The Pahrump Valley Little League Junior All-Stars, known as the Coco Locos, opened Division 4 All-Star Tournament play with an impressive response Thursday, June 18, earning a 12-2 victory over Lone Mountain Little League at Children’s Memorial Park.
For manager Scott Brown, the performance meant more than just a win.
According to Brown, the team entered the tournament opener coming off what coaches considered a difficult practice the night before.
“We had a pretty rough practice before the game,” Brown said. “We had to talk with them at the end of practice. Each coach had something to say.”
Brown challenged the players directly.
“I said, ‘Prove me wrong today,’ and these boys came out.”
The response was immediate.
Pahrump took the field first and received a strong opening inning from starting pitcher Antony Aguilar. The Coco Locos recorded the first out on a ground ball handled cleanly by shortstop Stetson Brown, who made the throw across to Sawyer Tillery at first.
Aguilar then took over, recording consecutive strikeouts to finish a scoreless opening frame and set the tone defensively.
The offense quickly backed him up.
Justin Forsythe reached after being hit by a pitch and Bentley Shannon worked a walk. With runners in position, Everett Abelar delivered the game’s first big swing, driving a two-run double to left field to give Pahrump an early lead.
The Coco Locos kept applying pressure.
Stetson Brown reached after being hit by a pitch before Abelar later scored during aggressive baserunning. Kasen Smith followed with an RBI single to score Brown and extend the advantage.
Moments later, Zayne Tuck added another RBI single to continue the rally.
Pahrump’s first inning continued to snowball as Trustin Wagnon reached after being hit by a pitch, Tillery added another baserunner and Chris Mize drew a walk. Caleb Morales delivered an RBI single and additional pressure on the bases helped the Coco Locos stretch the lead to 8-0 before the inning ended.
Brown said the team executed the approach they had emphasized.
“They started hot, got out of the inning,” Brown said. “Our pitcher Anthony Aguilar pitched a great game. He had a great defense behind him.”
Lone Mountain broke through in the second inning after opening with a hit and eventually scoring once, but Pahrump’s defense answered.
Aguilar added another strikeout while the Coco Locos turned in one of several sharp defensive sequences. Tillery, Kasen Smith and Stetson Brown combined to erase a runner during a rundown and help close the inning.
Brown pointed to moments like that as key to the overall effort.
“We had some good pickles out there,” he said. “They made some throw downs, pick offs. Overall, they played really well.”
Pahrump answered immediately in the bottom half.
After the first two batters were retired, Abelar reached with his second hit of the night and Brown again reached safely. Smith worked a walk before the Coco Locos created more offense with aggressive movement on the bases as Abelar and Brown each crossed the plate to extend the lead to 10-1.
Aguilar continued to settle in during the third.
After allowing a leadoff baserunner, he regrouped to record another strikeout. Tuck then cut down a runner attempting to steal with Smith applying the tag, and Aguilar finished the inning himself by fielding a ground ball and making the play to Tillery.
Brown revealed afterward that the original plan was not necessarily for Aguilar to throw the entire game.
“That was not the whole game,” Brown said. “We wanted to start him for sure and see how the game went.”
Instead, Aguilar kept earning more innings.
“He did so well throughout the night. He regained his composure,” Brown said. “I had to do a little mound visit one time, kind of refocus, reset, and he finished it really well.”
The Coco Locos added two more runs in the third.
Wagnon opened the inning with a single and Tillery followed with one of his own before both advanced into scoring position. Mize brought home a run with a productive groundout and another score later crossed to push the lead to 12-1.
Lone Mountain added one final run in the fourth, but Pahrump responded with another defensive highlight as Brown, Tillery and Bentley Shannon combined to turn an inning-ending double play.
Aguilar returned for the fifth and closed the game with continued support behind him. Tuck recorded another runner caught stealing and Shannon secured the final out at third to complete the win.
Offensively, Abelar led the Coco Locos with two hits, including a double, while driving in two runs and scoring twice. Smith added a hit and RBI, Tuck finished with a hit and RBI, and Wagnon and Tillery each contributed hits while crossing the plate twice.
Brown closed by reminding the team to build on the performance moving forward.
“There was a few things that happened, but I told the boys, let’s learn from what happened, move on, and let’s come out tomorrow and hit it again.”
After one tournament game, the Coco Locos did exactly what their coaches asked — they responded.
