The Lady Wave's Izzy Thomas bunts while the Grizzlies' catcher Vivian Quiroz-Montano looks on.
SPARKS – Fallon’s opening game in the state tournament began with a lesson in infield backup in a 9-2 loss to the Spring Valley Grizzlies, the No. 1 seed from Southern Nevada.
Fortunately for the Lady Wave double elimination gives Fallon a second chance Friday at 3 p.m. at the Shadow Mountain Sports Complex in Sparks to face Boulder City, the winner of Game 2 against the Fernley Vaqueros.
“It doesn’t matter who comes in tomorrow,” Fallon coach Tammie Shemenski said. “Expected or unexpected we just need to bring our A game every game.”
Despite the loss, the Lady Wave began the game ahead, its first run in the top of the first by Kalyn Huckaby, 1-0.
Fallon’s Kayla Buckmaster opened on the mound and pitched a solid firs three innings while backed up by the well-oiled machine which was Fallon’s infield.
Spring Valley’s Teegan Teal had the first chance to score after a double past third base turned into a triple before Fallon third basemen Faith Cornmesser threw her out at home to end the inning.
The Wave scored its second and unknowingly last run in the top of the second inning with the Grizzlies’ pitcher Michaela Hood on the mound.
Fallon’s Paige Thorn opened at the plate with a triple resulted from an error at second base to get into scoring position. The Lady Wave’s Izzy Thomas knocked a single right over Grizzlies’ third base Madiscon Macove’s head, an RBI which scored Thorn for a 2-0 lead.
The Grizzlies began to come back in the bottom of the third once the team got deeper into its batting order. Spring Valley’s Mariah Ward was brought in by an RBI by Hood and the Grizzlies trailed behind at 2-1.
Nobody on either side could’ve foreseen the tide turning in the bottom of the fourth when the Grizzlies scored six runs in one inning off of four Wave errors in the infield.
Macove was scored by an RBI by Spring Valley’s Marlena Adras after the Grizzlies loaded the bases, tying the score at 2-2.
Buckmaster began to struggle throwing high to the middle and walked Ward with the bases loaded to score Spring Valley’s Madison Hood which let the Grizzlies take the lead, 3-2.
Madison Hood came back up to bat and knocked two run RBI to score Macove and Adras, followed by another two run RBI by the Grizzlies’ Stephanie Huff before the inning ended.
“We didn’t have our pitcher’s back,” Shemenski said on the sudden 7-2 lead. “We made four errors in the infield, simple as that. The team who makes the least amount of errors always wins and that wasn’t us today.”
Fallon’s next innings at bat were unsuccessful with several grounders bouncing right into the Grizzlies’ mits and Fallon’s regular home run hitters such as Thorn and Megan McCormick fighting the wind.
Spring Valley finished scoring in the sixth inning after a two-run RBI by Michaela Hood scored Teal and Ward for the 9-2 lead.
In its last at bat in the top of the seventh Fallon senior Nicole Marriezcurrena struck out swinging at a dirt ball, followed by Buckmaster and McCormick who both struck out looking and ended the game.
