Lady Trojans upset Bulls, extend playoff run

The Pahrump Valley Trojans softball team kicked off their Nevada 3A Southern Regional tournament with a 17-6 win over the SLAM Nevada Bulls at Russell Road Recreation Complex on Monday afternoon.

The Lady Trojans entered the playoffs having won their last two games to end the regular season.

Pahrump Valley went 0-2 against SLAM during the regular season, losing by three runs in each game.

However, this was a completely different game – and it needed to be.

“I knew I was going to have to create some energy in my staff,” Pahrump Valley softball head coach Sam Charles said.

And create some energy he did.

Everyone around the field could hear Charles from wherever he was standing while he was trying to hype up his players and coaches, whether that was getting animated along the first base line while his players were up to bat or while screaming from the dugout when his defense made great plays.

It was all Pahrump from the very start.

Their first two batters reached base before the Bulls even knew what happened. DeAnna “DeeDee” Egan started the game off with a deep shot to the outfield wall, resulting in a double. She would later come around to score on an RBI single by Ciara Stragand.

Egan finished 4-for-4 on the day with a home run, a double and two singles. She fell just short of hitting for the cycle, only missing out on a triple.

The Bulls couldn’t overcome their fielding struggles. In the first inning alone, the SLAM first baseman dropped three catches that would have saved multiple Trojan runs from scoring.

Midway through the inning, SLAM’s coach called a meeting on the mound to talk to her players. After some words were exchanged between the coach and the first baseman, the player announced that she was done playing and stormed off the field, leaving her teammates and people in the stands confused and surprised.

By the end of the first inning, the Lady Trojans were leading the Bulls 5-2.

Pahrump Valley had another huge inning in the second, taking complete control of the game.

A fielding error by the Bulls’ center fielder helped Cat Sandaval score on an inside-the-park home run.

In addition to Egan’s big day, Ava Charles also had a monster game for the Lady Trojans. She finished 3-for-4 with three singles and four runs batted in.

Pahrump held a 10-3 lead going into the fifth inning where they piled on three more runs.

With a 13-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth, it looked like the Lady Trojans were going to get out of the game early and win via the run-rule.

Unfortunately, the Bulls baserunners had a trick up their sleeve to make sure that the game continued another inning.

With runners on first and third, SLAM’s base runner on first baited the Lady Trojans into throwing the ball to second base in a pick-off attempt. While they threw to second, the SLAM runner on third came home to score and reduce Pahrump’s lead to nine runs.

However, that run, and the second run the Bulls scored in the bottom of the fifth inning, wouldn’t matter much.

The Lady Trojans tacked on four more runs in the top of the sixth inning, spreading their lead to 17-5 and giving themselves a cushion with the run-rule.

“Losing to them two times was frustrating,” Charles said. “The girls came to play today.”

With the win on Monday, Pahrump Valley is guaranteed at least two more games.

The first of those two games was a second-round matchup on Tuesday, May 10, against the Virgin Valley Bulldogs. If the Trojans were able to get a win against the Bulldogs, they’ll face the winner of Boulder City vs. Moapa Valley on Wednesday, May 11, at 4 p.m.

If the Lady Trojans cannot defeat Virgin Valley, they will host the winner of Desert Pines vs. Clark on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

You can check the final scores to the softball games on either MaxPreps.com or under the softball section on NIAA.com.