By DON McDERMOTT
PVT
Brandon Bietar’s goal is simple.
“Win ‘em all.”
The Pahrump Valley American Legion Silver Division baseball team he manages is 18-4, with only two regular-season games — 5 p.m. Wednesday at Eldorado vs. Coronado — remaining.
The Silver Division State playoffs are the objective, with that tournament to be played July 27-28-29-30 at Centennial High School. Times and pairings will be announced.
“And what we want is at least a No. 2 seed in the playoffs,” said Bietar. The Trojans are one game behind Faith Lutheran, 19-3, with the Crusaders to close the division campaign Saturday at Sierra Vista 5 p.m. and Wednesday at Green Valley 5 p.m.
Third is Desert Oasis, 16-5 and 2 1/2 games behind the Crusaders and fourth is Liberty, 12-5 and 4 1/2 games back.
The Trojans outslugged the big and strong Liberty Patriots 11-6 and 25-21 in a wild doubleheader Tuesday night at Ian Deutch Memorial Park. The Trojans scored all their runs in the second inning of the first game, then rallied from 7-3, 10-9, 16-15 and 21-20 deficits in in the nightcap, to achieve a hard-earned sweep.
Liberty scored 21 runs on 17 hits, including four 3-run homers in that second-game shootout that took almost three hours to complete.
The Trojans collected 20 hits in the nightcap, with A.J. Epstine’s two-out triple driving in two insurance runs in a five-run breakout in the sixth inning.
Pahrump Valley scored in every inning in that free-wheeling, can-you-top-this second game. Liberty was shutout in the fourth and seventh innings, with Roman Dovbenco earning the win. In the first game, Dovbenco got the save, working the last two innings in relief of lefthander Epstine.
Liberty was pitcher poor throughout the doubleheader; the Patriots had been on the road for two weeks, including a lengthy stay in Omaha, Neb., during the College World Series. Which meant their pitching staff was both road-weary and worn out from playing several games on that trip.
In the 11-run first-game breakout, the Trojans took advantage of three Liberty errors to plate eight unearned runs. Dovbenco had a two-run homer and Beatty product Isias Flores drove in three runs with a double and single.
Pahrump Valley finished 15-1 at home, scoring an average of more than 12 runs per game at the launching pad known as Deutch Park. The Trojans and opponents combined for 36 homers in those 16 games
