Lady Wave shoots down Eagles

RENO —Despite a tremendous performance from Rileigh Ricken, it was a freshman who saved the day for the Fallon softball team.

Hannah Frank smacked a run-scoring single to score Paige Thorn in the bottom of the seventh inning to net the Lady wave a 5-4 win over Boulder City in the first round of the Division I-A state tournament on Friday at Bishop Manogue High School.

“I needed a hit,” Frank said. “Just a base hit to score.”

Fallon faces Pahrump Valley in the championship semifinal at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Pahrump Valley beat Fernley, 1-0. The Vaqueros, meanwhile, take on Boulder City in an elimination game at noon.

Leading 4-1 in the top of the sixth inning, the wheels feel off for the Lady Wave.

Boulder City’s rally started with a single by Charlene Masterson and followed with Mickaela Brown reaching first on a dropped third strike. Kaila Davis walked to load the bases with no outs.

Nikki Schulz’s bloop single cut the lead to 4-3. Fallon first baseman Kayla Buckmaster couldn’t come up with a grounder off the bat of Bryanna Lopez, although, Frank and Ricken didn’t cover the bag, which kept the bases loaded.

Frank, though, recovered on the next play and forced out Davis at home. Megan Morton, though, tied the game with a fielder’s choice.

The Lady Wave nearly took the lead in the bottom half of the frame. Singles by Kayla Buckmaster and Kalyn Huckaby put runners on first and second. Buckmaster, though, was picked off third base on the ensuing bunt by Nicole Marizecurrena.

Ali Tedford flied out to right and Courtney Cross walked to load the bases for Ricken. Ricken, who blasted a solo home run in the third inning, struck out.

“That was a great game,” Fallon coach Bill Archer said. “We had some errors, but the kids kept their calm.”

Boulder City took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Davis singled home Alyssa Ybarra.

Fallon, though, countered with a pair of run courtesy of Ricken.

Ali Tedford and Courtney Cross singled before Ricken smoked a liner past the shortstop and into left centerfield to score both runners. Ricken’s homer in the thrid put Fallon up 3-1 and Nicole Marizecurrena added an RBI single in the fourth.

Marizecurrena got the start in right field due to an injury to Izzy Thomas. Thomas suffered a season-ending knee injury against Fernley in the Northern DI-A title game last week.

“It’s huge,” Archer said of winning the first game. “It’s just huge and that momentum can carry you to the state (final) game.”