Kayla Buckmaster fires a pitch to one of Fernley's batters.
The Lady Wave held off Fernley Tuesday, taking a 3-1 home-field victory against the Lady Vaqueros.
The teams were evenly matched. Fallon pitcher Kayla Buckmaster took the mound for the entire game, striking out nine batters and allowing only two base hits. The Vaqueros’ pitcher was equally talented and kept Fallon off the bases for most of the game.
“She had an outstanding game,” said Fallon coach Tammie Shemenski of Buckmaster. “The team all played behind her.”
The Wave took its lead in the first inning. Stacy Kalt had two base hits with two RBI, while Jordan Byers, Faith Cornmesser and Caitlyn Welch scored runs. The first-inning runs were the last for the home team, but it was all they needed. During the fourth inning, Fernley scored, but Buckmaster held the Vaqueros back the rest of the game.
“There were some great plays made by the team as a whole,” Shemenski said, noting it was a team victory.
The coach said everyone had good hits at bat, while Buckmaster’s pitching paired with good plays in the field to hold off the Fernley offense.
“We made some really good plays in the field that needed to be made,” Shemenski said.
The coach also said Fernley has a strong program, and the Fallon players had to be on their toes to beat the Vaqueros. She noted Fernley is always able to come back and said she has her team play every game like it’s a championship game.
Fernley coach Diane Chapin said her team played well defensively to hold Fallon to three runs. She said she felt they had a rough start giving up the runs but quickly rallied their defense. Offensively, she said Fernley could have hit the ball better.
“We didn’t hit as well as we should have, and I think that was a big thing,” she said. “They (Fallon) actually hit a little better than we did.”
This weekend the Lady Wave travels to Spring Creek. Today they play at 3 p.m. with Saturday’s doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.