Monday, April 6, 1998 | 8:47 a.m.
Spring break may mean a week off for most local high school students, but don't tell that to area baseball or softball players.
Most of them will spend the next five days competing in one of three major invitational tournaments rolling into Las Vegas this week.
Durango's fifth annual Adidas Invitational brings 18 top baseball teams from California and Arizona to town, where they join the Trailblazers, Bonanza, Western and Cheyenne for a three-day event which started early this morning.
Games will be played at five sites: Durango, Peccole Field in Rainbow Park, Bonanza, Western and Cheyenne. Monday and Tuesday will feature pool play, with the top four teams advancing to play in Wednesday's semifinals and championship, all of which will be played at Durango.
The Trailblazers, who currently boast a 13-2 overall record (3-1 Sunset Division), will try to capture the tourney's title for the second straight year. But more important than winning, according to coach Mike Gomez, will be the experience it will give his team for the upcoming zone tournament.
"We'll try to get our team ready to playing a lot of games in a few days," Gomez said.
Softball loyalists should flock to Clark High School's 11th-annual 36-team extravaganza, renamed the Fred Davison Memorial Tournament for the longtime Chargers' coach who died last December.
The three-day event will showcase schools from California and Arizona, along with local clubs Cimarron-Memorial, Green Valley, Silverado, Cheyenne, Basic, Las Vegas, Durango, Western, Bonanza, Eldorado, Chaparral, Bishop Gorman and the host Chargers.
All games will be played at the Silver Bowl Softball Complex, with the grand championship slated for Wednesday at 4 p.m. Silverado won the event last year.
Las Vegas' week-long diamond-fest will come to a close with Bishop Gorman's eighth-annual Gael Easter Classic Baseball Tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday.
Forty teams from throughout the Southwest, including local schools Gorman, Las Valley, Basic, Bonanza, Eldorado, Silverado, Clark and Chaparral, will play at eight sites around town.
The baseball teams from Green Valley, Cimarron-Memorial and Boulder City will also see action this week, with all three traveling to the Lions Club Easter Tournament in San Diego, while the Valley softball team will play in the Moapa Valley Tournament.
Another no-no
Gorman senior Jason van Meetren became the area's third baseball player to throw a no-hitter this season on Friday, when the right-hander blanked Cheyenne in a 9-0 Gaels' victory.
Van Meetren improved his season record to 4-1 with a dominant performance on the mound. In his seven innings, he faced the minimum 21 batters, erasing his one walk by picking off the Desert Shiels' only baserunner.
Van Meetren also sparkled at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a triple.
Durango's Chris Bannister and Green Valley's Richard Chatwin have also tossed no-hitters this spring.
Coaching change
Cimarron-Memorial has named Gina Davis, a former Las Vegas head softball coach, as its new head girls basketball coach.
Davis takes over for the resigned Rich Handley, who guided the Spartans to a 7-12 overall record this winter.
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