For the third straight season, Fernley Little League's juniors softball team captured the District 3 championship in the 14-under division.
Fernley defeated Elko in the first two games of a best-of-three series June 21 and 22 to claim the district title and advance to the state tournament, scheduled for July 9-12 in Battle Mountain. Fernley will be joined by District 1 champion Sparks Centennial and District 2 champion Moapa Valley.
Fernley's 12U softball team also reached the District 3 championship game but fell to Walker River. The league's 10U team finished 1-5 in tournament play.
Several players on the juniors team returned from last year's squad that won both the District 3 and state championships before finishing fourth at the West Regional Tournament in Tucson, Arizona. Others were members of last season's 12U district championship team.
"I think the best part is that they've all been playing together within Fernley, against each other in league and on our Blaze travel team and together in All-Stars, since they were 10," manager Sarah Parale said. "They know each other, they know how each other works. They play really well together."
Fernley opened the championship series with a 4-1 victory over Elko.
Nevaeh Leija struck out 11 batters while allowing five hits and one run to earn the win.
Elko took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, but Leija scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game. Jaelyn Smythe later scored on a passed ball to give Fernley a 2-1 lead. Fernley added one run in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to secure the victory.
In Game 2 on June 22, Kendall Sanchez drove in three runs and Leija added two RBIs to lead the offense. Lilly Nicholas and Sanchez combined to limit Elko to one run on four hits while recording 12 strikeouts in a 13-1 victory that clinched the district championship.
Fernley's 12U team went 5-1 in pool play, defeating Battle Mountain 18-0, Hawthorne 19-2, Ruby Mountain 4-2, Elko 9-2 and Silverada 22-0. Their lone loss came against Walker River, 10-8.
The performance earned Fernley the No. 2 seed in bracket play, where it defeated Silverada 16-1 and Ruby Mountain 12-2 before falling to Walker River 12-4 in the championship game. Fernley led 4-3 after three innings before Walker River rallied with two runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth.
Fernley's 10U team opened tournament play with a 15-7 win over Walker River before dropping games to Elko (21-6), White Pine (17-12), Battle Mountain (11-1) and Mucc Mountain (16-7). Fernley was eliminated with a 14-4 loss to Elko in bracket play.
Fernley 12U roster: Hayven Robb, Rayven Johnson, Emma Geddes, Amelia Huerta, Paisley Gililland, Aria Parker, McKylee Minoletti, Mari Tarantino, Teagan Boyer, Jayda Welles, Lyric Thrower and Olivia Acree.
Fernley 10U roster: Allison Rain-Dini, Aubri Dunn, Abigail Kramer, Livia O'Neill, Nova Quintero, Ava Quintero, Raelee Bourgette, Kierra Stephens, Rylie Stephens, Paislee Cassinelli, Sheryln Noseep-Potts and Meliyah Mitchell.
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