Trojans capture league title

With one swing of the bat, Pahrump Valley senior Christine Gamble changed the course of a season.

Gamble smacked a three-run homer over the left-center-field fence in the bottom of the first inning Saturday, and the Trojans went on to beat Faith Lutheran 4-1 for the Class 3A Southern League title in Boulder City.

The win gave the Trojans a berth in the state tournament, set for Friday and Saturday at Bishop Manogue High School in Reno.

Brittney Lindgren led off the first with a bloop single, and Emily Poertner walked to set up Gamble's homer.

"Christine has been a clutch hitter for us all year, and she's done a lot of different things for us," Pahrump Valley coach Preston Dockter said. "But coming up with that home run, that was huge."

It was the sixth meeting of the season between the clubs. They split four games during the regular season, and Pahrump beat the Crusaders 2-0 on Friday.

Staked to the early lead, Pahrump Valley pitcher Ashleah Barney did the rest. She scattered six hits and struck out four. Faith Lutheran's run came in the fourth on a two-out dropped third strike.

"From Day One, when I first met her, I knew she was a competitor," Dockter said. "She's always battled, and she's always been nasty. She's hard-nosed, and she's a great kid."

Faith Lutheran pitcher Jessie Tracy settled in after the home run, giving up an unearned run on three hits after the first. She struck out nine.

Dockter said Saturday's win was the culmination of a season-long goal.

"We always believed from the beginning," Dockter said. "If you don't, you're never going to get there. We always told each other that we were going to get there, but it was going to be a family effort. We're going to win together as family, or we're going to lose together as family, but we'll always have each other.

• Pahranagat Valley 9, Mountain View 8 -- At Mountain View, Tami Spencer scored the winning run on a two-out error in the sixth inning as the Panthers nipped the Saints to win the Class 1A Southern Region title.

Pahranagat Valley took a 6-0 lead after three innings, but Mountain View rallied with an eight-run sixth inning to take an 8-6 lead.

The Saints retired the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth before the Panthers came back with three unearned runs.

Randall Van Kempen was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI for Mountain View. Ellie Markwardt went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Both teams advance to the 1A state tournament Thursday through Saturday in Wells.