3A Moapa Team Outhits 5A Opponents In Tournament

By MELISSA EVANS

Special to The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Baseball team went 1-4 in games played during a spring break tournament last week. Sometimes though, numbers on a scoreboard don’t tell the whole story and for Moapa Valley baseball, the full story deserves to be told.

The scoreboard, for example, won’t tell you that despite losses, the 3A Pirates made a strong showing against a series of 5A teams from high schools with student bodies of well over 2,000 compared to MVHS student population at about 600 students.

Against the Liberty High School Patriots, Moapa Valley allowed four runs on two hits and four walks in the top of the first. However, after settling in and getting to work, the Pirates were able to make a big comeback tying it up and matching Liberty run for run.

The game went into extra innings twice until the top of the ninth when a home run by Liberty scored the go-ahead run that won the game with a final score of 12-11.

Pitcher Gavin Hadley, went 4.2 innings, allowing only four hits and five runs, only one of them earned.
Also despite the disappointing ending to a neck-and-neck game, the Pirates were able to put up 15 hits to Liberty’s 11. Scoring three hits each for Moapa were Rylan Evans and Aiden Johnson; two hits each for Chandler Evans, Austin Heizelbetz and Tyson Staheli; and one hit each for Tyson Pettingill, Logan Schouten, and Landon Wrezsinski.

The Pirates came ready for day two against a few more 5A teams.
In the top of the first against Cimarron Memorial, a double by Wrezsinski was followed by a single by Pettingill allowing Wrezsinski to score and putting Moapa Valley on the board. The run was answered in the bottom of the first with five runs by Cimarron.

After a scoreless second inning on both sides, Moapa Valley was able to put up two runs in the third. Wrezsinski was hit by a pitch getting him on base, followed by a hit from Rylan Evans, then a bunt by Tyson Pettingill to advance both runners. A single by Aiden Johnson scored both Wrezsinski and R. Evans.

Starting pitcher Logan Schouten went four innings, allowing only five to score on five hits with only one earned run.

Although the Pirates went on to end the game matching Cimarron hits at sevens, the team fell short in scoring and lost to the Spartans, 7-8.

In the second game of the day, an error-filled top of the first allowed Rancho High School a lead of 7 runs. Those runs went unanswered in the bottom of the inning despite a two-out triple by Rylan Evans that was unable to score.

In the bottom of the third, the Pirates got on the board when Tyson Staheli hit a ground ball and reached on an error. He was able to score on singles from R. Evans and Pettingill.

The top of the fourth inning, on a combination of walks and errors, the Rams answered the Pirate run with two more of their own, leaving the score at 9-1.

That held until the bottom of the seventh when the Moapa Valley boys decided they weren’t going down without a fight. C. Evans started it out with a fly ball and reached on an error, followed by singles by Shandan Matheson and Hadley. Staheli then doubled sending C. Evans and Matheson home.

Next up was R. Evans who also doubled, scoring Hadley and Staheli. R. Evans went on to score as Jaden Martensen grounded into a double play which also took out Pettingill who had walked on.

One more strike out ended the game but not before the Pirates closed the gap by five in the bottom of the seventh for a total of six runs on eight hits to Rancho’s five total hits, for a loss of 9-6.

Starting pitcher Tyson Staheli went six innings allowing nine runs, only one earned, on five hits, while striking out 7.

Keeping their heads held high after three well-played games that were losses, the Pirates went into game four with confidence that allowed them to produce 14 hits in the game and an amazing 12-2 win over The Carson City Senators. This endd the tournament on a high note for the Pirates.
R. Evans took the win allowing two runs on five hits and striking out nine.
Moapa Valley’s own 14 hits included: C. Evans with four, Staheli with three, two hits each for R. Evans and Wrezsinski, and one hit each for Heiselbetz, Pettingill and Schouten.

MVHS Head Coach Justin Williams was enthusiastic about his team’s performance despite the 1-4 record at the tournament.
“We got down a few different times during the tournament but just battled our way back into the games each time; and had great opportunities to win every game,” Williams said.

“I am extremely excited on the growth that we have made and the direction that we are going,” Williams added. “We are playing great baseball right now and hope to just continue that.”