Lady Trojans kick off the season in Route 66 softball tournament

The Pahrump Valley Lady Trojans softball team kicked off their new season last weekend competing in the Route 66 tournament in Needles, Calif.

Following a strong showing last year in which the team finished 19-9, the Lady Trojans opened the 2025 season finishing 1-3 in back-t0-back doubleheaders.

With a lack of home field advantage on the road in Needles, the Lady Trojans got going in the third game of the tournament against Williams High School (Ariz.) as they defeated the Vikings 7-3.

The Trojans finished with seven hits in the contest including the team’s first home run from sophomore Autumn Colon.

Colon is coming off of a breakthrough freshman season in which she tied third on the team with two home runs and finished with a .408 batting average in 71 at-bats.

Pahrump was also the benefactor of weakened defense from Williams, who committed five errors resulting in four unearned runs.

Lady Trojans sophomore Evalenne Armendariz pitched a complete game, striking out eight batters while only giving up one earned run.

While she wasn’t busy taking care of business on the bump, Armendariz was also a standout at the plate.

Building off a stellar freshman year in which she led the team with four home runs and a .500 batting average, Armendariz picked right back up where she left off over the weekend going 5-8 with an RBI and four doubles.

Sophomore Riley Saldana had two hits and scored two runs for the Trojans. Sophomore Sunday Colon also went 2-3 and recorded her first RBI on the season with a double.

While the Vikings committed five errors in the game, Pahrump had its own defensive troubles, committing four errors.

The win over Williams was a good bounce-back for the Trojans following defeats in its first two games to Fernley (7-0) and Palo Verde Valley, Calif. (5-3).

Pahrump mustered one hit in its opener against Fernley, which only lasted three innings. Armendariz recorded a double that was the only hit of the contest for the Trojans. Autumn Colon made an impact on the base paths as she recorded the first steal of the season for Pahrump, who swiped 310 bags as a team last year.

Against Palo Verde Valley, Pahrump played tighter as a team, showing a 2-1 lead after the first inning. Senior Kayla Glenn did the majority of the legwork on the mound, finishing with 4.2 innings pitched while surrendering two earned runs. Unfortunately for Pahrump, four errors contributed to three unearned runs off free outs for Palo Verde Valley.

Autumn Colon recorded her second steal of the season and scored two of Pahrump’s three runs.

In their final game of the tournament against Yuma Catholic, the Lady Trojans couldn’t withstand the Shamrocks and fell 7-2.

Freshman Mariah Gray stepped up big for the Trojans, knocking in the only two RBI’s the Lady Trojans recorded against the Shamrocks.

The Trojans have 30 remaining season games as they look to build off of further dominant pitching performances and stronger defense.

Contact reporter Lucas Gordon at lucasgordon20@icloud.com.