After getting a week off due to the wrath of Mother Nature, the Battle Mountain High School baseball team was back in action last week and swept three games from Silver Stage in Battle Mountain.
The Longhorns won the series opener 14-0 on Tuesday, April 11, and two teams got back together this past Saturday, where Battle Mountain was victorious in both games of the doubleheader at 14-0 and 15-5.
In the series opener, Battle Mountain wasted little time in scoring five runs in the first inning and never looked back. The Longhorns extended the advantage to 9-0 in the bottom of the second and closed out the game in five innings with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Battle Mountain pounded out 11 hits with Mason Fuller going 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Gabe Naveran and Arturo Serrano each added two hits. Reese Artz, Quinton Defoor, Beau Moyes and Kade Quintana had one hit apiece.
Defoor picked up the win on the mound, as he allowed no hits in three innings of work. He struck out five. Moyes threw the final two innings and gave up one hit, while striking out five as well.
In the first game on Saturday, it was much of the same story, as Battle Mountain raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. After extending the gap to 8-0 after three innings of play, the Longhorns put the contest out of reach with six runs in the fourth inning.
The hit parade for Battle Mountain continued with 16 in the opener, which included six base hits for extra bases. Martinez and Serrano each had three hits. Martinez had four RBI and two runs scored including a home run, while Serrano scored three times.
Larry Caudell, Moyes, Naveran, Truxton Price and Serrano had two hits apiece. Price had four RBI.
Fuller collected the complete-game victory, allowing just one hit. He had eight strikeouts and no walks.
In the series finale, Battle Mountain had to rally for the victory. The Longhorns jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Nighthawks tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the third inning.
Silver Stage grabbed its first advantage of the series at 5-4 in the fourth inning, but Battle Mountain scored the final 11 runs including eight in the sixth inning to win by the 10-run mercy rule.
Caudell, Martinez and Serrano each had two hits, as Battle Mountain had nine as a team. Defoor and Quintana had three RBI apiece.
Caudell started on the mound for Battle Mountain and received a no-decision in 4.2 innings of work. He allowed five runs (two earned) on just one hit. He struck out three and walked one. Naveran came in to throw the final 2.1 innings and picked up the win. He gave two hits and struck out four.
Battle Mountain is currently second in the Northern 2A and is in good shape to clinch one of the four playoff spots. Yerington leads the league at 14-0. West Wendover (10-5), Incline (5-3) and North Tahoe round out the top five.
The Longhorns are off this weekend as part of spring break. Battle Mountain and Incline are tentatively set to make up a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 26. The original games were postponed due to weather.
Battle Mountain travels to Yerington on April 28-29 for a three-game series.
