With three wins in Dayton last weekend, the Fernley High School softball team clinched the second seed from the East Division for the Northern 3A Regional Tournament. As one of the top two seeds from the East Division, the Vaqueros get a bye into the six-team double elimination bracket, which starts May 7 in Dayton. The third and fourth seeds from the East and West will play best-of-3 series on May 1-2, with the two winners advancing to the double elimination bracket.
The Vaqueros beat Dayton 14-1 last Friday and swept Saturday’s doubleheader with 8-3 and 5-2 wins.
Fernley scored eight runs in the top of the fourth inning on Friday, after coming up empty the first time through the lineup against Dayton pitcher LaSade Conti.
A grand slam by Grace Chapin was the biggest blow, making it 5-0, and a double by Ximena Rodriguez drove in two more.
Fernley put the game away with five more runs in the sixth inning.
In Saturday’s first game, the Vaqueros trailed 2-0 until Emma Masters tied things up with a two-run double in the top of the fourth. Chapin homered to lead off the fifth, and Rodriguez hit a two-run shot later in the inning that put Fernley ahead 7-2.
In the second game Saturday, Leija and Masters both had RBI-doubles to stake the Vaqueros to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Pitcher Janessa Robinson made it 4-0 with a single that scored two runs in the fourth inning, giving her a cushion she protected by allowing just one hit and no walks.
“Our pitchers threw great again and then our defense played great,” coach Diane Chapin said. “I think we had a double play in each game.”
While Dayton’s record doesn’t reflect it, Conti is one of the best pitchers and hardest throwers in the Northern 3A. Chapin said having some success against Conti was a boost to the confidence for some players, particularly younger ones who hadn’t faced that type of pitching before.
“I think it helps them down the line knowing what they need to do to make the adjustments,” Chapin said. “Everybody had at least one or two successful at-bats against her.”
The Vaqueros were scheduled to finish league play this week with a three-game series against Fallon on Tuesday and Wednesday, before heading to Susanville for a tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Finishing the season in Susanville has become a tradition for the Vaqueros, and Chapin believes it helps her team prepare for the playoffs by facing good teams with tough pitchers.
“Having eight games in five days this week gets us ready for a run in the postseason,” she said. “We’ll face good teams with some good pitching and fine tune some stuff.”
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