By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
Last week was filled softball action in the third week of the Parks and Rec Co-Ed Softball League. Week 3 brought matchups between Farmers and the Blasters on one side, and the Blazers against Competition Transmission on the other field.
Competition Transmission and the Blazers were both coming off of a two game slide last week. The Blazers dropped two games against the Blasters, while Competition Transmission fell to the Farmers in a pair of tight contests. Both teams were given a chance to bounce back, and the Blazers were still looking to gain their first win of the season.
In the first game, the Blazers held their own against their more experienced opponent during the early innings. Eventually, however, Competition Transmission ran away with the score in their favor, as they finished Game 1 with 18 runs, while the Blazers brought in 11. But 11 runs marked a season high for the Blazers, so the team is clearly making strides in the right direction.
In the second game, the Blazers struggled in their offense. The Blazers managed to get on base just twice through the first four innings. Competition Transmission on the other hand produced base hits like a factory, racking up over a dozen singles as a team. Five of their hitters batted themselves to second. In the end, Competition Transmission had taken the wind out of the Blazers sails and completed the sweep with a Game 2 win.
For the Farmers and Blasters, both teams were an offense powerhouse. The Farmers opened up the first inning of Game 1 with three runs, while the Blasters responded with eight. Early on for the Blasters, the bases were like a carousel as their hitters consistently put runners on base.
In the second inning, the Blasters stalled at the plate, but Farmers finally caught a rhythm and ran seven runs across home plate. They went on to control the rest of the game and hold the Blasters to just one more run through the final four innings. Ultimately, Farmers stayed undefeated in Game 1 by a final score of 15-9.
It was more of the same in Game 2. The Farmers scored 14 runs in the game, but the Blasters were not going to go down easily. They continued to fight along over the course of the game, but Farmers held on. They finished the night with a 14-11 victory.
Farmers has yet to lose a game in the first three weeks, holding strong with a 6-0 record. They are led by big hitters Koby Frei, Angelo Moreno, and Tavish McCurdy. Farmers Catcher Traci Graham has also made a few crucial plays at the plate that prevented potential runs.
“We’re just having fun out here,” said Farmers team captain Jen Millet. “We’re all family.”
Millet mentioned that much of their team has prior softball or baseball playing experience as well. Their team hopes to continue the win streak next week, with four games over the course of the week, with the first two coming on Tuesday against the Blazers.
