Homers lift Lady Wave

A power surge lit up the softball diamond on Wednesday between two rivals gunning for league and state supremacy.

Fallon’s Megan McCormick blasted two home runs to lift the Lady Wave to a 10-6 win over Fernley in a Northern Division I-A tilt.

Serena Olson and Mercedes Rothwell each belted homers for Fernley in a losing effort.

“We started slow, down 2-0 for awhile there and then all of a sudden the bats come alive,” Fallon coach Bill Archer said. “There were a couple errors, some nervous because we are playing Fernley. They are a quality team and one that can measure us.”

The Vaqueros jumped out 2-0 thanks to a two-run double off the bat of Brooke Chapin.

Meanwhile, Fernley pitcher Taelyne Phillips was on point in the first three innings mowing down the Lady Wave. However, Fallon’s bats would come alive and chase Phillips from the circle in the fifth inning.

Fallon tallied three runs in the fourth including McCormick’s first monster blast clearing the scoreboard in left field.

“I just had to be relaxed and wasn’t looking for anything spectacular, just a base hit,” the Lady Wave catcher said. “Once we got through the third inning, everyone was calm and cool.”

Fernley, though, countered with back-to-back blasts from Olson and Rothwell in the top of the fifth.

Fallon, though, exploded for six runs in the bottom of the inning highlighted by a two-run blast from McCormick. But she was hardly alone in giving the Lady Wave their sixth win in the last eight games over their rival.

“She set the tone and hit a monster homer, then stays disciplined and does it again,” Archer added. “The rest of the team just fed off that. It was impressive to watch.”

Paige Thorn belted a triple, while freshman Caitlyn Welch added two RBIs. Ali Tedford, McCormick, Thorn, Hannah Frank and Kayla Buckmaster each had two hits.

Phillips, meanwhile, was tagged for seven runs — six earned — in 4.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts.

For Fallon, Buckmaster struggled early, but settled down to record the win. She allowed six runs — five earned — with a trio of strikeouts in seven innings.

Still, Buckmaster is emerging as Fallon’s No. 1 pitching threat and has compiled a 4-1 record. Her maturity and confidence is growing with each outing and is on the rise after such a big win.

“Her poise,” Archer said of Buckmaster. “This is the first time she has faced them. She had to barrel down and throw the pitches. She got into a little bit of trouble with the back-to-back home runs, but she refocused and finished the game.”

“It gives her a lot of confidence,” McCormick added. “The first couple innings she wasn’t hitting her spots like she knows how to. Once she got settled in a groove, she was good to go.”

But Fernley’s undoing was its defense as the usually sound Vaqueros committed five errors.

Despite the defensive mishaps, Fernley did not give in and scratched two runs across in the seventh, but was unable to complete the rally.

Hallie Edgar had two doubles and RBIs for the Vaqueros, while Shandell Gemmell added two hits.