Fernley Softball Little League juniors finish 4th in regional tournament

The Fernley Softball Little League junior division team finished in fourth place with a 3–2 record in the West Regional Tournament in Tucson, AZ.

Fernley opened the tournament on June 18 with an 18–0 win over Timberlake Little League (Spirit Lake, ID). Naveah Leija drove in four runs with a single and a double, and pitchers Nahla Burnitt and Cadence Alexander combined on a no-hitter. Burnitt struck out five in three innings, and Alexander finished it off with one strikeout in her inning.

Fernley scored six times in the first inning, keyed by a three-run double from Leija. Jaelyn Smythe had a two-run single in the second inning as Fernley added five more runs to make it 11–0. In the third, Jillian Richards, Rayne Wardleigh, and Smythe all drove in runs during a seven-run rally.

On June 19, Fernley defeated High Plains LL (Falcon, CO) 8–4. Fernley broke the game open in the sixth inning with four runs to go up 6–0. Isabella Martinez singled in two runs to cap the rally. In the seventh inning, Brienna Pope tripled in one run and scored on an error. Lillianna Young and Emma Collins each had two hits for Fernley, and Izzy Martinez drove in two runs.

Fernley suffered its first loss of the tournament on June 20, 6–5 to Quartz Hill LL (Quartz Hill, CA). Fernley led 6–5 until Quartz Hill scored twice in the top of the sixth.

A single by Zoe Gillespie in the second inning drove in Wardleigh and put Fernley ahead 2–1. After trailing 5–2, Fernley scored four times in the third inning on an RBI single by Burnitt, a couple of passed balls, and a groundout by Leija. Young had three of Fernley’s eight hits, including a double.

Fernley bounced back, beating Shoreline LL (Shoreline, WA) 6–5. Fernley scored three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 3–3, then three more in the top of the seventh to take the lead. They held on to win by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the game.

A single by Martinez drove in Gillespie and Alexander with the go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh, after Wardleigh’s single in the sixth inning scored Collins with the tying run. Collins had tripled in two runs to get Fernley within 3–2.

That win moved Fernley into the semifinals, where they were eliminated with a 17–1 loss to Blue Mountain LL (Heppner, OR). Fernley scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, but Blue Mountain answered with six runs in the first, four in the second, and seven in the third.