A home run from Madison Rodriguez (6) wasn’t enough for the Pahrump Valley softball team to beat the Sports Leadership & Management (SLAM) Bulls in a conference game on Wednesday.
The Trojans traveled to Henderson to play against one of the top-ranked teams in the 3A class, SLAM, who remains undefeated in the league standings. The Trojans were strong in the first inning but fell off by the second inning.
In the first inning Rodriguez opened the match with a home run that may have come early for the Trojans as they were only able to score one run off it. The Trojans started to add two runners in scoring position before Taylor Brown (13) got up to bat. Evalenne Armendariz (8) was eager and stole home plate before Armendariz could hit her single. After Brown’s steal, Jazmin Gomez (19) saw her opportunity and stole home base before the team had their third out.
The Bulls got two intentional walks at the bottom of the first inning and after a double, SLAM scored their first run. The next batter hit a single and the runners in scoring position got a run. A Bull stole home plate to close the gap and tie at 3.
A fly ball got the Bulls ahead of the Trojans and they loaded the bases with another walk. SLAM closed out the first inning with a walk that resulted in a run to take a two-run lead over the Trojans.
At the top of the second inning, Autumn Colon (10) began to close the gap after Val Mota (4) hit a ground ball and Pahrump Valley scored, bringing the score to 5-4.
SLAM took advantage of this moment and the Trojans pitched walks to load their bases. The third walk in the inning gave the Bulls a free run while keeping the bases loaded. A single and a double got the Bulls three more runs, bringing the score to 9-4.
The Trojans lost their momentum, as they would not score for three innings. The Bulls kept earning walks, which loaded up the bases for a batter to score after getting a hit. SLAM would add four more runs the rest of the game and ended the match 13-6 in the seventh inning after the Trojans only scored a single run.
This is the first league loss for the Trojans, which pushes them down the rankings as Boulder City has three wins and no losses. This is the Bulls’ first league game, that allows the Bulls to switch places with Pahrump Valley in the standings. Most teams in the league standings have only played one game.
The Trojans, who are now 4-3 overall, will play The Meadows School on April 2 at 3:30 p.m. The Meadows School is 3-9 overall and lost to Boulder City in a conference game to put them near the bottom of the standings. Pahrump Valley played a similar opponent, Mater Academy East Las Vegas, winning 25-3 this season, while the Meadows Mustangs lost 14-4 to MAELV.