After sweep of Dayton, Fernley softball heads to Susanville Tournament

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

After tightening their grip on first place in the East Division of the Northern 3A, the Fernley High School softball team will spend this weekend in Susanville, Calif., where they are scheduled to face four foes from California and one from Alaska.

The Vaqueros open the tournament at 10 a.m. Friday against Red Bluff, then face Anderson at 2 p.m. and Juneau-Douglas, from Juneau, Alaska at 3:40 p.m. Saturday they wrap up the trip with games against Chico and Wheatland.

The Vaqueros come in with a 15-5 overall record, 13-1 in the Northern 3A. Last weekend, they followed up a 2-1 walk-off win Friday night with a sweep of a doubleheader Saturday, 13-0 and 15-0.

Freshman Hunter Lyle drove in Nadia Velazquez with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of Friday’s game. The Vaqueros had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning, But Dayton tied it up in the top of the fifth.

The Vaqueros managed just three hits, but pitcher Mackenzie Depaoli made sure that was enough, limiting Dayton to one run while striking out 13 in seven innings.

Senior Kacie Harer led the attack in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with four hits, scoring three runs and driving in two. Starr Schennum had three hits and scored three runs, and Braelyn Birkel had two hits and scored three times.

Depaoli struck out six and allowed just two hits.

In the finale, the Vaqueros needed just three innings to score 15 times, with four runs in the first, nine in the second, and two in the third to end the game by the mercy rule.

Harer and Schennum had two hits each as the Vaqueros had 10 total hits and were the recipients of nine walks.

Mackenzie Viehland did the pitching and didn’t allow a hit, with three strikeouts.