Wave opens league by sweeping doubleheader

The Northern 3A baseball league opener against Sparks on Wednesday wasn’t a doubleheader Fallon coach Lester de Braga expected.

After beginning the season 0-4 against 4A teams and a tie against rival Fernley, the Wave overwhelmed the Railroaders at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex by sweeping two games, each by the score of 29-0. Snow in the Truckee Meadows postponed the original single game and doubleheader last weekend between Fallon and Sparks, but the league rescheduled the doubleheader for Wednesday in Fallon because of better field conditions.

The scores could’ve been much worse in two games marred with numerous walks and hit batters issued by Sparks pitchers. De Braga, though, held runners on base and advanced them no more than one bag on each hit for most of the afternoon.

“We couldn’t work on hit and run or bunting or base stealing,” de Braga said after the second game. “Not a lot comes out of this but two league wins.”

Fallon improves to 2-4-1 overall and 2-0 in league, while Sparks drops to 2-4, 0-2. Sparks’ lone wins have come against 1-A caliber teams.

Weather permitting, Fallon hosts South Tahoe this weekend, depending if the fields are not water logged. Weather forecasters predicted rain for most of Wednesday night and Thursday.

Today’s game is scheduled for 3 p.m., and Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 11 a.m.

“South Tahoe has returned the majority of their team from last year,” de Braga said. “I expect this to be a good series. We can’t overlook them.”

South Tahoe is 4-3 overall, 1-2 in the Northern 3A after losing two of three games to Spring Creek last weekend.

“They battled Spring Creek well,” de Braga said of the series played on the Spartans’ field.

Expected to start in today’s game against South Tahoe will be Hayden Strasdin, 0-1, with his only loss to Central Catholic in the Mike Bearman Memorial Tournament in Reno.

Fallon, though, received some solid pitching Wednesday against Sparks in the two shortened games. Chase Irvin pitched a one-hitter in the first game, and Shaw Lee didn’t allow a hit in three innings of work in the second. Each game was called after three innings because Fallon had more than a 15-run lead.

In the first game, Fallon jumped on Sparks for six runs in the first inning. Brock Richardson led off with a triple, and Sean McCormick doubled in a run, while Edgar Alvarado and Tommy McCormick each drove in a run Strasdin’s triple also scored a run. Bryce Larsen’s two-run single capped the inning’s scoring.

The Railroaders’ pitching struggled in the 16-run second inning. Tommy McCormick, Richardson, Jake Wickizer, Sean McCormick, Alvarado and Strasdin each drove in a run. In his second time at bat, Strasdin laced a two-run double, and Lee doubled in a run.

Strasdin, Lee, Brenden and Bryce Larsen, Russell Vershum each drove in a run in the third inning.

In the second game, Fallon banged out 15 hits, but Sparks’ pitchers issued 15 walks and hit nine batters.

In the first inning, Irvin tripled in the first two runs, and Strasdin’s double added two more. Fallon scored 11 runs on two hits.

Irvin also doubled in the first run in the second inning, and Alvarado singled in a run as did Richardson and Nate Galusha. Brenden Larsen also ripped an RBI single.

In the third inning, Brenden and Bryce Larsen, Richardson and Galusha each drove in a run.