PHOTOS: Trojans fall game short of big stage on the road
Countless miles on the road, strenuous practices and tons of lifelong lasting memories in between made up the 2025 season that came to an emotional end for the young men last Friday in Boulder City.
On the hottest day of the year so far, winning a doubleheader to advance to state after already having logged over 700 miles of travel before having to once again head back to Boulder City seemed daunting.
But the Trojans wouldn’t back down easy.
In game one, the boys faced an all-too-familiar foe: Moapa Valley.
Taking their first loss of the tournament Monday in Overton during the pouring rain, the boys rewrote the script in the rematch, scoring seven runs in the last two innings to defeat the Pirates 8-4.
Moapa got on the board first in bottom of the first, following a hard single from Tyson Pettingill that scored Parker Leavitt.
The Trojans would answer back after senior Logan Donnelly reached a bases-loaded fielders choice with two outs.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pirates center fielder Lachlan Stephenson singled on a hard ground ball to right, scoring two to briefly give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
The Trojans knew they needed to strike back quickly and would. In the top of the fifth inning, they took advantage of an error that scored a run and had key sharp singles by Tony Whitney and Chris Nelson that collectively drove in three runs, giving the Trojans a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Moapa Valley showed late life in the bottom of the sixth when Logan Schouten launched a solo shot that got out faster than most fans could see down the right field line to bring the Pirates within a run.
The Trojans were able to get a huge inning-ending double play to keep the tying run from scoring and send them to the seventh with the one-run lead.
The Trojans had some fun with Pirates pitcher Garret Hadley as they scored three more runs in last frame following singles by Aidyn Cratty, Andrew Zurn and a sacrifice fly to center, courtesy of Kayne Horibe.
The Trojans called upon a combination of Tony Whitney, Aidyn Cratty and Kayne Horibe to get the job done on the bump.
Whitney tossed three innings and gave up five hits and three runs (three earned) while dealing a walk and strikeout. Cratty came in middle relief, tossing three strong innings. The senior allowed four hits and one run (one earned) while fanning four and limiting free bases to one.
Cratty’s cousin, Kayne Horibe, came in to close it out as the junior went a scoreless inning, not surrendering a hit.
Defense was sound as the Trojans committed no errors in game one. Ironically, that, alongside fatigue, would play a major issue in their last game to clinch a state berth versus Boulder City.
Unfortunately, when it mattered the most, the defense was just not clicking for the Trojans.
Nine recorded errors would make up the difference as the Trojans fought through their defensive miscues that led to them dropping game two 9-2 to the Eagles.
After holding the Eagles down to just a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Trojans tied the game in the top of the second when Logan Donnelly would again find a way to come up with a clutch single that scored Horibe.
The top of the third inning shifted the Trojans’ energy completely as the Eagles found a way to gain a five-run lead, scoring five runs on four singles, two walks and three errors.
Cody Fried was called on the bump to start, as he was kept to a short leash with only 1.1 innings pitched. The sophomore gave up three hits, one run (no earned) two walks and a strikeout. Zurn and Horibe would combine for 3.2 innings pitched, giving up eight unearned runs collectively.
Sammy Mendoza gave fans a glimpse of the future as the JV call-up pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, the Trojans couldn’t find ways to keep runners in scoring position as the team only recorded four hits.
Coming up just a game shy of the State title tournament, the Trojans gave their massively well-traveled fans a heck of a year to be proud of.
“This season meant a lot to me. We had a great group of players and we all knew we had the potential to make it to state, we just didn’t stay consistent with our game,” Tony Whitney said. “The emotions from Friday were heartbreaking, given we knew we could have beat Boulder. We were all tired after the Moapa game and after a few errors we shut down as a team and it cost us. We will miss our seniors that poured their heart into the season and throughout their high school career.”
Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.
