Heading into Sunset League play, the only thing that concerned Pahrump Valley softball coach Eli Armendariz was overconfidence.
After all, the Trojans had steamrolled league foes a year ago to the tune of a 10-0 Sunset record, and none of their rivals appeared significantly stronger this time around.
“We go against (lesser teams), and we’re like, ‘OK, we’re here. Roll over,’ ” he said before league play began. “We can’t do that. We’ve got to go and take care of business right from the get-go.”
So far, so good.
The Trojans are 4-0 in the Sunset, scoring 73 runs in the process. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Two teams, Mojave and Cheyenne, are 3-1 in the league, each beating the Sunset’s three worst teams and losing to Pahrump Valley. But the scores are revealing.
Mojave has routed those three teams by scores of 20-1, 18-3 and 20-3. But when they came up against the Trojans, the Rattlers were 14-0 losers. Cheyenne has similar results, beating the three bottom teams (Sunrise Mountain, Western and Desert Pines) by convincing 19-1, 19-2 and 15-0 scores. But, although they were able to score against the Trojans, the Desert Shields wound up on the wrong end of a 23-12 score.
So with convincing wins against the only other teams with winning league records, the Trojans have made a definitive statement with six Sunset games remaining. But not only have they won four straight games, they have won six of seven, with the only loss a well-played 3-1 home defeat against Boulder City.
So just how good are the Trojans?
Beating up on the Sunset League is no way to find out, but the Trojans will have other chances to test themselves before the region playoffs.
Pahrump Valley will play four of its final 10 games against Class 4A schools. While Legacy (3-20) and Bonanza (4-15) are struggling, the other two non-league games will be against Sierra Vista and Durango.
Both of those schools are in the Class 4A Southwest League. Durango is 17-8-1 overall and 8-3 in the Southwest, while Sierra Vista leads the league with an 18-7 mark, 11-1 in the Southwest.
All four of those non-league games will be away from Pahrump, with the Durango game closing the regular season.