Trojan sports roundup: Softball team clinches Sunset title

Not that any suspense was involved, but the Pahrump Valley softball team made it official last Thursday.

Samantha Riding went 3-for-3 with a double, and Amaya Mendoza piched a complete game and went 2-for-2 at the plate as the Trojans posted a 13-1 win over Cheyenne to wrap up their second consecutive Sunset League championship.

“We scored 12 runs in the second inning,” Pahrump Valley coach Eli Armendariz said. “We beat them in five. We should have beaten them in three, but we beat them in five.”

The win locks up the No. 1 seed out of the Sunset for the Trojans (20-7, 8-0 Sunset). Technically, they hold a two-game lead over Cheyenne with two games to play, but in the unlikely event the teams finish in a tie Pahrump Valley will get the nod because of their season sweep of the Desert Shields.

The bottom line is Pahrump Valley will play their first two Class 3A Southern Region tournament games at home, starting May 8 against the Sunrise League’s No. 4 seed.

“It will be Virgin Valley or Del Sol, probably Virgin Valley,” Armendariz said. His team should feel confident either way. The Trojans and Bulldogs met April 2 in Mesquite, with the Trojans posting a 10-0 victory, while the Trojans and Dragons met March 13 in Pahrump, a 15-0 rout for the home team.

Baseball

Pahrump Valley moved one step closer to clinching the Sunset League title, but it was a bit more interesting than the Trojans would have liked.

Chase McDaniel’s two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a three-run rally and lifted the Trojans to a 9-8 victory over the Desert Shields.

Joey Koenig went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run, and Bradda Costa doubled and scored three times for the Trojans. Garrett Lucas and Cyle Havel also had two hits apiece in the victory, while McDaniel finished 3-for-4. The Trojans stole 10 bases in the game, including three apiece by Costa and McDaniel and two by Havel.

Three of the runs charged to starting pitcher Jalen Denton were unearned.

The Trojans, who routed the Desert Shields 15-1 in their first meeting, improved to 12-13-1 overall and 7-1 in the Sunset. They hold a one-game lead over Desert Pines with two league games remaining.

Track and field

The Pahrump Valley boys and girls each won the team title at the weekday meet they hosted April 26, but more importantly, several Trojan athletes set personal records in the second-to-last meet before the region championships.

Junior Kaden Hastings finished second in both the 110-meter hurdles (18.20) and the 300-meter hurdles (42.8), posting his best times in each. Senior Morgan White recorded his best effort in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 46 feet, 0.5 inches. Several personal bests were set in that event, including junior Brandon Bunker (second, 40-7.5), sophomore Joaquin Souza (fourth, 34-4.25) and junior Cesar Estrada (fifth, 32-11.25).

Souza and Estrada also set personal records while finishing in the top five in the discus, with Souza taking third with a 108-4 and Estrada fifth with a throw of 96-2.

Senior Jacob Sawin recorded personal bests in the high jump (fifth, 5-6) and long jump (tied for third, 18-11), while David Roundy matched him in the latter with his own PR. Sophomore Chase Petrella took fourth in the pole vault with his PR of 8-6.

On the track, underclassmen kept lowering their best times. Sophomore Michael Sonerholm’s second-place 2:07.7 in the 800 was a personal best, as was junior DeAngelo Brown’s 23.9 in the 200. In the 400, junior Jacob Cipollini finished third in 55.7 and freshman Braylon Durazo took fifth in 56.3, both PRs. Senior Tony Fortin ran the 100 in 11.1 to take second.

On the girls’ side, junior Elaina Dattillio set two personal records in winning the triple jump (29-11) and taking second in the long jump (14-6). Senior Sydney Dennis won the 800 in a PR of 2:33.9. Sophomores Diamond Sonerholm (1,600, 5:53.8) and Kylie Stritenberger (shot put, 31-8) recorded personal records, as did Nrsringa Breathwaite in the 300 hurdles, taking third in 57.4.

Golf

Pahrump Valley turned in its best score of the Sunset League season April 25, shooting a combined 64-over 352 to beat second-place Western by 56 strokes at Aliante.

The score was 15 strokes better than the Trojans’ effort eight days earlier on the same course, when they topped Mojave by 61 strokes.

All four scoring golfers shot 90 or better, led by Craig Moore’s 14-over 86, which included birdies on Nos. 10 and 12. Right behind were Koby Lindberg and Ian Kingsley, who each shot 88, and Michael McDougall and Trevyn Wombaker, who each carded a 90.