Softball: North Valleys ends Fallon’s season

In a repeat of last year’s state-qualifying and season-elimination game against North Valleys, the Greenwave softball team’s season ended Saturday.

Ahead 4-1 in the fifth inning, Fallon saw the Panthers come back with four unanswered runs to hang on for the 5-4 win Saturday morning in the Northern 3A regional tournament at Wooster High School. North Valleys, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, fell to No. 3 Lowry on Thursday but it beat the Buckaroos twice after the Fallon game to win the school’s first regional title in a girls’ sport.

Ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Fallon freshman Janessa Bettencourt surrendered three consecutive hits, leading to a run scored. Bettencourt, though, induced a groundout and struck out Karli Klein for the first outs of the inning. On a 2-0 pitch, Staci Davis tied the game with a pop-up single to center.

Fallon had a chance to break the tie in the sixth when Bettencourt walked and Raygen Bartel reached on an error. Vernita Fillmore, the leadoff hitter, lined into a fielder’s choice where Tutie Ames, running for Bettencourt, was forced out at third. Dana Buckmaster and Lydia Bergman struck out to end Fallon’s threat.

With two outs in the bottom half, North Valleys cashed in when Brianna Ramirez singled in Kelsee Grow on a line drive to center.

Taralynn Vershum’s two-out single gave Fallon hope in the final inning but Darci Owen’s popout to second ended Fallon’s season.

Less than a day after defeating rival Fernley in a walkoff to advance to Saturday’s do-or-die game, Fallon jumped on North Valleys early with Kiley Wallace’s RBI single in the first. Reece Hutchings’ RBI groundout in the third inning added to the lead, 2-0. Wallace’s two-run double in the fifth gave Fallon a 4-1 lead.

FRIDAY

It didn’t look like Fallon’s season would extend past Friday when Fernley jumped out to a 5-1 lead.

Bergman hit her 14th home run of the season to break the school’s single-season record, which she set last spring, in the first inning for the team’s only score. She finished with 39 career home runs, also a school record.

Bergman’s RBI groundout trimmed the deficit to 5-2 in the third inning before Wallace’s single to right scored Buckmaster and Bergman.

With Fernley leading by only one, 5-4, Mackenzie Depaoli hit her second homer of the tournament to extend the lead to 8-4 in the fifth inning.

Fallon, though, recovered two of the runs in the sixth inning when Bartel’s single scored Owens and Ames with two outs. Vershum’s one-out double started the rally before Ames came in to run for the sophomore catcher.

After Buckmaster popped out to start the seventh, Bergman walked and advanced to third on an infield error when Hutchings reached on a fielder’s choice. Wallace doubled on full count to bring in Bergman and Hutchings and tie the game. Vershum was intentionally walked before Owens’ double to center scored Wallace from second to win the game.

Fillmore picked up the win in the circle, shutting out Fernley in the last three innings after Bettencourt went four and gave up five earned runs.

THURSDAY

In Fallon’s opening 11-4 loss to Lowry on Thursday, the Buckaroos rebounded after being swept by the Greenwave in Winnemucca last month.

Lowry jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Fallon came back with four runs in the fifth. Wallace doubled in Fillmore and Bergman to get Fallon on the board, and Hutchings later scored on an error. Wallace then scored on Vershum’s double as Fallon trimmed the deficit to 7-4.

Lowry, though, scored two more runs in each of the last two innings.

In Fallon’s 14-1 win over Elko on Friday morning, Bettencourt dominated in the circle, striking out five and allowing four hits in five innings.

Buckmaster homered and Hutchings doubled, and Wallace and Vershum each drove in three to lead the offense.