Pahrump Valley rallies past Meadows in back-and-forth baseball battle

Pahrump Valley had built a 6-4 lead and looked poised to open its split-league series with a statement, but the seventh inning changed everything. The Meadows loaded the bases against the Trojans, drew in a run on a walk, then freshman Lucas Kim delivered a pinch-hit grand slam over the right-field wall to flip the game and send Pahrump Valley home with a 9-6 loss.

That late swing erased six innings of resilient baseball from the Trojans, who had answered almost every Meadows push with one of their own. Sammy Mendoza steadied after a leadoff walk and worked through early pressure with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to CJ Nelson at first. Pahrump Valley struck first in the bottom of the inning when Tony Whitney singled, moved into scoring position and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kayne Horibe. Even after Meadows tied it in the second and seized a 4-1 lead in the third, the Trojans kept chipping back.

Anthony Montanez started the comeback with an RBI single, and Cody Fried followed with a bases-loaded walk to pull Pahrump Valley within 4-3. In the fourth, Whitney sparked another rally, Ben Cimperman tied the game with an RBI single and Montanez came through again to put the Trojans ahead 5-4. Fried later doubled and Whitney added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to stretch the margin to 6-4. Pahrump Valley also controlled the middle innings with steady defense from Dominic Chiancone at second, Whitney at shortstop and Horibe tracking down fly balls in center.

The numbers showed how close the game really was. Pahrump Valley out-hit The Meadows 9-6, with Whitney going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, Fried reaching base in three of four plate appearances with a double, a run and an RBI, and Montanez finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI. Mendoza pitched six innings, allowed four hits and gave up only two earned runs, a performance MaxPreps called his best of the season and his fewest hits allowed since March.

The loss dropped Pahrump Valley to 9-9 overall and 2-1 in league play, but it also showed a team with enough offense and enough poise to stay in games against quality opposition. Under head coach Drew Middleton, a 2014 PVHS graduate who returned after coaching at Desert Oasis, the Trojans have leaned on experienced pieces like Mendoza, Whitney, Horibe, Cimperman, Fried and Nelson. Against The Meadows, the final inning proved that early leads still have to be finished.