Virgin Valley in a comfort zone

RENO -- Virgin Valley is feeling right at home in Northern Nevada.

"We came out a little tight and were a little nervous the first day," Bulldogs coach Boyd Wittwer said Friday after the semifinals of the Class 3A state baseball tournament at UNR. "We made some mistakes and were a little tight. But today we were more relaxed and settled."

The result was a 16-0 five-inning victory over Spring Creek, sending Virgin Valley into the championship game at 10 a.m. today at Western Nevada Community College in Carson City. The Bulldogs again will play Spring Creek, which stayed alive with a 13-3 victory over Dayton in the double-elimination tourney.

Virgin Valley (28-12) will be playing for its first state baseball title since 1998.

"We got all our nerves out of our system the first game," Bulldogs pitcher Brent Horlacher said of Thursday's 3-2 nine-inning victory over Dayton in which Virgin Valley overcame four errors and three runners picked off first base.

On Friday, Virgin Valley jumped to an 8-0 lead after two innings and was up 15-0 after three.

"It sure is a lot less stressful when you're up 8-0 in the second inning," Horlacher said.

Horlacher, who drove in the winning run Thursday with a single, had three hits and four RBIs on Friday. He was just as effective on the mound, tossing a four-hitter with six strikeouts.

"You know, he doesn't throw that hard," Wittwer said. "I don't think he throws harder than 80 miles an hour. But he's just been as consistent as any kid can be all year long."

The Bulldogs hit Spring Creek starter Francisco Ortiz early and often, getting 10 runs and 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings. They finished with 17 hits.

"There haven't been too many games when we've hit the ball that well," Wittwer said. "But we've been hitting the ball better and better over the last month."