Softball: Lady Tigers clinch Sierra League title

The mood after the Douglas softball team's 9-3 win over Fallon Thursday afternoon was more akin to that after a preseason scrimmage.

In fact, unless they'd been informed before hand, no one would have known the Lady Tigers had just clinched their second consecutive Sierra League title - the first time Douglas has accomplished such a feat since the Sierra and High Desert Leagues were established.

"We definitely want to win two more," Douglas coach Andy Mitchell said, referring to Saturday's doubleheader at Fallon. "We want to stay up and finish strong."

Thursday's win assured the Tigers of at least a tie in the standings with second-place Damonte Ranch, although Douglas owns the tiebreaker by virtue of the series win over Damonte earlier this year.

"This isn't the goal," Mitchell said. "We don't want to be co-champions or win on a tiebreaker, The goal is to win the league on our own and then move on to next week. That's why the mood was a little subdued today.

Sophomore pitcher Chelsea Fent opened the game by loading the bases on the first three batters she faced with two hit batsmen and a single.

She got out of the jam on a fielder's choice to home plate and a pair of strikeouts, though, and essentially cruised from there.

She struck out 10 and walked none in a complete-game effort while scattering five hits. She did run into a little trouble in a three-run third run that included a two-run home run from Jenny Rechel.

Fent got plenty of help from the Tigers' stellar defense, including a number of diving stops from middle infielders Brenna White and Emily Weaver.

"The team takes a lot of pride in their defense," Mitchell said. "They've been working extremely hard on defense. They dive for the ball, they work really, really hard and they make those plays look easy."

Offensively, Douglas had a number of standout performances, including a 2-for-4, three-RBI clip from senior catcher Katrina Morgan. Morgan also had a pair of doubles.

Morgan Blomstrom homered and drove in two runs. Maddy Gilbert went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Weaver went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

Naomi Roberts, Nikki Chavez and Amanda Caras each collected one hit as well.