Fallon takes Truckee series, defeats Sparks

Fallon won its third consecutive Northern 3A baseball game after receiving a wake-up call from Truckee in the first game of a three-game series on Friday at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex.

After the Wolverines crushed Fallon, 14-4, to open the series, Fallon swept a doubleheader from Truckee on Saturday and defeated Sparks on Monday in a make-up game postponed because of snow in mid-March.

The Wave, which scored almost 60 runs in a doubleheader against Sparks on March 21, discovered a feistier Railroaders’ team on its home field.

Edgar Alvarado picked up the win, and Shaw Lee relieved him in the fifth inning.

Coach Lester de Braga said Jake Wickizer drove in several runs, and Daniel Seline also had a pair of base hits.

Brenden Larsen gave Fallon its doubleheader sweep by earning a win in the third game against the Wolverines as the Wave slipped past Truckee, 4-3. In the first game, Fallon won a 16-13 slugfest. Fallon improves to 9-6-1 overall and 9-2 in league. Truckee, which swept Fernley the weekend before the Fallon series, drops to 10-4 overall, 6-3 in league. Fallon entertains Spring Creek, weather permitting, on Friday at 3 p.m. and on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.

“The mark of a champion is to live in the now,” de Braga said of the doubleheader sweep. “We can’t live in the past and get the job done.”

De Braga said he’s excited for the rest of the season because of the way Fallon is playing and how the Wave rallied for two wins against Truckee.

With the scored knotted at 3 in the second game, the Alvarado-Lee tandem provided the win. After Truckee tied the game in the top of the seventh inning with a pair of runs, Alvarado ripped a double in the bottom half of the inning, and Lee followed with a double to the gap between center and right field.

“We had key hits at the right time,” de Braga said. “Brenden also kept them in check and off balance.”

Truckee scored first with a run in the first inning but Fallon took the lead with two runs in the second and added a run in the third.

Joel Estabrook pitched six innings for Truckee and allowed 10 hits, but his brother Tyler Estabrook took the mound in the seventh and surrendered two doubles without getting an out.

Tyler Estabrook paced Truckee with a three-hit game and RBI, and Derek Laferriere and Shane Poe each batted in a run.

Truckee scattered 10 hits against Fallon.

Fallon outhit Truckee, 14-13, in the first game and iced the win with seven runs in the fifth inning. The Wave trailed the Wolverines 10-9 after Truckee scored four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

Larsen and Wickizer began the fifth inning with back-to-back doubles against Truckee pitcher Jake Streit who struggled early in the inning by falling behind in the count and getting his pitches up. Fallon then loaded the bases with a walk.

Nate Galusha tied the game with an RBI single, and Sean McCormick followed with an infield RBI. Lee gave Fallon a three-run lead after hitting a two-run RBI just inside the left-field line. Larsen singled in a run.

With the bases loaded and two out, Wickizer rode the first pitch for a double down the left-field line for two runs.

Fallon jumped on starting pitcher Colin Just for five runs in the first inning and four in the third. Fallon built a 9-2 lead after three innings. Bryce Larsen singled in a run, and Wickizer doubled to deep centerfield for another run.

The key hit came from sophomore Brock Richardson, who ripped a two-run triple to the centerfield fence and eventually scored himself on a passed ball.

In the tip of the fourth, Tyler Estabrook drove in two runs off starting pitcher Hayden Strasdin, causing de Braga to replace him with Lee. Laferriere singled in a run off Lee as Truckee trailed 9-6.

In the top of the fifth inning, Tyler Estabrook hit a sacrifice fly for one run, and Joel Estabrook tied the game with a two-run single. Edmonson drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit.

In a three-run sixth, Laferriere hit a two-run single, and Edmonson’s single resulted in another RBI, his third for the game.

“After Friday night’s game, we came out with a new attitude,” de Braga said of Fallon’s sweep. “The kids never gave up and battled. They were more focused and energized.”

De Braga said he pulled Strasdin in Saturday’s first game because he had some arm problems. But overall, he was pleased with the pitching.

“For the most part, our bullpen held. This point in time, our pitching is coming together,” he said.

Truckee, after trailing 4-3, opened Friday’s game with six runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to defeat Fallon 14-4. The game ended after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Fallon spotted Truckee to a 2-0 first-inning lead before scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning. Each team scored a run in the second inning.

Truckee chased Fallon starter Chase Irvin off the mound in the fourth, and Bryce Larsen entered the game in relief.

Laferriere and Tyler Estabrook each had three hits to pace Truckee. Edmonson drive in four runs, and Joel Estabrook and Poe each had two RBIs.

Alvarado, Lee, Brenden Larsen and Strasdin each had two hits for Fallon, and Galusha had one.

Gary Grosjean picked up the win for the Wolverines.