RENO -- Fernley did it the hard way to repeat as Nevada's Class 3-A state fast-pitch softball champion.

The Lady Vaqueros had to win three games Saturday to claim the title -- and they did, at Bishop Manogue High School.

Fernley started that 3-0 run with a 5-1 win against Spring Creek in an elimination game Saturday morning. Spring Creek, coached by former Beatty High School standout athlete Holly Streeter, had ousted Southern 3-A regional champion Pahrump Valley 3-1 Friday afternoon.

Fernley then had to beat Dayton's Dust Devils twice in the championship round, which meant the Vaqueros had to solve the 60 mph-plus offerings of MacKenzie Cole, a 5-foot-10 freshman righthander who had struck out 17 and allowed just one hit in a 2-0 win against Pahrump Valley Friday.

Again, Fernley responded, beating Dayton 5-1 to force the "if necessary" round of this double-elimination tournament.

Cole didn't last an inning in the second game as Fernley rolled to an 8-1 victory that clinched the second title in a row for the Vaqueros.

In the second game against Dayton, Fernley's first four hitters were 8-for-16 with five runs batted in and all eight runs scored.

Catcher Severena Johnson, whose power hitting led Fernley to its first title at Las Vegas Faith Lutheran in 2007, slugged two doubles and Nikole Whitney slapped a home run.

Fernley had been knocked into the losers' bracket Friday, when Dayton survived a 3-2 thriller against the Vaqueros, who had rallied to beat Spring Creek 4-3 in the first game of the state tournament.

NOTES -- Fernley loses four seniors ... Returning will be pitcher Kayla McCollum, catcher Severena Johnson and outfielder Nikole Whitney, among others ... Dayton has only three seniors, with the Dust Devils' key returnee, pitcher MacKenzie Cole ... Spring Creek will graduate four seniors, including slugger Meg Marasymczuk ... The Spartans' No. 1 pitcher is Jordan Garcia, who will be a sophomore next season ... Pahrump Valley, of course, is moving into Class 4-A, which will give Nevada 3-A fast-pitch softball an entirely new dynamic ... The Lady Trojans won three state championships (2003-2004-2005) and advanced to the state tournament six of the last seven years.