GEORGE STARKS / SPECIAL TO THE PVT On the Pahrump Valley Senior Little League team that won district and state championships are (front row, from left) Jarret Holley, Danny Cazier, Garrett Darr, Michael Gonzalez, Corey Veloz, and Tyler Lepley (back row) coach Fred Pang, coach Tim Cazier, Ronnie Torres, Kent Jasperson, Cody Nielsen, and manager Brandon Bietar. Absent were Dominic Swiden and Ethan Wald. Advertisement

Salem, Ore., is the next stop for the Pahrump Valley Senior Little League All-Stars, in their quest for national honors.

The West Regionals will be played Sunday through Aug. 7, with Nevada champion Pahrump Valley joining Southern California, Montana, Washington and Oregon in one pool in the week-long tournament. Hawaii, Alaska, Northern California, Idaho and Arizona are in the other pool.

Pahrump -- winner of its first-ever Little League state championship -- will play Southern California at 7 p.m. Sunday; Montana at 1 p.m. Monday, Washington at 1 p.m. Wednesday and Oregon at 1 p.m. Friday in Pool A games. The semifinals and finals are slated Aug. 6-7, with the champion advancing to the Senior Little League World Series Aug. 12-18 at Bangor, Maine.

Other regionals will be contested at West Deptford, N.J.; Blytheville, Ark.; Rabun County, Ga.; Peru, Ill.; Vancouver, B.C., Canada; St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, and Guam.

Nevada District 4 champion Pahrump Valley, managed by Brandon Bietar and coached by Fred Pang, Tim Cazier and Rob McBride, advanced to the regionals by winning two of three games against the Central Division in the state championship playoffs at Las Vegas last weekend.

The Trojans lost 5-1 in the first game, then pounded Central 16-4 and 30-8 in the next two games to claim the state title. They are 5-1 in post-season games.

On the team are Jarret Holley, Cody Nielsen, Ron Torres, Danny Cazier, Kent Jasperson, Tyler Lepley, Michael Gonzalez, Corey Veloz, Dominic Swiden, Ethan Wald and Garrett Darr.

In six post-season games, Veloz leads Pahrump Valley in runs batted in with 14; at 13 each are Lepley and Gonzalez. Nielsen has 12, Wald 10, and at nine is Cazier.

Lepley is batting a sizzling .708, including .786 in the regionals. Wald is at .650; Holley .571; Veloz .542; Cazier .438; Nielson .435, and Torres .400. As a team, PV is batting a rousing .489; the team hit .509 in the regionals, scoring 47 runs, after batting .465 at state, with 45 runs.

Other averages include Swidan, .273; Jasperson, .273, and Darr, .250.

PV hit four homers, including two by Gonzalez and one each by Wald and Veloz. Wald won the Home Run Derby with eight round-trippers.

Veloz, Cazier and Nielsen were the starting pitchers in the district tournament, allowing nine runs on 11 hits in 17 innings. At the state tournament, the team allowed 17 runs on 14 hits, with 23 strikeouts and 10 walks. Gonzalez and Wald worked in relief.

Team in need of funds for regional trip

It is going to cost more than $12,000 for the Pahrump Valley Senior Little League All-Star baseball team to compete in the West regionals at Salem, Ore., July 29-Aug. 7.

The costs include airfare, hotel rooms, meals, and ground transportation in Salem for the team and coaches.

Each team is required to play four games, which means a stay of at least five days in Salem. If the PV squad wins the regionals, they will be transported directly to Bangor, Maine., to compete in the Senior World Series.

Any individual or group desiring to offer financial aid should call 1-775-209-0413, or send donations to the Little League at P.O. Box 1138, Pahrump, NV 89048, or contact Lou Banuelos. Pahrump Little League has non-profit status, which means contributions will be tax-deductible.