PREPS: Fallon sweeps Dayton; Carson girls split

FALLON - After being shut down on Wednesday, the Fallon baseball team regained form and swept the Dayton Dust Devils on Saturday at the Edward Arciniega Complex.

The Greenwave dropped the Dust Devils 3-1 and 12-2 to give Dayton its first league losses. Fallon improves to 7-3 in league and 13-7 overall, while the Dust Devils fall to 9-2 and 17-3.

Dayton falls to second place in the league behind Fernley (7-1, 12-6) with Fallon in third. The top two teams qualify for the 3A playoffs. Fernley, though, still has three-game series against Fallon and Dayton.

"Our pitchers came through," Fallon coach Lester de Braga said. "They battled and we didn't give into them."

Fallon pounded out 11 hits in the second game, which was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule. Dayton's defense, meanwhile, committed four errors in the game and 10 on the day.

Offensively, the Dust Devils managed only six hits in the two games and three runs.

"Our defense ... 10 errors in two games, you're not going to win a lot of ballgames," Dayton coach Jay Merrell said. "It's just disappointing because we've hung our hat on defense all year."

The first game was a pitcher's dual between Colton Oney for Fallon and Dayton's Houston Berntson. Each hurler went the distance and allowed four hits each.

The difference, though, was the defensive miscues for Dayton.

Tied at 1 in the bottom of the fourth, Fallon's Garrett Llamas reached on a fielding error by Conner Oliver and advanced to second. Oliver committed another error two batters later that allowed Llamas to score and give the Wave a 2-1 lead.

In the sixth, Llamas reached on a single and scored on an RBI single by Dioney Mendez.

"Today we found the hole," de Braga said about the offense. "We put some of the burden back on the players to produce, and they did."

Fallon jumped all over the Dust Devils early in the second game. The Wave scored five runs in the first off pitcher Timo Ply. Fallon added another run in the second when Alonzo Williams slapped an RBI single to score Colton Oney.

Dayton countered with a run in the third off Fallon pitcher Roman Hucks. The Dust Devils scored another run in the fourth when Kyle Farnworth singled, and advanced to third on consecutive fielders choice's - the last by Jake Koch who reached first safely - and then scored on a wild pitch.

The Dust Devils kept the pressure on Fallon, loading the bases off back-to-back walks by T.J. Harnar and Logan Garling with one out. However, Sam Hadley belted a shot down the third base line, which was snagged by Fallon's Scott Hutchings, who beat Koch back to third for the inning-ending double play.

"Even though we're up, I think that's a game-changer right there," de Braga said of the double play.

Fallon scored one in the fourth when Zach Harvey scored on a passed ball. The Wave weren't done, as they added five more runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double from Williams and Hayden Buckmaster notched the game-winning single.

"We put it behind us and prepare for Fernley on Wednesday," Merrell said. "We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We just have to get back to work."

Carson softball splits at Reed tournament

SPARKS - Carson High's softball team closed out the Reed Easter Tournament by splitting two games.

Carson opened with a 4-1 win over rival Douglas, and then was blanked 8-0 by Spanish Springs. Carson played with just nine players because several players attended the funeral and memorial for Stephen Anderson and Keegan Aiazzi.

Against Douglas, freshman Jen Purcell went the first four innings to pick up the win and Christa McGahuey earned the save with three scoreless innings of relief. Purcell struck out one and walked one while allowing two hits.

McGahuey swung the big bat with a solo homer and run-scoring triple. K.C. Withrow also had two hits for the Senators, while Lauren Knorzer had a run-scoring single. Elise McGowan and Lou Ashbaugh also singled.

Before the game against Douglas, the teams met at home plate where the Tigers handed over two cards expressing their condolences about the loss of Anderson and Aiazzi.

"It was a very nice class act by the Tigers," Carson coach Scott Vickrey said.

Against Spanish Springs, Carson managed just two first-inning singles by Purcell and McGahuey.

Spanish Springs scored two in the fourth, five in the fifth and one in the sixth, all but one of the runs coming against Christina Gallegos.