The Pahrump Valley High School baseball team opened Regional Tournament play Thursday, May 7 in Boulder City with a competitive matchup against The Meadows Mustangs, battling through a back-and-forth contest before falling 4-3 in the opening game of the tournament.
Despite the result, the Trojans showed strong defense, timely hitting and another solid outing on the mound from Sammy Mendoza, who worked all six innings for Pahrump Valley while striking out five batters and allowing just five hits.
Pahrump Valley wasted little time getting on the board in the top of the first inning. Tony Whitney started the game with a line-drive single to right field before Anthony Montanez followed with another base hit to put runners at the corners. CJ Nelson then grounded out to first base, allowing Whitney to score the game’s first run. After Dominic Wilson moved Montanez to third, Kayne Horibe delivered an RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 2-0.
Mendoza responded with a strong opening inning on the mound, retiring the Mustangs in order. He struck out one batter looking while the defense backed him up with clean play behind him, including a flyout handled by Vinny Whitney in left and a catch by Nelson at first base.
The Trojans continued to pressure The Meadows in the second inning. Vinny Whitney and Cody Fried opened the frame with back-to-back singles before Ben Cimperman moved both runners into scoring position with a groundout. Anthony Montanez later reached on an error that brought Vinny Whitney home for a 3-0 advantage.
Pahrump Valley threatened to break the game open several times early, repeatedly creating traffic on the bases through the first three innings. The Trojans collected seven hits during that stretch and consistently forced The Meadows to work under pressure, but were unable to fully capitalize in key moments.
“Phenomenal start,” Head Coach Drew Middleton said. “Bats came out with seven hits the first three innings. Scoring three runs, which felt like we should have scored eight. Got a ton of traffic on the bases, cashed in a few runs but just couldn’t blow it open when we had all the momentum.”
Middleton noted the missed opportunities became a major turning point later in the contest.
“Had bases loaded in the second inning, and second and third in the third inning with chances to blow open the game, give the knockout punch,” Middleton said. “We failed to do so.”
Defensively, Pahrump Valley continued to control the game through the middle innings. Mendoza struck out another batter looking in the second while Horibe tracked down a line drive in center field and Vinny Whitney recorded a foul-territory catch in left to end the inning.
The Trojans threatened again in the third after Horibe reached on an error and Vinny Whitney drew a walk, but The Meadows escaped the inning with consecutive strikeouts.
Mendoza continued to settle in during the bottom half of the third, striking out Mox Hoy looking before forcing a groundout and popout to keep the Mustangs scoreless through three innings.
The momentum shifted in the fourth inning as The Meadows strung together several key hits. After an RBI double cut the lead to 3-1, the Mustangs capitalized on a wild pitch before a two-run home run gave them their first lead of the game at 4-3.
Middleton felt the inning could have ended differently just before the decisive home run.
“We had a pick at first where we thought we had the guy out to get out of the inning,” Middleton said. “The call didn’t go our way, then a two-run bomb a few pitches later was the difference in the game.”
Even after the difficult inning, Mendoza regrouped to finish the frame with another strikeout and kept the Trojans within striking distance the rest of the way.
“Sammy was once again lights out,” Middleton said. “Throwing the whole game, only allowing five hits. Sadly they came in bunches all in one inning that led to Meadows’ four runs.”
Pahrump Valley continued to battle offensively over the final three innings. Dominic Wilson singled in the fifth while Cimperman added another hit in the sixth. The Trojans also received singles from Nelson and Dominic Chiancone throughout the game as nine different hits were spread throughout the lineup.
Defensively, the Trojans remained sharp late in the contest. Tony Whitney made several clean plays at shortstop, Nelson handled multiple outs at first base, and the team finished the game without committing an error.
Mendoza closed out the sixth inning with three consecutive outs, including a pair of popups and a lineout to Whitney at shortstop to keep the deficit at one run entering the seventh.
In the final inning, Nelson singled to give the Trojans life, but The Meadows turned a double play to end the threat and hold on for the 4-3 win.
Pahrump Valley finished the game with nine hits, including multi-hit performances from Tony Whitney and Anthony Montanez. Horibe and Nelson each recorded an RBI, while Vinny Whitney reached base twice and scored a run.
Middleton said the loss was frustrating because of how well the Trojans played for much of the game, but he also emphasized the need to capitalize on opportunities in postseason baseball.
“We outplayed Meadows for six innings,” Middleton said. “Sadly they had a slight opening and delivered the knockout punch with a two-out two-run home run. We had our chances to do that and couldn’t cash in. Not an excuse. Need to find a way to win.”
