The Truckee baseball team swung its way to a regional championship last weekend in Winnemucca, topping four teams to claim the Class 3A Northern League title and earning a trip into this week’s state tournament at Fernley High School.

The No. 4 seeded Wolverines run through the tournament included wins against North Valleys, South Tahoe, Fernley, and Dayton.

The tournament opened last Thursday against North Tahoe, and after falling behind 5-0 in the top of the third inning, the Wolverines exploded for 15 runs in the bottom of the frame. The Panthers responded with four runs in the next inning, but it wouldn’t be enough as Truckee advanced to the quarterfinals behind a 17-10 win. Juniors Matt Tanner and Dylan Sumner led the Wolverines with three runs batted in each. Sumner also hit a double. Senior Griffin Roberts finished with a team-high three hits. From the mound, senior Tyler Lamperti went four innings, struck out six batters and allowed three earned runs.

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The Wolverines then faced top-seeded South Tahoe in the quarterfinals and topped their rivals from across the lake 7-3. The Wolverines trailed 3-2 in the final inning, and with runners on second and third, Lamperti was able to put a ball in play to score senior Jackson Kahl, evening the game at 3-3. Tanner would then double to right field to score two more runs. Following a walk and a strikeout, junior Damon Bacon lined a two-out, two-run double into centerfield to give Truckee a 7-3 lead. The Vikings were able to put their leadoff runner on first base, but two groundballs and a strikeout put the game away. Bacon led the team with three hits and three RBIs. Senior Sam Purgason pitched a complete game, struck out nine batters, and allowed two earned runs.

The Wolverines the faced No. 2 seeded Fernley in the semifinals and cruised to a 15-5 win. After following behind 1-0, Truckee scored five unanswered runs, and then went on to add 10 runs in the top of the sixth inning to win the contest by the 10-run mercy rule. Roberts led the team with two hits, including a double, and a pair of RBIs. Lamperti knocked in three runs. Junior Ethan Ariza drove in two runs. Bacon pitched a complete game, struck out five batters and allowed two earned runs as Truckee advanced to the league championship.

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ON TO VICTORY

In Saturday’s Northern Region Championship, the Wolverines faced off against the lowest seed in the tournament, Dayton. The Dust Devils dropped their first game of the tournament, but then mowed through South Tahoe, North Valleys, and Fernley to come out of the loser’s bracket and reach the championship game.

The Panthers’ Cinderella run, however, would come to a decisive end as Truckee rolled to a 16-1 win via mercy rule after four innings of play to claim the league title.

Purgason led the team with two doubles, a single, and four runs batted in. Tanner hit a double as well. Kahl had a triple as part of two hits on the day. Kahl also pitched all four innings and struck out eight batters while allowing one earned run and four hits.

Truckee (23-7, 15-6 Northern – West League) will now enter the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Class 3A State Baseball Playoffs against the No. 2 seed from the Southern League, Moapa Valley (19-2, 8-2 Southern – Mountain League).

The first game of the double-elimination tournament occurred Thursday at Fernley High School. Southern League champions Virgin Valley played Dayton later that day. The teams will play semifinal matchups today and the state championship game on Saturday.

Thursday’s start to the tournament will mark the first baseball state tournament since 2019 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com