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May 23, 2007
FAITH LUTHERAN WINS 3-A TITLE Trojans fall short in state baseball finals
BY JOSH CHASE
LAS VEGAS -- They weren't supposed to beat Boulder City, the defending Nevada Class 3-A champion, in the Southern regionals. Then they weren't supposed to make a run for the state title. But that's exactly what the Pahrump Valley Trojans did. Actually, the Trojans did a lot of things they weren't supposed to do, and despite a 6-1 loss to the Faith Lutheran Crusaders in the state finals Saturday, the boys' season will be one to remember. "This was a magical season and a lot of kids contributed to this team," said an emotional first-year coach, Doug Marion, following the Trojans' loss at Koerwitz Field, on the Faith Lutheran High School campus, Saturday. The game wasn't nearly as one sided as the five-run deficit would imply. Neither team hit very well; while the losing Trojans had only three hits, the Crusaders mustered only five. Rather, what lost the game for Pahrump Valley was a series of errors and a third inning two-run homer by Faith Lutheran's Adam Jones that no doubt changed the momentum and the outcome of the game. The Crusaders' only other RBI came in the first inning, when Faith Lutheran's Dave Anderson hit an infield single to score Jones. And that score probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for a collision at first base that left both Anderson and Trojan second baseman John McHugh on the ground for a number of minutes. Faith Lutheran's three other runs came in the bottom of the fourth. First, Christian Lopez and James Anger made it home on an error. Then, moments later, Alex Tracy ran in on a wild pitch. For the Trojans, the second inning was the biggest. After being walked, third-baseman Daniel Miller advanced to second on a wild pitch, then made it to third when McHugh grounded out at first. Then, with two outs, Dax Duesing hit an infield single to bring Miller home to tie the game at 1-1. "We battled and battled and battled and it just wasn't enough," Marion said. But the team's struggles were enough, at least in the eyes of the tournament's spectators, at least a couple of whom lost their voices after days of cheering for the underdog Trojans. And it was enough to win the runners-up plaque, which Marion hopes will serve as a reminder for years to come of a Cinderella season. "These kids got through some adversity and really came together and it's awesome," he said. The Trojans were 1-7 at the halfway point of the Southern League season, before scrambling to six wins in eight games to earn the No. 3 seed for the regional playoffs. An 8-5 win against 2006 state champion Boulder City put the Trojans into the winners' bracket finals, where they lost 12-4 to Faith Lutheran. But a 7-2 conquest of Boulder City assured the Trojans of their first state tournament berth in eight years, and they made the most of that trip. The Trojans finished 17-19-2 -- 4-4 in the post-season -- in Marion's first year as coach. In the state tournament, Pahrump Valley lost 11-9 to Dayton, eliminated Spring Creek 10-0, and then outslugged Dayton 17-11 to advance to the finals against Faith Lutheran. The Crusaders stopped Spring Creek, Dayton, and Pahrump Valley to win their third state 3-A championship. NOTES -- Pahrump Valley had first-team all-state selections in senior lefthander Tyrell Smith and junior third baseman Daniel Miller. Honorable mention went to junior center fielder Iggy Wagner, junior catcher Ethan Wald, and senior lefty Dax Duesing ... The state MVP was Tom O'Brien, the shortstop from Dayton, and Spring Creek's Scott Gillian was coach of the year ... Smith and Miller were first-team all-South selections ... Duesing, Cody Nielsen, Wagner and Wald were second-team picks, and honorable mention went to John McHugh, Corey Veloz and Richard Torres ... Brett Moravec of Boulder City was the South MVP, with Shane Greenland of Moapa Valley earning coach of the year honors. |
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