Softball seals No. 1 seed in playoffs

Confidence and experience.

The Lady Wave softball team finished arguably its most dominating season since joining the Division I-A, rolling past the competition and winning the regular-season title. But being called league champs is not good enough for this year’s squad, a team which is so accustomed to playing in state tournaments.

No, the 2016 Lady Wave, which is as powerful at the plate as it’s precise in the pitching circle, looks to add more to its impressive collection of regional and state hardware when Fallon competes in this week’s regional tournament.

“I’ve known these girls a long time,” said first-year coach Tammie Shemenski, who coached these girls at the JV level. “I’ve watched them grow up and play for a long time. They know how competitive I am and I know how competitive they are.”

The defending state champs face the winner of South Tahoe-Elko on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Spring Creek High School. Fallon (22-2) needs two wins to punch its sixth-consecutive ticket to the state tournament and bring home its fifth crown in as many tries.

“It’s a great accomplishment to be No. 1,” Fallon senior catcher Megan McCormick said. “Postseason seeding is not everything. We still need to come in and play softball.”

As history’s shown lately, the regional champ doesn’t necessarily win the ultimate prize. Cross-county rival Fernley won last year’s regional title but fell to Fallon in the state championship. The same happened in 2013 when Fallon won the regional title. Don’t be surprised if this week’s regional championship features Fallon and Fernley. But for Fallon, though, the approach is simple.

“We’ve always looked at it one game at a time,” Shemenski said. “Anyone can beat anybody. We take it a step further and take it one inning at a time.”

The pitching duo of junior Kayla Buckmaster and sophomore Miranda Ford has stifled the opposition this season, similar to the 2011 and 2012 teams that rode on Jill Pinder’s accurate pitching.

Instead with this year’s group, Fallon has two aces in the hole. Cornmesser boasts a 1.07 ERA in 46 innings pitched and has struck out 64 against 31 walks. Buckmaster, last year’s ace, has a slightly higher ERA (1.41) but has fanned 93 and walked only 24 in 54.2 innings.

Throw in senior Alicia Baze and her respectable 2.85 ERA in 34.1 innings worked and Fallon possesses a nearly unbreakable pitching corps.

“The pitching is much stronger this year,” McCormick said.

Experience from last year’s state run, along with playing travel ball in the offseason, has helped both Buckmaster and Cornmesser.

“I feel more confident,” Buckmaster said after assuming the No. 1 starter role for the second year. “We’ve been hitting much better than in the past. We have 33 home runs, which is crazy. Everyone treats each other equally. We’ve come together as a team.”

Cornmesser attributes the players’ confidence in one another and her own improvement since last spring to this year’s success.

“We’re playing more together,” she added.

Teams with great pitching don’t need much run support to come out victorious. However, Fallon possesses a lineup that would give its own pitching staff fits.

Cornmesser and Buckmaster top the team in batting average with the sophomore hitting .661, including five home runs, two triples and eight doubles along with 29 RBIs and the junior hurler hitting .596 with five home runs, nine doubles and 26 RBIs. McCormick supplies most of the teams power has she’s belted eight home runs, including two grand slams, and leads the team with 49 RBIs. Hannah Frank (.562, 3 2B, 8 RBIs), Miranda Ford (.512, 2 HR, 4 2B, 16 RBIs) and Stacy Kalt (.484, 3 HR, 1 3B, 8 2B, 25 RBIs) have helped bolster a deep lineup. Paige Thorn, Kayln Huckaby and Caitlyn Welch have totaled 10 home runs for the Lady Wave, which smacked 33.

“We’re strong up and down the lineup,” Shemenski said. “We’re pitching pretty strong. We’re a confident team going into the tournament and that we’re going to finish on top.”