Lady Dog Taylor Barnum strokes a homerun during the Desert Winds Classic. Barnum had three homeruns and 11 runs batted in to lead the Dogs attack.
Photo by Lou Martin
Virgin Valley High School began the 2018 softball preseason with two straight wins in their Desert Winds Classic before dropping their next two games. The Dogs defeated Lincoln County, 6-1, in a tournament warm up Thursday night and followed with a Friday morning, 14-8, defeat of Wells in their tourney opener.
The win propelled the Dawgs into a semi-final matchup Friday afternoon with perennial tourney winner St. Thomas Aquinas (California). The Falcons shut down the Bulldogs easily 16-0 moving the Dogs into a third-place game Saturday morning against Elko. The Indians defeated the Lady Dogs 9-5.
Bulldog first baseman Taylor Barnum got the Dogs on the scoreboard early in their win over Lincoln County with a three-run homer in the first inning scoring Kari Wakefield and Calee Clem. The Dogs added a run in the third inning and two more in the fourth. The Dogs gave up one run in the fifth making the final score 6-1. Savannah Price went all the way, striking out 10 batters. Barnum and Clem had two hits for the Dogs and Barnum had 4 RBI.
In Friday morning’s win over Wells, Wakefield and Clem singled and were brought in on a single by Barnum to give the Dawgs an early 2-0 lead after one half inning of play. The lead was short-lived as the Leopards scored five runs on only two hits in the bottom of the first to take a 5-2 lead after one.
The Wells squad added three runs on one hit in the bottom of the second inning to lead 8-2 after two innings of play. Miscues by the Dogs again were their bane. Wakefield got the Dawgs rolling in the top of the third with a walk, Clem and Price followed with singles, Barnum walked bringing in one run, Kaysha Heath singled in two runs, Karyme DeSantago cleared the bases with a double before Barnum hit her second home run of the tourney bringing in three more Dog runs making the final score 14-8 in favor of the Bulldogs. Price, Wakefield and Barnum led the Dogs with two hits each. Barnum had another 4 RBI game. Price got her second win of the season.
Friday afternoon’s game against Aquinas was a mismatch as the Falcons shut out the Dogs 16-0. The Dogs managed only one hit, pitcher Calee Clem, against the strong California squad.
The Lady Dogs finished the tourney Saturday morning losing to the Elko Indians 9-5. The Dogs struck early on Barnum’s third home run of the tournament after a Wakefield leadoff single gave the Dogs a 2-0 lead. The Indians bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the first inning to lead 4-2. The Indians added one run in the second and four in the third evening to take a comfortable 9-2 lead. The Dogs rallied late but could not finish as they fell by a score 9-5.
Clem and Barnum had two hits with Barnum driving in three runs for the Dogs. The Bulldogs next home games were on Monday, March 12, against Indian Springs and Wednesday, March 14, hosting Cheyenne.
