Trojans clinch playoff spot with win over Chargers

The Pahrump Valley baseball team has clinched one of the top two spots in the 3A Southern Mountain division regional playoffs after defeating the Clark Chargers earlier this week.

The Trojans (20-6) have extended their winning streak to 11 games, their longest streak in the last 20 years.

Pahrump has already won two games this week – home games against Clark and Needles high schools – and have one more game to play on Friday.

The Trojans kicked off the week with a 9-0 shutout win over the Chargers.

Senior pitcher Kyle McDaniel got the start on the mound for the Trojans, pitching a 7-inning complete game.

He gave up just two hits and struck out 11 Charger batters.

This was McDaniel’s team-high sixth win of the season, giving him an impressive 6-1 record overall. He has pitched 45 1/3 innings and struck out 86 batters.

McDaniel had a great day at the plate, helping out his own cause.

He went 2-for-3 with a triple and a 3-run home run.

After Hirschi hit a double in the top of the first inning, McDaniel got the scoring started with his RBI triple. He would come around to score two pitches later on a wild pitch by Clark.

McDaniel’s home run came in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Trojans an 8-0 lead. Pahrump would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Andrew Zurn for a 9-0 win.

Following Tuesday’s game against the Chargers, the Trojans hosted Needles High School of the 2A division.

These teams faced off on April 5 when Pahrump Valley defeated the Mustangs in Needles by a score of 8-3.

Wednesday’s game was a much tighter affair.

The two teams combined for seven runs on just eight hits in the game.

Senior Fidel Betancourt got the ball for the Trojans. He pitched a complete game for Pahrump, giving up five hits and striking out seven batters.

Despite jumping out to a 1-0 lead, Pahrump Valley found themselves trailing 2-1 entering the fifth inning.

However, with the help of wild pitching by the Mustangs, the Trojans were able to bring across four runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning.

They scored two runs on wild pitches with the bases loaded to take a 3-2 lead.

Following the second wild pitch, with runners on second and third, McDaniel drove a pitch to deep right field for a 2-run double to give the Trojans a 5-2 lead.

That would be all that was needed as Pahrump was able to hold the Mustangs scoreless for the remainder of the game and secure the 5-2 win.

Following Tuesday’s win against Clark, the Trojans remained in a tie with Boulder City atop the league standings with just two more league games remaining.

One of the league games is against the Eagles to end the regular season on Wednesday, May 3 for senior night.

The Trojans will be back in action this Friday, April 28 for a road game against the Valley Vikings. Pahrump won the first game against Valley this season by a score of 15-0.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @_dannysmyth on Twitter.