Baseball: Fallon takes series over cross-valley rival

The Greenwave baseball team quickly righted its ship with a league-opening series win over cross-valley rival Fernley last weekend.

Fallon, which lost to South Tahoe to end the crossover schedule, opened the 3A East slate with an 11-3 win over Fernley on Thursday at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex. Fallon won Friday’s doubleheader opener, 17-7, to clinch the series before falling 8-6 in the nightcap.

Fallon is off until April 14 when it hosts Dayton for a three-game weekend series.

Down 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Fallon scored six times and then added five more in the following inning.

After scoring the first run on an error in the fourth, Fallon continued to take advantage of Fernley’s defensive miscues with two outs. Caden McKnight tied the game on a passed ball and then Steven Moon’s grounder was misplayed, allowing two runs to cross the plate. Brady Alves’ single scored Moon, and another error with Cooper Lee at the plate allowed Alves to score.

Three runs in the fifth came from singles by Moon and Alves, and Alves scored on a passed ball.

In Friday’s win over Fernley, Fallon collected only six hits - three came from Alves - in the 11-run effort. Alves and Moon each drove in two runs, and junior Isaac Martinez singled in a run. Junior Baylor Sandberg had the team’s only extra-base hit (double).

Fallon also took advantage of seven walks as it recorded eight stolen bases with two apiece from Sandberg and Martinez.

Junior James Kelsey picked up the win, fanning 12 Vaqueros and allowing three hits and one walk in six innings. Diaz pitched the seventh and struck out one.

Like the first game, Fernley jumped out to a lead only to see it evaporate in Friday’s doubleheader opener.

Fallon tied the game at one in the first inning and then scored three each in the second and third innings before adding four in the fourth. The game ended in the sixth when Fallon scored six times to invoke the mercy rule.

Kelsey’s double tied the game in the first before Alves’ two-run single and Lee’s run-scoring double in the second gave Fallon the lead. After Kelsey scored on an error in the third inning, Chase Carnahan drove in two with a single to left field to give Fallon a 6-1 lead. Carnahan scored on a dropped third strike when Moon beat out the play.

After Fernley scored three to bring the game to within three (7-4) in the fourth, Kelsey tripled in Lee and then scored on Hyde’s single. With two outs, Carnahan doubled in Hyde and Carter Paul, who singled.

Fallon ended the game one inning early when Trevor Hyde was hit by the pitch, scoring Lee, followed by Sandberg stealing home on a 1-2 count. Mason Storm’s single, Moon’s triple and Sandberg’s double drove in runs.

Moon picked up the win on the hill, pitching 1.2 innings in relief of Bryce Adams.

The scenario was flipped in the series finale after Fallon led until Fernley scored five in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie.

After Sandberg struck out the first batter, the Vaqueros loaded the bases with two walks and a single. A stolen base at home broke the tie before a hit-by-pitch from Sandberg and back-to-back walks issued by Lee in relief led to three more Fernley runs and a 7-3 advantage.

Fallon, though, made some noise in the sixth inning when Isiah Diaz scored on an error and Moon tripled in Adams to cut the gap to three runs. Alves’ RBI groundout scored Moon to round out the scoring with Fallon down 8-6. A walk in the final inning was all Fallon could muster as Fernley took the final game.

Despite the loss, Sandberg struck out nine in 4.1 innings.