Oasis Academy’s Trevor Barrenchea and his team face West Wendover on Friday.
Photo by Thomas Ranson.
Oasis Academy baseball and softball teams begin the playoffs Friday in the Class 2A Northern League double-elimination tournaments in Yerington.
The champion and runner-up advance to next week’s state tournament, which is in Pahrump Valley for the 3A and Lovelock for the 2A.
The softball team, which is the top seed, opens against No. 4 Pershing County on Friday at 8:30 a.m. with the winner facing either No. 2 Battle Mountain or No. 3 Yerington at 4 p.m. in the championship semifinal. The losers of the first two games square off at 1:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the consolation final on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The championship is at 11 a.m.
The Bighorns have been the team to beat all season, sweeping all teams but Yerington and Battle Mountain. They swept Pershing County last month with two of the three games decided by eight or more runs.
Freshman Shayna McNamer leads the team with a .700 batting average, followed closely by sophomore Emma Lewis (.679). McNamer also leads in home runs (three), doubles (eight), triples (nine) and RBIs (53). Lewis leads in steals with 19 and she has driven in 38 runs and has five doubles, three triples and a home run.
Half the team is hitting above. 300 with junior Grace Laca (.482) and senior Taylynn Maynez (.479) close to the .500 mark. Senior Kaylin Guthrie is second on the team in steals with 14.
In the circle, senior Kirsten Detomasi has a 3.47 ERA in 78.2 of the team’s 108.2 innings. She has struck out 111 batters to go with her 12-2 record. McNamer is second on the team in innings with 25 and Maynez has also seen action.
BASEBALL
After a strong start, the baseball team ran into the league’s top teams at the end of the season, but qualifying for the postseason wasn’t in jeopardy.
The Bighorns, who are in their second year of eligibility, finished as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 West Wendover on Friday at 11 a.m. at Yerington High School. The winner advances to take on either No. 1 Yerington or No. 4 North Tahoe at 4 p.m. The consolation bracket begins at 1:30 p.m. between the losers of the first two games. The consolation final is Saturday at 8:30 a.m. followed by the championship at 11 a.m.
Oasis Academy gets another shot at West Wendover after falling to the Elko County school in the regular-season series. The Wolverines won the first and last games of the series after Oasis Academy won, 17-6, in the second.
Leading the Bighorns at the plate has been senior Zachary Budner, who is hitting .575 and has a team-high 11 doubles to go with 24 RBIs, a triple and home run. Junior Ryder McNabb is second on the team in batting average (.488) but he leads the team in RBIs with 33 to go with eight doubles, a home run and triple. Senior Josh Gusewelle is third on the team in average (.486), while juniors Trevor Barrenchea and Matthew Bird lead the team in home runs with two apiece.
On the mound, McNabb leads with a 1.56 ERA in 36 innings for a 5-0 record, and Bird has a team-high 55 strikeouts in 43 innings and a 3.74 ERA. Senior Fenn Mackedon is second on the team in innings (36.2) and has struck out 45 to go with his 5.15 ERA.
BOYS GOLF
The Bighorns boys golf team competed in the Class 2A East League tournament on Tuesday in West Wendover.
Results were not available at deadline.
The Class 2A state tournament is May 13-14 at The Club at Sunrise in Las Vegas.
The top two teams from the West and East league tournaments qualified for the state tournament. The top-five individuals from non-qualifying teams also advance to state.
GIRLS LACROSSE
The Bighorns girls lacrosse team finished its regular season at Galena on Wednesday.
Oasis Academy entered the game with a 6-6 record, one game ahead of Spanish Springs for fourth place in the High Sierra Lacrosse League.
Only the top-four teams qualify for the playoffs, which start on Monday at the higher seed. Oasis Academy will travel to Truckee if it finishes in fourth.