Team Nevada & Local Boys Come Close In Regional Baseball Tournament

After joining the Big League Division II All-Stars, Moapa Valley residents Bobby and Matt Vallet were just hoping to help the team. But their work helped lead their team to a Nevada State Championship, and a chance at qualifying for the Big League World Series. Sadly, the Vallet’s dream was shot down by Southern California’s team, as Southern Cal beat Nevada 4-3 in a close final.

The tournament started tough for Team Nevada, as Washington beat Nevada 9-7, putting Nevada in the loser’s bracket.

“From that point on, we knew we had to win five straight games to win the tournament, which is always stressful,” said Matt Vallet.

After the rocky start, Team Nevada got in a groove, ten-running Team Montana, beating Northern California 10-5 on a Bobby Vallet complete game, and beating Hawaii 6-5 in the Loser’s Bracket final.

This winning streak put Team Nevada into the Western Semi-Finals. “Our team was playing great baseball at that time, against some great teams,” said Bobby Vallet.

Team Nevada faced off against Arizona in the semi-final, winning 8-7 in a back-and-forth struggle.

But in the final, Southern California proved too tough a mountain to climb, after Team Nevada almost became the first team to win it all after coming out of the Loser’s Bracket.

In the end, the Vallet brothers were happy to compete, but disappointed by the loss. “We had a chance to do something really cool, and just couldn’t finish off the deal,” said Bobby Vallet.