Baseball: Vikings end Fallon’s run in state tournament

The offense couldn’t get going in last week’s state tournament for the Greenwave baseball team.

Fallon fell to the South’s top seed, Pahrump Valley, 2-0, in a classic duel on Thursday before losing to South Tahoe, 8-2, on Friday for the third consecutive time after upsetting the Vikings in last week’s regional tournament.

Fallon sophomore James Kelsey and Pahrump Valley’s Kyle McDaniel engaged in a duel to open the state tournament with both pitchers going the distance and combining for 18 strikeouts. Each allowed five hits but the difference in the game came in the fourth inning when Pahrump Valley scored its only runs.

After a groundout to start the inning, a double, walk and single loaded the bases for Fidel Betancourt. On a 1-1 count, Betancourt hit a line-drive single to center to score two runs. Kelsey, though, retired the next two batters to strand two runners.

Fallon did have multiple opportunities to cross the plate.

In the second inning, Kelsey doubled. Trevor Hyde then reached on an error, and Anthony Juarez, the courtesy runner for Kelsey, advanced to third. With runners on first and third, McDaniel struck out Isaac Martinez swinging and Carter Paul and Chase Carnahan looking to end the threat.

Brady Alves hit a one-out double in the third inning but was left on base after Cooper Lee struck out and Baylor Sandberg popped out to shortstop.

Fallon’s last threat came in the fifth inning when Isiah Diaz walked with one out and Alves singled to center. Lee and Sandberg, though, both struck out swinging.

McDaniel retired Fallon in order in the final two innings.

In the Greenwave’s final game of the season, South Tahoe broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning, scoring seven unanswered runs before Fallon added a run in the last inning.

Down 1-0 in the second inning, Fallon loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Hyde, Martinez and Diaz. Back-to-back strikeouts followed but Lee walked to score Hyde and tie the game. Alves lined out to second to end the inning.

Sandberg pitched and came across trouble in the third inning after getting the first two Vikings out on grounders. A double and single broke the tie, 2-1, before a passed ball led to another run.

In the fourth, Fallon had two runners on with two outs but an Alves ground out stranded Carnahan on second and Lee on first. The Vikings, though, took advantage of Fallon not scoring by adding three more in the bottom half of the inning with a sac fly, triple and single to increase the lead to 6-1.

The Greenwave made noise in the seventh inning when Kelsey and Hyde singled. Martinez struck out but Diaz’s single scored Kelsey. Bryce Adams struck out on a full count and Carnahan grounded out to short to end the game.

Sandberg took the loss, striking out seven in 4.1 innings and Adams pitched the remainder.