By DAVE BELCHER
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High Softball team played three softball games last week, finishing the week with a 3-0 record. More importantly the team started league play with a home win over Chaparral 11-10.
In the Chaparral game, played on Friday, Moapa took a 3-0 lead after holding the Cowboys to three scoreless innings. The Cowboys would finally score in the top of the fourth, trailing the Pirates 3-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pirates scored twice more for a 5-1 lead.
Cowboys Losi Brown smashed two homeruns in the game for the Cowboys and finished with two RBI’s in the game.
The top of the seventh saw a Cowboy comeback as they scored six runs chasing starting pitcher Daesha Stastny who was replaced by Emilie Barraza. Brandi Vara, Sierra Shaw and Fernanda Rivas each doubled, which helped give the Cowboys a 7-5 lead headed into the bottom of the seventh.
But Moapa Valley would tie the game with 2 runs in the seventh.
Finally, the Pirates would win the game in the second extra inning when Aria Messer doubled, bringing home two for the win.
Moapa Valley would finish with seven hits in the game. The Cowboys did not help themselves by committing four errors.
Chaparral’s Brown struck out 17 Pirates in the loss while walking eight. Stastny gave up 8 hits while striking out 7 and walking 5 before Barraza finished by giving up 3 runs, 3 hits and 2 strike outs to end up the win.
Messer was 2-5 with two RBI’s while Sierra Staheli doubled and tripled with Lainey Cornwall tripling.
On Tues. Mar. 28, the Pirates beat Desert Pines 15-2 in Las Vegas. They went on to beat Sunrise Mountain, 23-5, on Thursday.
In the game with Desert Pines the Pirates used a big eight run fifth inning to end the game in the bottom of the fifth. Stastny finished with four hits in the game while Kaitlyn Anderson collected three hits. Staheli had two RBI’s while Messer had one.
Moapa Valley built a 5-0 lead in the first two innings and extended it to 7-2 in the third after the Jaguars scored twice in the bottom of the second. Stastny got the win allowing eight hits and striking out 5. Pamela, Cruz had 2RBI’s for the Jaguars.
In the Sunrise Mountain game the Pirates trailed after the top of the first inning 3-0 before scoring 4 of their own to take a lead.
The Miners gave the Pirates a scare as they scored five more runs in the top of the second. Then the Pirates erupted for 13 runs in the bottom half of the second. They would not give up the rest of the game.
The Miners were held scoreless in the third followed by the Pirates ending the game by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the third. The mercy rule ended the game.
Anderson finished with four RBI’s and four hits. Kessa Evans hit a triple while going 4-4 from the plate. Halle Bennett finished with a triple and three hits.
The Pirates will travel to Virgin Valley on Thursday.
