By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The Moapa Valley High School softball team beat a visiting Pahrump Valley team on Tuesday, March 7 in a high-scoring contest. The final score was 13-8.
Pirate senior Lexy Fullman led all comers at the plate, collecting four hits in five at bats and chalking up 4 RBIs in the game.
The Pirates got off to a slow start in the first inning, allowing Pahrump to pull ahead with three runs in the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the first, Rielie Ohara hit a line drive and reached first on an error. This brought Kyndall Longman home to get the Pirates on the board.
The Moapa team caught its stride in the second inning. After holding the Trojans to one run, they captured the lead with five runs in the inning. Fullman, Ohara, Tyelar Anderson and Emmy Cornwall each batted runners home during the inning. The Pirates didn’t fall behind again in the game.
The two teams traded runs in the next two innings. Both teams scored two runs in the third and one run apiece in the fourth. The score was 9-7 Pirates at the end of the fourth.
The Pirates broke the game open in the fifth putting three runs on the board after allowing Pahrump only one run in the inning. The Pirates were up 12-8.
The Moapa team finished scoring in the game during the sixth inning when Fullman hit a single that brought Andie Wood home for the final score.
Neil started in the circle for the Pirates allowing four hits and 7 runs in the game and striking out 5. Wood came in for relief in the fifth inning striking out 5 as well.
MVHS Head Coach John Stastny hailed the victory as a “great team win” involving the entire squad.
“I was impressed with how well we played as a team,” said Stastny. “It was great pitching by both Andie Wood and Kylie Neal. Super offensive production by Kyndall Longman, Lexy Fullman and Reagan Stankosky. And great catching by Emmy Cornwall.”
Stastny pointed out that this was the third time that the Pirates have met the Trojans in this young season. The other two were played the previous weekend at the Sherm Bennett Memorial Tournament in Mesquite.
The first game, on March 3, ended in a narrow 12-11 victory for the Pirates. The second meeting played the following day, resulted in a 9-1 Pirate loss to the Trojans.
“This week was, by far, our best game against them,” Stastny said.
Stastny sees this as a sign of the team building steam and making headway. “We are working to be a great team!” he said.
The Pirate team hits the road during this week of Spring Break. They travel to Alamo on Tuesday, March 14 to face Pahranagat Valley at 4 pm.
