Pirates advance as seniors shine

By MELISSA EVANS
The Progress

Senior night for Moapa Valley Baseball may have officially been on May 5th against Virgin Valley. However, anyone attending the game today could tell you that the real senior night happened tonight against Boulder City. The pirates all shined brightly, putting up an impressive 13 hits, with no errors in the field. The boys demonstrated the teamwork and drive they’ve strived for all season.

Junior starting pitcher Tyson Staheli went 5 innings allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and striking out 3. Freshman, Tyson Pettingill, had an impressive 3 hits with 2 doubles. Junior, Landon Wresinski, contributed 2 singles while sophomore, Tahj Totten, also had a single in the game.

Now the Seniors:

Gunnar Redd, left fielder, batting .323 on the season, had 2 singles and a walk, scoring 3 runs. Defensively, Redd made 2 impressive outs on fly balls hit to left field.

Austin Heizelbetz, center fielder, batting .357 on the season, hit an RBI triple. He ended the first inning by catching a fly ball hit to centerfield. Heizelbetz also got the save after pitching two innings allowing 1 hit, and striking out one, with no earned runs scored.

Rylan Evans, batting .557 on the season, hit 2 singles and 2 homers, over to left center and another no doubter to left for 5 RBIs. Evans made a vertical jumping catch on a line drive that drew gasps from the Pirate crowd. He also made a double play, assisted by Tyson Staheli and C. Evans to end the sixth.

The Moapa Valley Pirates took a 10-7 win over Boulder City Eagles, securing their spot in the state tournament. The win was a team effort but in their last home game ever, the seniors definitely left their mark in history.

The Moapa Valley Pirates will play the Virgin Valley Bulldogs in the regional championship tomorrow at 4:00pm in Mesquite.