Wildcats stun Rancho, nab Northeast’s No. 1 seed

Las Vegas High’s Brady Page made plenty of mistakes as he ran the bases in the fifth inning Thursday.

But there was nothing wrong with the swing that started the play.

Page drove a two-run double into the gap in left-center field to break a 3-3 tie and help the Wildcats (21-5, 13-1 Northeast League) to a 6-3 victory over third-ranked Rancho at the College of Southern Nevada.

“That was a very timely hit,” Las Vegas coach Sam Thomas said. “That was big because it was anybody’s game.”

The win gave the sixth-ranked Wildcats the Northeast League’s No. 1 seed for next week’s Sunrise Region playoffs. Rancho (27-4, 13-1) gets the league’s No. 2 seed.

Las Vegas started the fifth with a single by Dustin Cash and a double by Tanner Chauncey before Page doubled into the gap.

The two runs scored easily, but Page’s trip around the bases was anything but routine.

He missed first and had to retrace his steps to tag the bag. He then rounded second hard as if to go for three, but Rancho had already gotten the ball back to the cutoff man. The throw to second was wide, though, and Page came all the way around to score to make it 6-3.

“We definitely have done a lot of what not to do on the bases this year,” Thomas said. “I might read a book over the summer on how to teach baserunning.”

With the playoffs starting Monday, Thomas chose to start Dillon Dove rather than ace Erick Fedde.
Dove allowed three runs in three innings before giving way to Jesse Acosta, who threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to get the win.

Fedde, who has signed with UNLV, closed out the game.

He entered with two on and one out in the sixth and got a popup and a strikeout to end the inning.

Fedde yielded a leadoff single in the seventh but got a double-play ball and a strikeout to end the game.

“His last couple outings have been a little shaky trying to overthrow things, and he came in and he pitched tonight,” Thomas said. “He wasn’t a thrower, he pitched, and that was good to see.”

Fedde also had two hits, and Acosta and Dove each drove in a run.

Rancho’s Zak Qualls was 3-for-4 with two solo homers and also pitched two hitless innings with five strikeouts.

Thomas said he hopes the team can use the win over Rancho to build momentum for the playoffs.

“It's a big win, but it's minute compared to the playoffs,” Thomas said. “Rancho and us were both going, and if we're fortunate enough to meet up with them, it's going to be another battle.”