Fallon takes series from visiting Elko

Fallon snatched a victory out of the jaws of its longtime nemesis Elko on Saturday in Northern 3A baseball at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex.

Tied at 7 runs going into extra innings, the Greenwave needed a win to remain tied in a three-way race for second place with Elko and Spring Creek, all 12-3 and one game behind league-leading Truckee at 13-2.

Tommy McCormick, who doubled with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, eventually scored the winning run on a passed ball to give the Wave a much needed 8-7 league win.

Fallon, which won the first game, 2-1, on a pitching gem from Hayden Strasdin, took the three-game series from Elko despite a loss to the Indians on Friday afternoon.

The rubber match of the series was a mistake-prone game leading to a number of unearned runs from each team. But the heroics from both the Fallon and Elko lineups made the scoring more of a see-saw ride.

Fallon had taken a 6-4 lead going into the seventh inning, but Elko rallied for three runs on an error and a two-run single from Kohl McIntosh to take a one-run lead. The Wave, though, tied the game on Chase Irvin’s double with one out. Irvin also pitched one inning of scoreless ball.

The Wave had taken a two-run lead after scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sean McCormick’s two-run triple with one out. He eventually scored on a wild pitch.

After scoring a run in the bottom of the first on Shaw Lee’s double to take a 1-0 lead, Elko responded with four unanswered runs, one in the third and three in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly, a hit batter with the bases loaded and a wild pitch.

Nate Galusha, who pitched the final two innings, picked up the win. Elko’s Lincoln Ratliff, who pitched the final two innings in relief, took the loss.

Fallon outhit Elko 12-7 in the afternoon slugfest with Irvin and Tommy McCormick each having three hits. Lee also had a pair of hits.

Strasdin gave Fallon a much-need win in Saturday’s first game, scattering eight hits over seven innings. The Fallon senior wiggled out of a first-inning jam, and he saw his teammates stake him to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning when Sean McCormick scored on a passed ball. McCormick reached base on a double with no outs and moved to third on an error.

Matt Davis drove in a run in the second inning to give the Wave a 2-0 lead, but the Indians scored a run in the third on Brycen Kelly’s single.

Strasdin worked himself out of another jam to end the inning. Overall, Strasdin struck out three and walked none in pitching a complete game. Kelly also pitched the entire game for Elko, giving up eight hits and striking out three.

Brenden Larsen and Sean McCormick each paced Fallon with two hits. Kelly and Colby Tiner each had two hits for the Indians.

In Friday’s game, Tiner outpitched Larsen in a 5-1 win. Fallon didn’t score until the fifth inning when Sean McCormick singled to right field.

Elko scored three runs in the third inning on a wild pitch and RBIs from Tiner and Kelly and added solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Fallon is at Lowry on Friday for a 2 p.m. game and Saturday for a doubleheader. Fallon Greenwave sportscaster Larry Barker will call the games on KKTU 99.5 FM and Network 1 Sports! www.network1sports.com/station/kktu.