Fallon’s Evan Giovanetti slides into third safely against Lowry.
Photo by Tony Erquiaga.
In a slugfest that resembled more like a football score, the Greenwave baseball team scored seven runs in the ninth inning to not only win the series over Lowry, but it secured the division’s regular-season title and No. 1 seed.
The Greenwave overcame a resilient Lowry squad, which tied the game in the seventh, for a 19-14 victory that lasted nearly four hours in Saturday’s first game of the doubleheader. Fallon won Friday’s opener, 15-5, before sweeping the series with a 15-5 win Saturday afternoon.
Fallon improved 11-1 in the 3A East with only one series left – this weekend at home vs. Spring Creek – before the regional tournament in two weeks at Hug High School in Reno. The top four teams from the 3A East and 3A West advance to the tournament with the champion and runner-up qualifying for the state tournament in Southern Nevada.
Entering the final frame of Saturday’s doubleheader opener tied at 12, the Greenwave offense erupted.
Evan Giovanetti ignited the rally with a leadoff single. A walk to Tommy Ames, followed by a costly Lowry infield error, allowed Giovanetti to score the go-ahead run. The momentum continued as another Buckaroo miscue brought in two more Greenwave runners. Trevor Hyde and Eric Cornejo followed with singles, loading the bases, and then Ames delivered a clutch bases-clearing double, extending the Greenwave advantage to seven.
The Buckaroos managed to push two runs across in the bottom of the ninth, capitalizing on a couple of hits.
The game was an offensive showcase from the start.
The Greenwave jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through the first three innings, capitalizing on timely hitting and Lowry's mistakes. However, the Buckaroos answered with six runs in the bottom of the fourth to knot the score.
Hyde led the offensive charge, going 3-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored, including a double. James Kelsey also had a strong day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, and a double. Anthony Gonzalez contributed with two hits, two runs, and two RBIs, including a double. Cornejo added two hits and two runs scored. Giovanetti had two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Ames had a hit, two RBIs, and a run scored, including a crucial ninth-inning double. Chase Carnahan had two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Nathaniel Zackery chipped in with two hits and two runs scored.
Ames picked up the win, pitching the final four innings and allowed only one earned run while striking out three and scattering seven hits. Anthony Juarez pitched the first 3.2 innings, striking out five and allowing six hits and six runs (two earned), and Mason Storm pitched 1.1 innings. He gave up four earned runs, six hits and two walks while striking out two.
A 10-run third inning was the difference in the second game that ended quicker.
Fallon struck immediately to open the game when Carnahan blasted a solo homer to left field before Hyde singled in Kelsey, who was hit by a pitch. Zack Adams scored when Cornejo doubled to center, and Giovanetti singled on a line drive to score Hyde to give Fallon a 4-0 lead.
After yielding a run in the bottom half, the offense exploded in the third.
Giovanetti led off with a double, and Juarez followed with a single, advancing Giovanetti to third. Zackery then grounded out to score Giovanetti. Gonzales’ single scored Braden Alves, who had entered as a courtesy runner, and Carnahan followed with another single. An intentional walk to Kelsey loaded the bases before Zack Adams singled, bringing in two runs due to an error by the left fielder.
Another Lowry error allowed two more Greenwave runners to score. Cornejo walked, and Giovanetti followed with his second double of the inning, scoring Hyde. After a popout, Nathaniel Zackery reached on an error, allowing Cornejo to score. Gonzalez then singled in Giovanetti followed by Zackery scoring on a passed ball, pushing the Greenwave's lead to 14-1.
Adams and Giovanetti each led the team with three hits and two RBIs. Hyde drove in three runs, and Gonzalez also had a pair of RBIs.
Luis Lopez-Pinuelas pitched all five innings of the shortened game, striking out four while giving up five hits, three walks and one earned run.
The Greenwave bats came alive in a decisive six-run sixth inning to secure the first game of the series Friday.
Fallon jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Kelsey tripled to left field, scoring Gonzalez, who walked, and Hyde followed with a single to score Kelsey.
Lowry responded in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on miscues and timely hitting.
The Greenwave regained the lead in the top of the second when Gonzalez doubled and later scored on a single by Carnahan. Kelsey then singled, driving in Carnahan to make it 4-3.
Fallon extended their lead in the third, scoring three more runs. Walks to Hyde and Cornejo set the table for an RBI single by Giovanetti. Zackery and Gonzalez followed with singles, each driving in a run to push the score to 7-3.
Lowry managed to push two more runs across in the bottom of the third, aided by an error and a passed ball, but the Greenwave pitching, led by Adams, held.
The pivotal sixth inning saw the Greenwave offense explode. Singles by Carnahan and Adams, a hit-by-pitch to Kelsey, and another single by Hyde brought in two runs. Cornejo then delivered a two-run single, and later in the inning, Zackery hit a two-run double. Gonzalez added an RBI single, and Kelsey capped off the scoring with another single, invoking the 10-run rule.
Grau took the loss for Lowry, while the winning pitcher for Churchill County was not immediately available.
Churchill County will look to carry this offensive momentum into their next contest, while Lowry will aim to bounce back and shore up their defense.