Tuesday, May 20, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.
A state championship game provides any high school team with all the motivation it could need, yet somehow, the Green Valley Gators found even a little extra kick in the pants Saturday.
The sign hanging in the Green Valley baseball team's dugout at CCSN's Lied Field read: "The days of Green Valley championships are not over! Play like the champions you are."
The message referenced a quote from Reno baseball coach Pete Savage, in which Savage said that a Southern Nevada school would likely never again see a great run of state baseball titles because the area's growth has spread out the talent far and wide.
Savage, however, mentioned the great Green Valley teams of the mid-1990s in his statement. Green Valley (28-8) took notice and umbrage, then took out their frustration on the Huskies (36-2-1) in an 11-6 victory that gave the Gators their second 4A state title in the past three years, and their eighth large-school crown in the past 11 years.
Green Valley also ended Reno's 37-game unbeaten streak, dealing the Huskies their first loss since their March 6 season opener.
"Maybe we'll get some respect now," Gators coach Nick Garritano said.
A seven-run Green Valley fourth inning battered Reno's well-reputed pitching staff and left little doubt about the game's outcome, even given the wacky outcomes over the three days of the state tournament. The Gators sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame and continued their stellar offensive showing through the regional and state playoffs.
"They're saying they have the greatest pitching and they're the best team in the North and all that," Green Valley's Larson Welsh said. "We just showed their pitching is overrated."
Welsh went 4-for-4 and scored three times for the Gators, who gave starter Ryan Tabor more than enough cushion. Chris Zuniga relieved Tabor in the fifth inning, and Jordan Parraz brought in his 95-mph heat to close out the game in the seventh.
The game's final play was a bouncer by Trevor Puryear back to Parraz, who fielded the ball and sprinted to first to record the final out and begin the dogpile in the infield.
"I knew I wanted to take it myself," Parraz said.
Garritano said that the Gators fired up before the game by talking about what they perceived as a slight from the North.
"It was our pregame inspirational speech," Garritano said. "But the game's won on the field. Our kids weren't going to give a state championship up."
After a sluggish start to the season, Green Valley came alive during conference play and turned heads by sweeping top-ranked Silverado to win the rugged Southeast Division. The Gators' offense clubbed opponents, and the emergence of Parraz on the mound gave Green Valley a huge boost.
"If we score 10 runs a game, we'll win every game anyway," Parraz said.
Win every game, they did. Green Valley swept its way through the regional playoffs, beating Silverado for the third time this season. The Gators then went undefeated at state, defeating all three Northern team and Centennial to earn their title.
"Great things happen to great people," Garritano said. "It's a great group of kids."
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