Tigers silence Cougars, secure 1-seed for regional tournament

Douglas High softball had already beaten Spanish Springs twice this season, but Thursday’s league game had additional meaning.

A win and the Tigers would lock up the top seed for next week’s Class 5A North regional tournament.

That’s exactly what they did, executing a 6-0 win behind some timely offense and another lights out pitching performance from senior Talia Tretton.

Early edge

After Tretton put down the Cougar batting order 1-2-3 to start the contest, the Tiger offense immediately went to work.

Annie Hill drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, positioning herself in scoring position for Douglas’ leading home run hitter.

Lilyann Lee, who has nine home runs this spring, roped a 2-0 pitch to the right field wall, impacting the top of the fence with so much force it bounced back into the field of play.

The laser allowed Hill, who was running on contact, to score easily from second.

Lee came around to score three hitters later on a Cougar error, giving the Tigers’ a 2-0 lead after one.

Douglas plated two more runs in the third inning as Zora Simpson and Peyton Simpson scored on a two-run single off the bat of Maddie Gooch.

In a 3-2 count with two outs, Gooch expected a pitch she could do damage on.

“I assumed it was probably going to be a strike,” said Gooch. “I was just ready.”

The two runs put Douglas in front 4-0.

The Tigers tacked on another run in the fifth and sixth innings as well.

Hill doubled to leadoff the fifth inning and Lee smacked another ball that forced its way past the Cougar second baseman, scoring the junior outfielder.

In the sixth, Ava Delaney doubled on the first pitch she saw to give the Tigers’ another runner in scoring position.

Tretton tattooed a single to right field, bringing in Delaney to score the game’s final run.

“I was just looking for any gaps,” said Delaney, who went 2-for-3 in the win. “I’m very active on the first pitch.”

Dominance in the circle

Douglas has lost one game since March 2 and it was against one of the better squads out of California in James Logan.

The Tigers are perfect in league play (14-0) this spring and plenty of that credit can be cast onto Tretton’s supremacy on the circle.

Thursday, she fanned 10 Cougar hitters in seven innings of work without allowing a run.

Over her last 31 innings, nobody has scored a run on the Tigers and the University of Iowa signee has surrendered a total of eight hits in Douglas’ last six games.

In 14 league games this season, Douglas has allowed a grand total of six runs.

After her 10 strikeouts Thursday, Tretton’s season total is up to 275, which ranks first in the state of Nevada – 86 more than second place – and is tied for 16^th in the nation, per MaxPreps.

Keeping the target on their backs

Douglas has won its last 33 Class 5A North league games, dating back to May 3, 2022.

After securing the program’s first state title last season since 1992, the Tigers know they’re getting everyone’s best whenever they step on the field.

“It’s almost fun. It’s fun to play. It’s fun to be out here. We want to get there again and I think we are working really hard to do that,” Gooch said.

Delaney echoed her centerfielder’s sentiments.

“We just keep working hard every day. We treat everything as if it’s an in-game situation,” said Delaney.

The focus through the final two games of the regular season (Saturday doubleheader versus Carson) and into the regional tournament isn’t much different than you’d expect.

“Just continuing to push each other really hard. A lot of our team are seniors so we really want to finish on a good note,” said Delaney. “We work for it every day.”

“We’re a tight-knit group. It just radiates. If one person is happy, everyone is happy,” said Gooch.

UP NEXT: Douglas and Carson square off Saturday, beginning game one of their doubleheader at 11 a.m. The Tigers will host Senior Day festivities at 10:30 a.m.

(Douglas High senior Zora Simpson throws to first for a putout Thursday in the Tigers’ 6-0 win over Spanish Springs. Simpson went 1-for-2 with a run scored in the win. / Ron Harpin)