The Virgin Valley High baseball team built a seven-run lead in the fourth inning and then held off a Moapa Valley charge for an 8-6 victory on Friday in the 3A Southern Region championship game at Virgin Valley High.
The Pirates scored five runs in the failed comeback on a single by Tyson Staheli in the fifth, a walk by Rylan Evans in the fifth, a sacrifice fly by Tyson Pettingill in the fifth, and a error in the sixth.
Bats blistered as Virgin Valley collected six hits and Moapa Valley tallied four in the high-scoring game.
The Bulldogs opened up scoring in the second inning. Virgin Valley scored a run on an RBY single by Aidan Litzenberger.
Virgin Valley tallied five runs in the fourth inning. Stratton Waite, Bryce Intagliata and Kurt Felix all drove in runs in the frame.
Moapa Valley scored three runs in the fifth inning. Staheli, Evans, and Pettingill powered the big inning with RBIs.
Jared Jensen was the winning pitcher for the Bulldogs. Jensen lasted four innings, allowing one hit on three runs while striking out one and walking one.
Felix and Waite entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Waite recorded the last three outs to earn the save for Virgin Valley.
Aidan Johnson took the loss for Moapa Valley. The righty allowed six hits and eight runs over six innings, striking out four.
Litzenberger, Drake Wakefield, Felix, Mason Montoya, Kyler Sudweeks, and Martin Jordan all had one hit to lead Virgin Valley Varsity Bulldogs.
Both teams will advance to the state tournament May 19-21 in Fernley. Virgin Valley will be the top seed from the Southern Region, while Moapa Valley will be second seed.
The Bulldogs will play at 4 p.m. on May 19, while the Pirates will play at 1 p.m. Their opponents will be determined later today as the 3A Northern Division finals don’t take place until today.