With limited field time and several players just coming out of basketball season, Fernley softball coach Diane Chapin said she was pleased with how quickly her team is beginning to settle in after a 17–0 win over Sparks last Friday, following a 3–2 start at a tournament in Needles, California the previous weekend.
The Vaqueros plated 13 runs in the second inning and the game was called after three innings because of the 15-run rule.
The tournament games in Needles were played with time limits, and the Vaqueros fell behind early in both of their losses.
“The two games we lost, we gave up big first innings, and in timed games you sometimes run out of time before you have the chance to come back,” Chapin said. “But we’re getting better every day, and I thought over the weekend we got better every game.”
Chapin used Friday’s game to push her team situationally and to get playing time for athletes still fighting for roles.
“I was forcing some runners just to make them hit the ball and not let them get away with mistakes,” she said. “Hopefully we’re giving some people who don’t get opportunities a chance now and seeing who’s going to step up when we need them later on.”
Fernley also showed its pitching depth. The Vaqueros now have four pitchers available, including freshman McKenzie Noseep-Fox, who threw Friday and didn’t allow a batter to reach base.
“She hadn’t pitched much last week because she hadn’t been in the workouts as much, so I didn’t know if she was ready,” Chapin said. “We gave her that opportunity today. We do have four different arms, and they’re all different, with one lefty in there.”
The Vaqueros entered the season with minimal outdoor practice time because of weather. Six players were still competing in the state basketball tournament, leaving the team with only two full practices before opening weekend.
“That’s the nice thing about going down south early, getting on the dirt,” Chapin said. “That’s why we do it.”
Fernley returns to action this week hosting Truckee at 1 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at South Tahoe starting at noon Saturday.
Chapin said she expects the Northern 3A East to be competitive again.
“Elko still has their senior pitcher, Lowry has good pitching, and Dayton still has their pitcher, now a senior too,” she said. “The East side should still be good competition.”
As for her own team, Chapin believes the pieces are in place.
“I think we’ve filled in the spots from the ones who graduated,” she said. “We should do well if people are playing like they can.”
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