The Pahrump Aztecs Silver 17U club baseball team packed plenty of action into a three-game stretch, opening with a road doubleheader against Coronado Varsity Cougars on Friday, June 12 before returning home to Pahrump on Monday, June 15 to close the run with a strong performance against Bruins 17U. Across all three games, the Aztecs continued showing offensive production, defensive flashes and the ability to answer momentum swings throughout each contest.
In the opener at Coronado, the Aztecs took the field as the visiting team and looked to settle in early behind starter Sammy Mendoza.
Pahrump opened the game with Ryan Hamlin recording the team’s first hit and creating pressure on the bases with a steal, but Coronado answered in the bottom half of the inning. The Cougars put together several early base runners and converted opportunities into three first-inning runs despite several well-tracked balls in the outfield by Levi Denton and Urijah Torres.
The second inning featured one of the Aztecs’ first defensive highlights as Ryan Hamlin, Anthony Montanez and Keith Lawrence combined to turn a smooth double play to limit damage after Coronado threatened again. Mendoza continued battling through traffic on the mound and kept the game moving.
Offensively, the Aztecs continued searching for momentum through the middle innings. Tristan Torres delivered a line-drive single in the second, Montanez added another base hit in the third and Hamlin continued creating opportunities with disciplined at-bats and aggressive baserunning.
Coronado stretched the lead in the fourth, but Pahrump’s response in the fifth inning became one of the biggest offensive surges of the day.
Levi Denton sparked the rally with a triple to right before Kevin Farrell immediately brought him home with an RBI single. Urijah Torres followed with another hit and Montanez worked a walk to load pressure onto the defense. The inning kept rolling as Mendoza reached and the Aztecs capitalized on defensive miscues to cut into the deficit. Hamlin reached and scored, Lawrence added another hit and Torres delivered a key RBI single. Denton returned later in the inning with another run-producing hit as Pahrump erupted for seven runs and turned what had been a one-sided game into a one-run contest.
Logan Nunez took over pitching duties in the fifth and provided a clean inning that included a strikeout and defensive support behind him.
Pahrump continued fighting late. Mendoza opened the sixth with another hit and Hamlin reached again before Denton and Daniel Aguilar added late offense in the seventh. Denton collected another hit and Aguilar drove in a run with a double as the Aztecs kept pressure on until the final out in a 12-8 loss.
Denton finished with a standout offensive game, collecting multiple extra-base hits while helping lead the comeback effort, while Hamlin, Mendoza, Torres and Lawrence all contributed key moments throughout the lineup.
Game two shifted quickly as the Aztecs returned to the field as the home team.
Ryan Hamlin started on the mound and helped settle things down after Coronado pushed across an early run. In the bottom of the first, Pahrump answered immediately. Hamlin worked a walk, Paul Walker singled and Daniel Aguilar delivered an RBI hit to even the score.
Hamlin found a rhythm in the second inning, striking out three batters and stranding runners to keep the game tied.
The Aztecs broke through in the third.
Montanez and Mendoza reached to set the table before Walker delivered another hit to load the bases. Aguilar produced contact that brought home the go-ahead run before Tristan Torres followed with a two-run single to center. An additional defensive miscue allowed another run to score and Pahrump suddenly owned a 5-1 advantage.
Keith Lawrence moved onto the mound later in the game and worked through several competitive innings while receiving support behind him. The defense came up with another big double play in the fourth started by Daniel Aguilar.
Pahrump added insurance in the bottom of the fourth after Austin Abuelar walked and Montanez reached. Mendoza worked another free pass before two more runs crossed during a busy sequence around the bases. Walker later added a double to continue his productive day.
Coronado mounted a comeback in the later innings, but the Aztecs continued competing at the plate.
Daniel Aguilar stayed productive offensively and delivered another RBI hit in the sixth while Torres added another single. Walker continued producing extra-base contact as the offense stayed active through the final inning.
Though the Cougars eventually pulled away for the win, the Aztecs generated consistent offense and created multiple rallies throughout the game. Walker and Aguilar helped anchor the lineup while Torres and Mendoza contributed timely production and Hamlin provided a strong opening effort on the mound before Lawrence and others helped finish the game.
Returning home Monday, June 15, the Aztecs regrouped and turned in one of their strongest all-around performances of the stretch with a 7-1 victory over Bruins 17U.
Ben Comperman got the start on the mound and immediately set the tone. He opened the game with a strikeout and worked around an early walk to keep Bruins scoreless in the first. The defense backed him up quickly, with Sammy Mendoza and CJ Nelson combining on an infield play and Comperman adding more strikeouts to end innings.
Pahrump wasted little time generating offense.
Anthony Montanez opened the bottom of the first with a double and later scored after aggressive baserunning and productive contact to give the Aztecs an early lead.
Comperman continued dealing over the next several innings. He stranded runners in the second, recorded another strikeout in the third and received clean defensive support from Cody Fried, Anthony Montanez and CJ Nelson.
The middle innings featured strong situational baseball.
Paul Walker delivered a double in the fourth and later scored after advancing to third and tagging on a fly ball. Ryan Hamlin added productive offense while moving runners, and Comperman helped his own cause with an extra-base hit.
After Bruins tied the game in the fourth, the Aztecs responded with their biggest inning of the day.
Montanez and Nelson worked walks to start the sixth before Walker launched a three-run home run to center to break the game open. Hamlin followed with a single, Mendoza added another hit and Levi Denton delivered an RBI double. Additional aggressive baserunning helped produce another run as Pahrump stretched the lead to 7-1.
Mendoza entered in relief and closed the door efficiently, recording the final outs while the defense finished strong. One of the game’s final highlights came in the seventh when Anthony Montanez and CJ Nelson turned a clean defensive play to secure the final out.
Walker’s home run highlighted the offensive effort, while Comperman delivered a strong performance on the mound and the Aztecs combined timely hitting with clean defensive execution to finish the three-game stretch on a positive note.
