Boulder City works OT for title

RENO -- Boulder City had waited 11 years to celebrate a state softball championship, so a few extra innings weren't so bad.

Brittany Patt scored on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday to give the Eagles a 3-2 victory over Dayton in the Class 3A state title game at Bishop Manogue High School.

Boulder City (34-2) sent its eight seniors off with the program's first 3A state championship since 1999 and eighth overall.

"It's been a long time, 11 years," Boulder City coach Bruce Reid said. "We talk about each class that's won it and the tradition there. To win one, you become part of that tradition. You become a living legend of the high school."

Patt's two-out single began the 10th-inning surge. She advanced to third on a double by Alison Rants before sliding into home for the win on the passed ball.

"The girls were making fun of me because I never slide, so they pummeled me," said Patt, a senior center fielder. "They were, like, 'You slid!' "

The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but the Dust Devils (17-14) answered with runs in the fourth and sixth to tie the game.

With occasional snow flurries falling, Boulder City played errorless defense.

It was the opposite of last season, when the Eagles committed seven errors in a 9-1 loss to Fernley in the state final. Boulder City needed only a doubleheader split to capture last year's crown.

Dayton would have needed to beat Boulder City twice to win the championship, and the Eagles were determined to avoid repeating the painful memory.

"Last year, the second game got us down a bit," sophomore pitcher Karlee Koopman said. "It was important to get this right away."

Koopman gave up seven hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. She was the winning pitcher in all three of the Eagles' state tournament victories.

"Pitching three games is tough," Patt said. "We were hoping that (Koopman) would pull through, and we backed her up all the way."

Patt had two hits, including an RBI triple, and scored two runs for Boulder City. Koopman and Rants doubled for the Eagles. Dayton's Natasha Wells led off the fourth with a homer to center field.

Boulder City closed the season on a 21-game winning streak, including five victories over 4A opponents. But none felt sweeter than Saturday's state clincher.

"This moment is amazing," Patt said. "We love each other as a team. I think the big thing is that we've been here for so long, we've been a family."

CLASS 1A

Winning a state title is an emotional moment for any high school team.

But it's hard to imagine one being more meaningful to a group of players than Henderson International's softball team.

Sophomore Lee Harrison pitched a no-hitter with eight strikeouts to lead the Wolverines to a 9-0 win over Carlin in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday at Bishop Manogue.

It probably was the final athletic event in the history of the private high school, which is expected to close at the end of the academic year for financial reasons.

"This moment is supposed to come when you're a senior, the day when you realize that you have to separate from your friends," said Harrison, fighting back tears. "Ours came early. It's just good that we got to end it on a high note."

Henderson International (30-4) led 4-0 after five innings before breaking open the game with a five-run sixth, highlighted by freshman Alex Battest's three-run homer to center field.

Harrison would have pitched a perfect game if not for issuing three walks. She was mobbed in the circle by teammates flinging their gloves into the air after striking out Kayla Anthony to end the game.

"It was one of the best moments of my life," Battest said. "I can't even explain it."

Henderson International players went through a human tunnel of classmates and parents after receiving their state championship medals before embracing in teary-eyed hugs with one another.

It was part celebration, part goodbye.

"This is what we were working for before we found out we were closing," Wolverines coach Mimie Hall said. "It's such a bittersweet moment because it signifies that we're the state champs, but it signifies that we're done, too."

The Wolverines learned in late February that Henderson International would cease to operate a high school beyond this year, citing the troubled economy and declining enrollment.

■ Carlin 7, Lake Mead 5 -- The Railroaders scored four runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead and held on to eliminate the Eagles in a losers' bracket final.

Lake Mead put a runner at first base with no outs in the seventh, but Carlin (25-8) turned a double play to end the game.

Jocelyn Cox went 3-for-4 and Samantha Herman 2-for-2 for Lake Mead (22-13-1), which committed seven errors.

CLASS 2A

At Carson, Needles beat Lincoln County 13-11 in the losers' bracket final before sweeping a doubleheader, 8-0 and 5-2, from Pershing County in the final round to capture the 2A state title.

Needles freshman Dakota Lillard pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts in the final game as the Mustangs won their fourth straight state title.

Contact reporter Tristan Aird at taird@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203.