Columnist Spencer Patterson: Local powers get off to slow start

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, March 16, 2000 | 9:27 a.m.

Spencer Patterson's prep sports notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at spencer@vegas.com or 259-4085.

The spring prep season is barely one week old, and already the area's baseball and softball scene has been turned on its head.

Home to some of the nation's top high school baseball programs, Southern Nevada has seen each of those powers stumble at least once already.

Silverado, ranked 14th nationally by Baseball America, fell just two days into the new season, dropping a 5-4 decision to Durango in extra innings.

The Trailblazers -- expected to be the top team in the Sunset Region -- had lost one day earlier, falling 9-7 to Green Valley.

Then the Gators, ranked No. 28 by Baseball America, promptly lost to Bonanza 7-4 on Tuesday, dropping all three top teams from the Sun's preseason poll into the loss column.

Likewise, clubs expected to dominate local softball this year have also been far from perfect, with every team in town already suffering at least one loss.

Most shocking was an opening-day defeat by Durango, generally considered the area's most talented team. The Trailblazers fell 3-1 to a Green Valley squad that, by its own coach's admission, is a far cry from last year's Sunrise champion.

Bonanza also lost in shocking fashion, falling to first-year Centennial at the St. George Tournament. Cimarron-Memorial and Silverado both suffered two losses in Utah, as did the Gators.

So are these topsy-turvy conditions what prep sports fan can expect in the new millennium? Probably not. As good teams round into form and begin sending their top pitchers to the mound more often, the cream should rise to the top.

* SUNDEVILS TAKE TITLE: Just a few months ago, the Eldorado softball team was without a coach, to say nothing of an identity.

After solving the first problem in the off-season by convincing football coach Ken Trujillo to take over the program, the Sundevils took a major step toward figuring out the second at last weekend's St. George Warmup Tournament in Utah.

Eldorado captured its bracket in the 72-team event, going 5-0 and defeating area foe Centennial 5-1 in Saturday's championship.

"These kids are playing together, and that's something that hasn't happened in a while," Trujillo said. "Now these girls have a lot of confidence. They're anxious to get the season going."

Eldorado won behind the pitching tandem of Crystal Alspaugh and Brantley Bridgeforth, who combined to allow just four runs in 39 innings at the event.

Also putting together a strong run at the tournament were the first-year Bulldogs, who went 4-1 and defeated area power Bonanza. Durango also finished 4-1, while the Bengals wound up 3-1.

* NIAA HAPPENINGS: The NIAA held its annual state-wide athletic administrator meetings last month in Reno, and the state's tiebreaking procedure was among the most debated topics.

This season, Nevada settled several ties by comparing margin of victory in head-to-head meetings between teams deadlocked in the standings. That is likely to change next year, however, after several incidents in which coaches played to cover a point spread rather than to win.

In at least one case, a team opted to lose in regulation rather than attempt to send the game into overtime, where it might have lost by more points and cost itself a berth in the playoffs.

The NIAA also ironed out the final playoff brackets for next year's state tournaments, most of which will feature three teams from Northern Nevada, three from Las Vegas' Sunrise Region and two from Las Vegas' Sunset Region. The system will rotate on a three-year basis, with each region receiving three berths two of those years.

In football, the state tournament will expand from two teams to four teams, and will go from a one-game event to a three-game event over two weekends. Northern Nevada will receive two state berths next year, followed by the Sunrise Region in 2001 and the Sunset Region in 2002.

* VACCARO TO SIGN WITH BRAVES: Silverado tight end Steve Vaccaro, an all-state honorable mention selection, is expected to sign with Division I-AA Alcorn State Friday. The 6-3, 215-pound Vaccaro is the first football player in Skyhawk history to earn a full ride to a Division I school, and joins Rancho's Rod Lukes as the second player to sign with the Mississippi school this year.

"Steve's a good all-around athlete," Silverado coach John DeNardin said. "He's got good size and he can block well."

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