DIVISION I-A SOFTBALL: Crusaders comeback bid falls short in loss to Churchill County

The hole simply was too deep for Faith Lutheran’s softball team on Friday.

But it didn’t stop the Crusaders from trying to climb out of it.

Trailing Churchill County 7-2 after two innings in the losers’ bracket final of the Division I-A state softball tournament at UNLV’s Eller Media Stadium, Faith Lutheran rallied to within two runs and brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning before falling to the Greenwave, 7-5.

Churchill County (26-12), which lost to Fernley (31-8) in the winners’ bracket final earlier in the day will meet Fernley again at 9 a.m. today for the state title.

“They come back all the time,” said Faith Lutheran coach John Chilman. “The mental toughness of this team is something I haven’t experienced in 20 years of coaching. It’s just awesome.”

After grabbing a 2-0 lead on a run-scoring groundout by Mandy Young and an RBI single by Alex Wright in the top of the first inning, Faith Lutheran committed a costly error in the bottom of the inning, leading to four unearned runs.

“We can’t make that many mistakes at the state tournament and hope to win,” Chilman said. “Nine errors over two days just killed us. We just didn’t make the plays.”

Churchill County tacked on three more runs in the second and was poised to run away and hide, but senior pitcher Stacie Graham allowed just one hit in her final four innings to give Faith Lutheran a chance to battle back.

A wild pitch and a subsequent throwing error by the catcher plated two runs in the fourth, and Claire Peck’s RBI single brought home another in the fifth.

The Crusaders, though, couldn’t get over the hump.

Lauryn Lipe was 3-for-4 with a double, and Lili Bonora went 2-for-4 for Faith Lutheran.

“We’re on the way up,” Chilman said. “I fully expect to be back in the state tournament next year. We have a bright future down the road, a lot to look forward to.”