Four Vegas teams hoping to snap the South's softball slump

With their clubs safely in next week's 4A State Tournament, the coaches for Las Vegas' four remaining softball teams turned their attention Thursday to their sport's perennial question.

Will this be the year an area squad produces Southern Nevada's first softball title since 1993?

Silverado, Bonanza, Durango and Cimarron-Memorial -- the four squads left in this week's 4A Southern Zone Tournament -- are hoping to end that drought when the state tournament begins next Thursday in Reno.

"When I look at these four clubs, I think (the South) has a shot," said Silverado coach Chuck Pope, whose club stayed unbeaten in the tournament with a 5-2 win over Durango Thursday. "Maybe the competitiveness down here will get us a little sharper to play up there."

Pope knows a thing or two about the state tournament, having made five straight trips to the event. His Skyhawks will try for their fourth consecutive zone title today at 3 p.m. against the winner of today's Durango-Bonanza contest.

But Pope warns that claiming the zone's top seed won't necessarily guarantee his club an easier path next week.

"We've been the first seed three times and drawn the top team up there because they didn't play well in their tournament and dropped down," Pope said. "So it looks like we'll have our hands full no matter what our seed is."

As the South's fourth and final seed last year, Bonanza put together a spectacular run through the state tournament, beating Northern Nevada powers Galena and Douglas before succumbing to Reed in the final.

One year later, Bengals coach Cheryl Speer thinks a team from Las Vegas could go one step further and win it all.

"I honestly believe this is the best chance (the South has) had in a while," Speer said. "I think the teams going up there are as good as any we've had coming out of Las Vegas in a while."

Durango coach Sandy Morgan, whose club is a newcomer to the state tournament, said the South's lack of success at that level is likely to change once a Las Vegas-area squad breaks though.

"I think it's self-confidence," Morgan said. "It's a matter of us taking care of business and taking a championship. Once we do that, they're not going to dominate anymore."

Cimarron coach Gary Kaempfer, whose squad upended Green Valley 6-0 on Thursday to send the Sunrise Division champs packing, said the state tournament comes down to mental preparation.

"It always seems as if the team that wins is the team that comes out more relaxed and isn't in awe of the other team," Kaempfer said. "Their pitchers are good, but we know we can hit them."

* BASEBALL ACTION CONTINUES: The battle to make state continues in today's 4A Southern Zone Baseball Tournament at UNLV's Wilson Stadium.

Silverado and Durango will get things started in a loser's-out game at 2 p.m., followed by a clash between Cimarron and Green Valley with a state berth on the line. The day's third game will feature the winner of Game 1 against the loser of Game 2, with the area's other state bid hanging in the balance.

archive