Greenwave to Host Regional Tournament Series This Weekend

Two wins in Fernley last week earned the Churchill County High School softball team the home-field advantage for the first round of the 3A Northern Region Tournament.

The Greenwave beat Fernley 19-18 on April 21, then came from behind to win the second game of the April 22 doubleheader, 21-14, in eight innings. That earned the Greenwave the No. 3 seed from the Northern 3A East Division with a 7-8 record.

As the No. 3 seed, the Greenwave will host a best-of-3 series against Debbie Smith Academy, the No. 4 seed from the West Division. The first two games of the series will be played on Friday, starting at 1 p.m., with the third game, if necessary, at 10 a.m. Saturday. 

Fallon coach Kasey Chu said the performance at Fernley was good for her team’s confidence. The Greenwave had been outscored 41-15 while being swept by Lowry in a three-game series the previous weekend.

“We had a rough weekend last weekend, so it’s good for the girls to go into the playoff series with this,” Chu said.

In the first game of the Fernley series, four different players hit home runs as the Greenwave overcame a pair of 7-run deficits. Trailing 9-2, the Greenwave scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning, capped by a 3-run homer by Kanani Mauga to get within 9-6.

A grand slam by Fernley’s Janessa Robinson in the bottom of the fourth made it 13-6, but Jocelyn Pimentel, Audrey Fruzza, and Kalaya Downs each homered in the top of the sixth as Fallon took a 16-13 lead with a 10-run rally. Fallon scored three more runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 19-14 lead, but Fernley’s rally in the bottom of the seventh came up a run short, in part because Mauga threw out a runner at home plate.

Fernley won the first game of the next day’s doubleheader 18-6, doing most of its damage with six runs in the first inning and nine in the fourth.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Fallon again came back from a 7-run deficit. Fernley led 10-3 after four innings, but Fallon scored once in the top of the fifth, then exploded for nine runs in the sixth inning. Fruzza, Downs, and Peyton Prinz had key hits to help start the rally, and the Greenwave took advantage of two Fernley errors and a bases-loaded walk to finish it with a 13-10 lead.

Fallon took a 14-10 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Fernley scored four times to tie the game at 14-14 and force extra innings.

Fruzza hit a 2-run home run in the top of the eighth to regain the lead for Fallon, and Prinz punctuated the 7-run rally with a 3-run homer.

“We’ve had quite a few injuries throughout the season, so we’ve had some JV kids really step up,” Chu said. “Peyton has really stepped up and helped us out a lot.”

The winner of this week’s best-of-3 series moves into the 8-team double-elimination bracket May 7-9 in Dayton, where they will face West. No. 2 Truckee at 8 a.m. on May 7. 

A year ago, Fernley turned the East No. 3 seed into a state championship run. Fallon is now aiming to follow the same route.

“You never know, that’s what happened last year,” Chu said. “Anyone can win a softball game on any day. It depends on who shows up.”