Pirates Fall One Game Short at Regionals

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The Moapa Valley High School softball team ended its 2023 season with a 16-5 loss against the Boulder City Eagles in the semifinal game in the 3A Southern Region playoffs on Thursday, May 11.
The loss dropped the Pirates out of the tournament just a game short of qualifying for this week’s state tournament in Mesquite.

The game against Boulder City came immediately after the Pirates had fought their way through a huge win against Clark High School to advance to the semi-final. The Pirates began that game from behind as Clark had stepped out to a 2-1 lead in the first inning.

But the Pirates took the lead with three runs in a critical third inning. Tyelar Anderson brought one of those home with a ground out. Kyndall Longman hit a single that scored another run in the frame.

The Pirates kept the lead from there, scoring two more runs in the top of the final inning. The final score was 6-3.

The win advanced the Pirate girls to the big game which immediately followed against the Eagles. Though they were tired in this second game of the day, after a week of rigorous competition, the Moapa team gave their all. The Pirates ended up outhitting the Boulder City team 6-5. But they struggled to put runs on the board.

The fatigue showed specifically on defense where the Pirates gave up 16 runs in the game.
Moapa pulled ahead early in the game scoring 4 runs in the top of the first inning. Boulder City answered with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the frame.

The Moapa team managed another run to start the second inning. But the Eagles answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning and six more in the third to take a commanding lead that they would not give up. This seemed to take the wind from the Pirate sails. The team didn’t score again and the game was called on the mercy rule in the fifth inning.

The Pirates had begun the tournament with a 3-2 loss to Clark on Monday afternoon in Las Vegas. They spent the rest of the week marching their way through the consolation bracket.
Moapa blanked Canyon Springs on Tuesday for a 15-0 victory. Then they battled with Pahrump Valley on Wednesday for a close 14-13 win. That brought them to the long Thursday double-game schedule with Clark and Boulder City.

The Pirate team ended as 3rd in the Southern Region, just short of the state championship running.
MVHS Head Coach John Stastny said that the season had been full of learning life lessons for both girls and coaches.

“During the tournament we realized that all of the little things really matter and m,ake the difference against good teams in intense situation,” Stastny said. “It takes a group of individuals, willing to work on those small things in their own positions, who come together and give 100 percent to their team in order to experience success.”

Stastny added that he loved working with the girls of this year’s team. “I loved our mix of 4 seniors, 5 juniors, a sophomore and a freshman,” he said. “I hope that the girls form a bond and enjoy working with each other, even if they aren’t best friends off of the softball diamond.”