Forget opening weekend.
This weekend, the last two days of the regular season for the Greenwave spring sports teams is going to be pivotal and dictate how next week’s postseason could transpire with the state tournament in two weeks.
The baseball and softball teams are both in the playoffs, but the Lady Wave can seal up the top seed when it travels to Sparks today and Saturday. The baseball team can finish no worse than fourth (and no better than third), so the Sparks series will be a good opportunity to right a few wrongs which have hurt the team recently, including its pitching department suffering more than usual.
The regional tournament starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday at Spring Creek High School. The top two teams advance to the four-team state tournament in two weeks.
First-year coach Tammie Shemenski and the softball team are tied with Fernley at 19-2 for the Division I-A North’s No. 1 seed but Fallon has a chance to capture it if the Lady Wave sweeps the 5-16 Railroaders. The top two teams receive a bye next week to open the double-elimination tournament and Fallon owns the tiebreaker. Fernley, though, hosts Lowry (17-4, third) and could go from being tied for No. 1 to No. 3 if the Buckaroos can sweep the Vaqueros.
Lester de Braga’s baseball team’s position going into the playoffs is more known than the softball team.
The Greenwave faces last-place Sparks, which is 1-19. Elko (18-3) and Spring Creek (17-3) are in a battle for the top spot but both have claimed first-round byes while Fernley sits in third at 14-6. South Tahoe (8-11), Dayton (8-12) and Lowry (8-13) are fighting for the last two spots.
The track and field teams have one final tune-up on Saturday with the Fernley meet. Both the girls and boys teams are finding their form, especially with several key members returning from injury.
The top four in each event at next week’s two-day regional meet in Yerington will qualify for the state meet in two weeks. Carson High School will host state for all four divisions.
The boys golf team is having one of its better seasons as it comes to an end.
Although there’s no regional tournament, the top five golfers from non-qualifying teams in the regular season will advance to the state competition in two weeks in Pahrump. The top three teams from the North will qualify for state.
Raymond Plasse, Kelvin Cann and Mike Richards have stood out for Rich Evans’ club this year. Fallon has a strong chance of staying in the top three as a team and has one tournament remaining after competing on Thursday at Edgewood Golf Course. Fallon, which is tied for second with Elko (Spring Creek is first), competes at Genoa Lakes Golf Resort Course today to end the regular season.
Keith Grimes’ swimming and diving team has one final meet as it competes against Sparks and Fernley on Saturday in Fernley. Fallon begins its postseason run next week, as well, with the diving regional on Wednesday at the University of Nevada and the swim meet will be in Carson next weekend. The top four placers advance to the state meet in Las Vegas in two weeks.
Get ready for the beginning of a wild postseason ride this weekend as the Greenwave wraps up another spring season.
Thomas Ranson can be contacted at lvnsports@yahoo.com.