Fernley softball one win away from league championship

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

With three games left to play this weekend to finish the Northern 3A schedule, the Fernley High sChool softball team needs one win to clinch the regular season championship and the No. 1 seed for next week’s Northern 3A Regional Tournament in Fallon.

The Vaqueros lead the league with a 20-1 record heading into this weekend’s three-game series against Elko. The teams will play a single game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m. The Vaqueros own a two-game lead on second-place Lowry, which is 18-3 and finishes the season with a three-game series at Dayton.

As the No. 1 seed, the Vaqueros would get a first-round bye for the regional tournament, and would play the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup, which will be either Fallon or Dayton against Elko.

The Vaqueros are coming off a sweep of South Tahoe last weekend, winning the three games 19-1, 15-0 and 23-8.

Coach Diane Chapin said the Vaqueros got plenty of playing time for everyone available to play, allowed each of their five pitchers to get some innings, and worked on small ball and situational hitting.

“I go into those type of games trying to make it productive for both sides,” Chapin said.

Aside from wrapping up the No. 1 seed, Chapin said she wants to fine-tune some things this weekend against Elko. The Indians bring a potent offense, ranking fourth in the league with 210 runs in 21 games. “I have noticed they put a lot of people on base and they’ve put up some numbers on teams,” Chapin said.