Dayton softball sweeps in tourney

With an eye on a possible run to the NIAA 3A State Tournament, it couldn't hurt the Dayton High softball team to play three games in one day.

Dayton, hosting a tournament at Edmonds Sports Complex, won all three games on Monday, beating Portola, Calif. 4-1, Fallon's junior varsity 2-1 and South Tahoe 12-0. The Dust Devils (19-4-1) advanced to a semifinal game at 11:30 a.m. today. If Dayton wins, it would play in the championship game at 1 p.m. today.

In other games, Carson's JVs lost to Truckee 10-4 and Fernley 6-2, South Tahoe lost to Fallon 12-0 and Portola 8-1, Truckee beat Fernley 4-1 and Portola beat Fallon 8-4.

"We're getting our bats going," Dayton coach Dusti Houk said. "The pitchers are pitching well and we're playing well defensively."

The Dust Devils are 8-2 in the Northern 3A, one game behind 9-1 Lowry. Dayton finishes up with doubleheaders against Fernley and Yerington.

If Dayton wins three-out-of-four of those games, it would clinch the No. 2 seed and home field in the regional playoffs. In the regional playoffs. the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds and the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds will face each other in best two-of-three series. The winners of those series will advance to state.

"Our goal at the beginning of the season was make it to state," Houk said. "We need to keep playing well as we have to make state."

DAYTON 4, PORTOLA 1

Keeli Garcia pitched a two-hitter for the win, striking out four.

Portola scored an unearned run in the fourth to tie the score 1-1. Dayton took a 3-1 lead in the sixth with the key hit being Natalie Malekos' two-run single. Garcia and Rachel Hurt also singled during the rally.

In the seventh, Melony Cox singled and scored on Garcia's single to make it 4-1.

Garcia and Hurt each had two hits and Lacy Taylor doubled for Dayton. Taylor also threw out three runners trying to steal -- and would have not thrown out a fourth -- had the ball not been dropped.

"Lacy Taylor's a very strong catcher," Houk said. "She calls a good game. She's solid defensively and offensively."

DAYTON 2, FALLON 1

Nicole Greer struck out eight over five innings, pitching a three-hitter for the win, allowing just one unearned run. Vienna Cabrita tripled and scored to give Dayton a 1-0 lead in the second and Kaitlen McKinnon singled and scored to give the Dust Devils a 2-0 lead in the third. Hurt doubled and Cox added a hit for Dayton.

DAYTON 14, SOUTH TAHOE 2

Greer came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning and Dayton leading 4-2. She induced a groundball and got a strikeout to escape the jam. Greer pitched 2.2 innings, striking out four and allowing no hits for the win.

Hurt singled and scored on Taylor's triple to give Dayton a 1-0 lead in the first. Dayton scored three more runs to take a 4-1 lead in the second and scored 10 runs over the last two innings to break the game open.

Jessie Ayres had three hits, including a triple, Hurt, Taylor, Greer and McKinnon all had two hits and Garcia, Malekos, Danielle Rodriguez and Nicole Curtis all added a hit for Dayton. Taylor also picked off a runner at first base.