Steve Puterski / LVN Photo
The Fallon offense broke out in a big way.
The Lady Wave humbled South Tahoe, 11-1 and 17-0, in the Northern Division I-A softball play-in round on Friday at the Ed Arciniega Complex.
The Lady Wave advance to Friday’s Northern DI-A regional tournament in Winnemucca. The third-seed Lady Wave face No. 2 Lowry, and No. 1 Fernley plays No. 4 Elko.
Fernley and Elko start at 10 a.m. on Friday, and Fallon and Lowry square off at noon. The winners play again at 4 p.m., while the losers play at 2 p.m.
Fallon, meanwhile lost, 12-2, to Bishop Manogue on Monday in a nonconference game.
“I said it before, we’re not looking past anybody,” Fallon coach Bill Archer said. “South Tahoe is the first step and they showed up. The kids adjusted early to their pitching and got some key hits.”
South Tahoe started strong in the first game, trailing 5-1 after the top of the fourth inning. Hannah Neiger recorded an RBI fielder’s choice, which sliced the Fallon lead to four.
An inning and a half later, however, the Lady Wave slapped six runs on the board to mercy rule the Vikings. The second game was all Fallon from the opening pitch as the Lady Wave kept their dream of a third consecutive state title alive.
“We got some key hits in key situations and put the game away early so we could save our pitcher in the second game,” Archer said.
Fallon was led by junior Rileigh Ricken and freshman Miranda Ford in the circle. The two combined to allow just one run in 10 innings and kept an improved South Tahoe squad from mounting any serious threats.
Ricken also caused havoc at the plate with a two-run double and an RBI single in the first game to give Fallon a 3-0 lead. Senior first baseman Cady Cordes followed Ricken’s lead with a two-run single to push the Lady Wave’s lead to 5-0.
Ricken blasted three doubles and tallied five RBIs, while Cordes drove in three to aid the effort. Ricken also struck out four and walked one in five innings.
South Tahoe, though, battled as the Vikings scratched across a run in the top of the fourth inning. Neiger was solid in the circle, but too many defensive mistakes crippled South Tahoe.
Neiger kept the potent Fallon offense at bay through the first four innings, but several breakdowns in the fifth inning lead to six runs and a Fallon win.
“The first game we came out with a lot of energy and played tough,” South Tahoe coach Steve Kolesnik said. “It was probably one of our best starts all season. The 11-1 score wasn’t indicative of how we played. It should have been a lot closer than that.”
In the second game, Megan McCormick led the offensive attack with four hits — three of them doubles — and six RBIs. Kaysee Archer added four runs and three RBIs, while Ali Tedford also drove in three.
Fallon pounded out 16 hits to eliminate South Tahoe.
Ford, meanwhile, struck out three and walked one in five innings to earn the win.
“They did their job, came in there and were focused,” Bill Archer said of his pitchers. “You can’t be nothing but happy on both aspects of the defense.”
The Lady Wave had a scare in the first game, as freshman Izzy Thomas — recently recovered from appendicitis — was tagged hard in the abdomen. She left the game, but returned to go 1-for-2 with two runs scored in the second.