Softball still has shot at regional championship game

Pahrump Valley’s softball team will need to win one more game to make it to the championship game of the regional playoffs.

The Lady Trojans are still in contention after suffering a loss in the playoffs, although they might have to defeat their round-two competitor Virgin Valley one more time on their way to a regional title. This is after the Trojans lost to Boulder City in the third-round game by eight runs. The Eagles are already set to play in the 3A Southern Regional Championship game.

This season the Trojans played the Eagles three times with Boulder City winning two of those games.

Here’s how the Trojans season is going so far.

Virgin Valley 5 | Pahrump Valley 14

The Bulldogs took the lead early in the game on Tuesday and held it right until the end of the fourth until the Trojans took back the game in the fifth inning.

In the second inning the Trojans’ Evalenne Armendariz (8) pitched a single that resulted in the first score of the game. Then with three Mustangs on bases and two outs, Reggi Frei (23) hit a home run to add three more runs to the score to end the inning 4-0.

By the fourth inning, Armendariz slowed down the game when the sides flipped, Sunday Colon (1) scored the first Trojans point to get the score to 5-1. Then in the fifth inning the Trojans were ready to bat and close the gap.

Armendariz hit a single that got Madison Rodriguez (6) and Catalena Sandoval (2) to score. Then with the two runners on the field, Danika Cox-Hosino (25) was ready to get the lead back. She hit a home run where Colon, Jasmin Gomez (19) and Cox- Hosino scored to take the lead at 6-5.

In the sixth inning Armendariz hit a triple and Sandoval and Rodriguez scored two more runs. The Trojans were able to ground out the Bulldogs to stop their momentum and made it impossible for Virgin Valley to score the rest of the game.

The Trojans scored six more runs and ended the match 14-5 to beat the No. 2 team in the 3A class rankings. Pahrump remains in the top 10.

Boulder City 10 | Pahrump Valley 2)

The Eagles handed the Trojans their first loss in the playoffs with an early home run and the gap only grew to an eight-run lead, on Wednesday.

Although the Trojans were the first to score, the Eagles’ Payton Rogers (11) hit a home run to add three runs to the score to get the score to 4-1 before Armendariz closed out the inning with the last two strikeouts.

Boulder City’s pitcher, Rogers, was able to keep the Trojans from scoring. Sandoval was able to score in the third inning on a double hit by Rodriguez. After that, the Trojans were unable to score.

Then in the fifth inning Boulder City hit two home runs but only added two runs, to the Trojans’ benefit. Pahrump Valley was overwhelmed and the Eagles were able to score on a ground out and an error. This pushed the lead to 8-2.

The Trojans had eight hits to Boulder City’s 10 hits by the end of the game, where the match ended 10-2 in favor of the Eagles. Pahrump Valley was unable to get one over Boulder City, but might have another chance to play them in the championship game.