out 29 in 28 innings. Salazar has been a workhorse, pitching 43.1 innings and recording a team-high 35 strikeouts to go with his 2.91 ERA.

Riley Williams has been Lester de Braga’s go-to reliever as he has held opponents to 2.21 runs per game in 25.1 innings of work. Williams has struck out 21 batters while Joe Pyle and Cody Long have each pitched 22.1 innings and combine for a 4.86 ERA. Cade Monardo and Kendall Johnson have also thrown for the Greenwave.

After starring for the football and basketball teams, Tyler Bagby has been successful hitting the ball this spring.

The right-handed power hitter leads the team with a .485 average, including six home runs and 30 RBIs, in 70 at-bats. Bagby also leads the team in stolen bases with 12 in 14 attempts, while Mendez sports the team’s best batting average at .643 but has been to the plate 14 times.

While Pyle and Long haven’t had as much luck on the hill as his counterparts, they have been two of Fallon’s best hitters. Pyle comes into the South Tahoe series with a .450 batting average in 40 at-bats while Long’s hitting .443 in 61 at-bats. Branden Beeghly is hitting .435 with 19 RBIs while three players are hitting above .300, including Marshall Coverston, Sage Orozco and Trae Workman.