Douglas High's softball team is one win away from winning the school's first-ever 4A softball title.
The Tigers, thanks to the no-hit pitching of Kellei Kizer in the opener and her strong relief effort in the second game, also got clutch hitting throughout the lineup in pounding Silverado 12-0 and McQueen 7-3 Friday at Carson High on the first day of the NIAA 4A state softball tournament.
Douglas, which won the 3A title in 1992, will play either Centennial or McQueen for the title at noon. McQueen meets Centennial at 10 a.m. Douglas must be beaten twice since it went undefeated the first day.
Douglas players spent little time celebrating their two wins. Minutes after the second win, many of the girls rushed home to get ready for their senior prom.
"The girls are playing so well right now," DHS coach Todd Wilcks said. "They are so focused. We were able to stay on the same plateau that we were on last week. When we got on the bus this morning, there was silence. I thought we might be tight, but I knew we were focused.
"I was just hoping we would come out and play two good games. If somebody is going to beat us, they're going to have to do something special."
Especially if Kizer is at the top of her game again. The junior right-hander threw 10 2/3 innings on the day, allowing just three hits and striking out 12. She was credited with both wins.
"We're going to ride that hot arm," said DHS assistant Jim Puzey, who indicated Kizer would start the title game. "She's throwing real well. Somebody is going to have to hit the ball off her."
"She just dominated (Silverado) the first game," Wilcks said. "She was in control the entire game. She was rarely behind in the count. Plus, it doesn't hurt when the offense is scoring every inning."
Indeed. Douglas scored in five of its six at-bats. The game was stopped after six because of the 10-run rule.
Brittany Puzey doubled home a run in the first off Kelly Griego, and the Tigers added two more in the second on singles by Missy Kaplan, Kaitlin Crawford and Kaycee Wilcks to make it 3-0.
Valerie Smith, whose three-run homer beat McQueen last week, slugged a two-run homer to extend the lead to 5-0. Doubles by Kayla Dunn, who had three in the game, and Kristy Olsen plus singles by Crawford, Valerie Smith and Wilcks keyed a four-run inning to make it 9-0.
Dunn went 3-for-4, all doubles, and drove in two runs. Wilcks and Val Smith also had three hits, and Olsen and Crawford added two each. Kaplan, Stevie Smith and Puzey contributed one apiece. Val Smith finished with three RBI, and Dunn and Olsen added two each.
McQueen took a 2-0 lead, scoring single runs in the first and third off Puzey, who allowed four hits in that span.
Douglas roared back to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning when Wilcks singled, Olsen reached on a fielder's choice and Puzey pounded a homer off Jessica Haight.
McQueen tied the game in the fourth, knocking Puzey from the box. Heather Bochenski singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Rachel Wilson's double. Kizer came on and fanned Katie Eshelman to end the inning.
Kizer allowed three hits over the next three innings, and she got all the offensive support she needed in the fifth when Dunn slugged a line-drive homer to center to give the Tigers a 6-3 lead. The Tigers went on to score one more in the sixth on Olsen's second sacrifice fly of the game.
Crawford, Wilcks, Olsen and Puzey all had two hits. Dunn, Val Smith and Jessie Kizer added one each.
MCQUEEN 4, CENTENNIAL 0
The Lancers' Eshelman outdueled Centennial ace Shannon Crisp to lead the Lancers to an opening-round win.
Eshelman tossed a four-hit shutout and fanned five. Crisp threw a nice game as well, fanning nine and walking a batter.
The game was scoreless for five innings, but McQueen scored four runs in the top of the sixth thanks to two errors, a single by Sarah Hunt and a triple by Laura Scarselli.
Crisp led Centennial with two hits.
CENTENNIAL 6, SILVERADO 3
Kylie Kearns belted a walk-off grand slam with no outs in the seventh to keep Centennial alive in the tournament.
Trailing 3-2, Centennial loaded the bases on singles by Jessika Wetzler and Tory Healy plus an error on Crisp's groundball. Kearns then powered a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left-centerfield for the win.
Silverado had led most of the way, scoring twice in the first on two wild pitched by Crisp and once in the second thanks to an error.
Healy led Centennial with a 4-for-4 effort.
Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281.
