Aztecs Silver rally falls short in three-game stretch

A seven-run fifth inning pulled Pahrump back into the fight, but the Aztecs Silver 17U still left its three-game stretch with the same unresolved problem: early deficits that forced the club to spend the rest of the night chasing. The team opened with a road doubleheader against the Coronado Varsity Cougars on Friday, June 12, then returned home Monday, June 15, to face Bruins 17U, and the results showed a roster that can score in bursts but still struggles to put together a full game.

In the opener, Sammy Mendoza started on the mound for Pahrump, and Coronado struck first with a three-run opening inning before later extending the lead. Ryan Hamlin got the Aztecs’ first hit and stole a base, and Pahrump answered in the field when Hamlin, Anthony Montanez and Keith Lawrence turned a double play in the second inning. The offense kept finding small cracks, with hits from Tristan Torres, Montanez and Hamlin helping keep the game from slipping away too quickly.

The biggest swing came in the fifth. Levi Denton opened the inning with a triple, Kevin Farrell drove him home with an RBI single, and the rally kept moving from there. Urijah Torres added a hit, Montanez drew a walk, and Pahrump pushed across seven runs in the frame to turn what had looked like a lopsided game into a one-run contest. Logan Nunez later worked a clean inning in relief and struck out a batter, but Coronado still held on for a 12-8 win.

That response has become the clearest sign of progress for a program that debuted on Jan. 10 as Pahrump’s new high school-age club baseball team. The American Legion lists the Pahrump Valley Aztecs 2026 Baseball Team as a JR Legion squad for players 17 and under, with Drew Middleton as manager and Edward H. McDaniel, Inc. as sponsor. In a town where the fields also host regularly scheduled youth sports and league events, the Aztecs are starting to build a summer identity around resilience and run production.

The stretch also fit a wider pattern. Pahrump had already beaten EA Rattlers Legion Silver 16-10 on June 4 and lost 7-3 to Las Vegas Varsity Wildcats on June 9, another sign that the bats can keep the club in games even when the finishes do not follow. Before the next meaningful summer test, the task is clear: cut down the early damage, keep pressure on for more than one inning, and turn competitive baseball into wins.