The scores were not a true indication of how Lester de Braga felt about his Greenwave baseball team.
Despite finishing 0-4-1 in annual the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament in Reno, the eighth-year coach was impressed with his team’s performance.
“For the most part with not having a lot of work in, I was very pleased. I thought we were ahead of schedule,” said de Braga, whose pitchers averaged between two and three innings during the tournament. “Before the season, I thought our defense was going to be as good as we’ve had. We had a couple blunders but our defense was pretty sound. We started off sluggish with our hitting but on Saturday, we had a talk and made some adjustments. We started getting back on track.”
Fallon fell to three 4A schools as well as a California team while tying cross-valley rival Fernley on Friday. Even without recording a win as Fallon opens league play at Sparks this weekend, de Braga wasn’t worried. He likes where his team sits going into the league opener.
“For this time of year and based on the last several years, I think we are a little further along with progress. There’s always things to work on,” de Braga added. “I don’t want to peak yet. It’s just a matter of some fine-tuning. We need more reps at the plate and seeing in the field.”
Carson 7, Fallon 4
Back-to-back two-run innings opened the game for the Senators in the season opener for both teams.
After Fallon cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second inning, Carson scored twice in each of the third and fourth innings to go up 6-1. Fallon, though, came back with two in the fifth and one in the seventh.
Juniors Edgar Alvarado and Sean McCormick led the team with two hits while senior Jake Wickizer, junior Chase Irvin and freshman Shaw Lee each had a hit. Alvarado drove in three runs on two home runs and Lee’s only hit was a solo home run.
Sophomore Nate Galusha and junior brothers Bryce and Brenden Larsen pitched with Galusha recording 2 1/3 innings. He gave up four earned runs on five hits and two strikeouts, and Bryce Larsen surrendered two earned runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings. Brenden Larsen pitched two innings and allowed one run on one hit.
Fallon 7, Fernley 7
In its second game of the year, Fallon saw a two-run advantage slip in the final inning before time expired on Friday.
Fernley opened with a 1-0 lead and increased it to 5-1 after three innings before Fallon scored five in the fourth. Fernley tied the game in the fifth.
Wickizer, McCormick, Lee, Galusha and sophomore Brock Richardson each had one hit. Junior Hayden Strasdin, Richardson, Seline, Galusha, Wickizer and McCormick each drove in a run.
Lee and Alvarado pitched with Lee giving up five runs on five hits and three strikeouts. Alvarado surrendered two runs on one hit.
Damonte Ranch 3, Fallon 0
In perhaps its best game of the tournament, Fallon’s pitching kept it within distance of Damonte Ranch, one of the best teams in the 4A.
The Mustangs’ Jacob Bercovich pitched a four-hit shutout, allowing two of those hits to Sean McCormick. Lee and Brenden Larsen each recorded a hit and Larsen also one inning in relief. Irvin took the loss, going five innings and allowing two earned runs on 10 hits while striking out five.
Central Catholic 7, Fallon 5
Central Catholic broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the fourth inning to edge Fallon on Saturday.
McCormick led the Greenwave with a two-hit performance against the California school while Galusha, Alvarado, Deline, Brenden Larsen, Strasdin and Lee each picked up a hit. Alvarado, Lee, Irvin and Bryce Larsen each drove in a run.
Both Larsens and Alvarado pitched with Alvarado yielding four earned runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. Bryce Larsen allowed a run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings while Brenden Larsen pitched a scoreless inning.
Spanish Springs 9, Fallon 2
In his first game on the hill, Strasdin was rocky, hitting five Cougars in the Greenwave’s final game of the tournament on Saturday.
“We know what Hayden has. He ended the year last year on a great note and was very strong,” de Braga said. “It’s something we’re not concerned with at all. We were pleased with his velocity.”
Strasdin allowed six earned runs and struck out two in four innings, and Galusha also struggled with control, hitting three in two innings and allowing two earned runs.
At the plate, Richardson got the bats going with a leadoff triple in the fourth inning and later scored on Lee’s single. Fallon struck first with a run in the first inning. Both Sean and Tommy McCormick also collected hits.
“Our young kids, they stepped right up,” de Braga said. “They hardly missed a beat. They came right in and played with them.”