After a tough outing earlier in the week, the Pahrump Valley High School baseball team returned to the field Wednesday, April 15, determined to respond—and did just that. Behind a complete game performance from Sammy Mendoza and a balanced offensive attack, the Trojans earned a 7-1 win on the road over Boulder City to split the series.
Pahrump Valley set the tone early, even without pushing across a run in the first inning. Anthony Montanez picked up a single to right field, but the Eagles worked out of the inning. On the defensive side, the Trojans came out sharp. Montanez handled a ground ball at third for the first out, and strong play in the outfield from Cody Fried and Kayne Horibe helped retire the side cleanly.
The Trojans broke through in the second inning. Horibe led off with a line-drive single, followed by another base hit from Vinny Whitney to put two on. After a strikeout, Ben Cimperman delivered with a clutch single to right, scoring Horibe and giving Pahrump Valley a 1-0 lead. The Trojans continued to apply pressure with another hit from Tony Whitney, finishing the inning with multiple baserunners and early momentum.
Mendoza took control on the mound in the bottom half of the inning. Though he issued a pair of walks, the Trojans’ defense backed him up. CJ Nelson made a key play on a pop out at first, and Dominic Chiancone helped turn a fielder’s choice to end the inning with Boulder City unable to capitalize.
The game settled into a defensive rhythm over the next two innings. Mendoza continued to command the strike zone, picking up a strikeout in the third and inducing a key line-drive double play to right field by Fried to erase a baserunner. In the fourth, the Trojans defense remained flawless, with Tony Whitney making a play at shortstop and Montanez again showing consistency at third. Mendoza worked efficiently, keeping Boulder City off the scoreboard.
After a quiet third and fourth inning offensively, the Trojans broke the game open in the fifth. Tony Whitney drew a walk and Montanez followed with a single to put runners on. CJ Nelson came through with an RBI single to extend the lead, and Dominik Wilson added another run-scoring hit to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, Vinny Whitney capped the rally with an RBI single to center, pushing the advantage to 4-0.
The Trojans weren’t done. In the sixth, they continued to build on their lead with disciplined at-bats and timely hitting. Chiancone reached on a walk, and back-to-back singles from Tony Whitney and Montanez loaded the bases. Nelson drew a walk to bring in another run, and Wilson followed with a productive groundout that plated two more, extending the lead to 7-0.
Throughout the game, Mendoza remained steady and in control. He worked through traffic in the fifth, allowing a pair of singles but finishing the inning with a strikeout. In the sixth, he retired the side in order, getting a pop out and two ground balls to keep Boulder City scoreless.
The Eagles managed to push across a run in the seventh after a double and a pair of singles, but the Trojans quickly shut the door. Montanez fielded a ground ball at third and helped turn a game-ending double play, sealing the 7-1 victory.
Pahrump Valley finished with 11 hits on the day, with strong contributions throughout the lineup. Tony Whitney and Montanez each had multiple hits, while Nelson, Wilson, Cimperman and Vinny Whitney all drove in runs. Defensively, the Trojans played a clean game, committing no errors and making every play behind their pitcher.
After the game, Head Coach Drew Middleton emphasized how important the performance was for the team.
“Today though, that was huge. Needed to get the monkey off our back. Needed a win. We got it today,” he said. “Credit to Sammy. Throwing a complete game. He was phenomenal today. He’s been our horse all year, and he came through in a huge way today. Tip of the cap to him.
“Offensive we had 11 hits, and defensively we played a very clean game. No errors, made every play.
“Very good effort by every guy in the dugout today. Now it’s time to stack some quality wins together and go into the playoffs with momentum and feeling good about ourselves.”
With the win, the Trojans not only evened the series but also showed the kind of complete performance they’ll look to carry forward as the season continues.
