COWBOY CLASSIC: Josh Ferrer’s shutout leads Pahrump Valley to title game

Coming into the season, senior Josh Ferrer was penciled in as the third starter for Pahrump Valley, but he hasn’t pitched like a No. 3 this season.

Ferrer pitched a shutout in the semifinals of the Cowboy Classic at Tech on Tuesday to give his baseball team a 6-0 victory over Desert Pines and a trip to the championship game.

“He’s pitched like an ace every game,” Pahrump head coach Brian Hayes said. “He’s pitched really well his last three outings so it’s nice to be able to throw him in a game as our three, we feel like we’re throwing an ace again. We feel that we’re blessed to be in a position like that.”

Ferrer struck out seven and allowed four hits with a pair of walks in the win. The Jaguars’ best chance at cracking the scoreboard came in the bottom of the seventh inning after a balk moved runners up to second and third with two outs.

Hayes took a trip to the mound to calm down his starter.

“We just told him that the runners don’t mean anything and to focus on the hitters,” Hayes said. “If the runners score it’s 6-2, we don’t care if they score. And I think he got the message, he pitched a hell of a game.”

Ferrer got James Greco to fly out to right to polish off the shutout, and improve the Trojans to 10-10-1.

All day Ferrer worked off of his curveball, with good placement of his fastball to keep Desert Pines guessing.

“Honestly everything was working for me on the mound,” Ferrer said. “I had my change-up an inning here and an inning there, but everything else was working for me.”

It was a pitchers’ duel for much of the game with the score only 1-0 heading into the final frame.

Desert Pines junior Steven Laureano pitched the entire game and went inning-for-inning with Ferrer until the seventh, when the Trojans put five runs on the board to distance themselves from the Jaguars (5-12-1).

Pahrump sophomores Willie Lucas and Nico Velazquez both hit two-run doubles in the inning.

“I’m sure it made it a lot easier for (Ferrer) out there on the mound when it was 6-0 instead of 1-0 in the final inning with two runners on,” Hayes said.

The win advances the Trojans to the title game against Mojave at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Tech. The Rattlers took down Valley 7-1 on Tuesday to punch their ticket to the championship.

“We’re actually pretty happy that we get to see them because they’re our league opponent and they’re a team that we think we’ll be right there with us,” Hayes said.

Mojave 7, Valley 1 — At Del Sol, Rease McClain went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs, and Nathan Sauceda was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs to help the Rattlers down the Vikings in the other semifinal.

Andrew Foley was 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI for Mojave.

Rattlers starter Scott Wilson pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits and one unearned run. He struck out seven.

Jacob Cruz was 3-for-3 with a triple to lead Valley.

Del Sol 3, Eldorado 2 — At Del Sol, Phil Talamo singled home Chandler Miller with one out in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the Dragons the win over the Sundevils.

Miller walked, stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt.

Gelkis Digurnay allowed one hit in two scoreless innings of relief to get the win. Starter Tyler Foreman allowed one earned run on seven hits in nine innings. He struck out five with two walks.

Julio Rodarte went 3-for-6 for Eldorado. He also allowed two runs over eight innings of work.

Chaparral 5, Pahranagat Valley 2 — At Chaparral, Thomas Pablo was 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the Cowboys’ win over the Panthers.

Connor Jarvis was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for Chaparral.

Garrett Higbee was 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI to lead the Panthers.

Tech 11, Cheyenne 1 — At Tech, Drew Cole was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as the Roadrunners beat the Desert Shields in five innings in the Cowboy Classic.

Gabe Kermode went the distance for the Roadrunners, and struck out nine.

Zach Childress hit an inside-the-park home run for the Desert Shields.

Virgin Valley 8, Clark 7 — At Chaparral, the Bulldogs edged the Chargers.