Bulldogs, Pirates Selected For 3A All State Teams

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley athletes were well represented on the Nevada 3A All State teams this year, for both baseball and softball. The All State results were announced by the NIAA last week.

3A All State Baseball
In baseball, MVHS superstar Rylan Evans was selected as Most Valuable Player for the south. The senior had a batting average of .520. He hit 4 home runs, 7 triples and 17 doubles on the season. He also hit 48 RBIs and stole 25 bases.

“Rylan was just extremely deserving of that,” said MVHS Head Coach Justin Williams of the MVP designation. “His playing abilities were stellar. But that wasn’t even his greatest attribute. His leadership role on the team was even better. He is just a good kid who is an extremely gifted ball player. But he is also humble enough to know that it doesn’t come without working hard.”

MVHS also had senior Austin Heiselbetz named on the All State First Team. Heiselbetz had a perfect 0 Earned Run Average (ERA) for the season and struck out 17 batters as a pitcher. He hit 29 RBIs on the season.

The VVHS State Champion team had two players listed in the All State First team. These included senior Kyler Sudweeks and sophomore Bryce Intagliata.

Sudweeks had a .417 batting average with 21 RBIs. He also pitched 4 wins from the hill, striking out 34 batters on the season.

Intagliata led the Bulldogs in batting with a season average of .456. He hit 2 home runs, 3 triples, 9 doubles and had 32 RBIs this season. As a pitcher, Intagliata got four wins and struck out 45 batters.
Bulldogs coach Dan Wright was also awarded Coach of the Year for the 2022 season. In an interview, Wright attributed this award to the success of the whole organization.

“In my opinion, the coach of the year is a reflection of the program more than just the coach,” Wright said. “I had four assistant coaches that bought in 100 percent. And then we had 28 kids, if you count JV, that just worked their tails off and did a tremendous job. I know that I wouldn’t have been named that if we didn’t win and the kids didn’t perform.”

3A All State Softball
Six Bulldog players and one Pirate athlete were selected for the 3A All State Softball teams this year.
VVHS junior Riley Price was named Most Valuable Player in the south. Price had a .524 batting average. She hit a 3A state record-breaking 15 home runs this season; chalking up 4 triples, 14 doubles and 63 RBIs.

As a pitcher she got 29 wins, throwing 7 no-hitters; both of those were also 3A state records. Price got 279 strikeouts from the circle, topping the state for the season. She also was first in the state for ERA with a .80.
The three Bulldogs players also named on the First Team included sophomore Reggi Frei, sophomore Ana Tausinga and junior Natalie Plancarte.

Frei scored 66 runs which was first in the 3A. She had a batting average of .585, hitting 3 home runs, 4 triples and 8 doubles on the season; including 34 RBIs. Frei also stole 43 bases which was first in the 3A.
Tausinga had a batting average of .490, hitting 6 home runs and 14 doubles. She got 41 RBIs.

Playing first base, Tausinga managed a 1.000 Fielding Percentage committing no errors for the season.
Plancarte was a strong all-around player this season. She had a .424 batting average. She scored 46 runs on the season and had 42 hits with 32 RBIs.

The All State Second Team included two Bulldog players: Brooklin Montoya, a junior, and senior Marli Wakefield.

Montoya hit 9 home runs and had 33 RBIs for the season.
Wakefield got 32 hits with 20 RBIs this season.

“This group of girls was a true team,” said VVHS Head Coach Travis Griffiths. “They played together as a team. They had good camaraderie. And as coaches, it was just a joy to coach them. They were just a great group of young ladies.”

Though the MVHS softball team did not make it to the State Championship tournament, the Pirates still had one athlete selected on the All State Second Team. That was freshman Delaney Graham. Graham had a 1.731 ERA for the season.