Softball team resumed play last weekend

Eureka baseball and softball teams have been on Spring break this week, but only the softball team was in action last week with league games at Pyramid Lake on Saturday, while the baseball team will remain off until April 15 when they go to Wells.

Meantime, the Vandals track team participated in the Elko Kiwanis Invitational last weekend, went to the Pahrump Valley Weekday April 6, and heads the Ward Coats Invitational in Elko April 14.

For the baseball team, the season has started off quite slow, having played just in the Pahranagat Valley Invitational Mar. 17-18, and coming away with a 2-2 mark, loses to Tonopah and PVHS, but identical 17-4 wins over Beaver Dam.

The Wells Leopards will be a stiff challenge for the Vandals. Last year’s state runner-up are 4-5 having split a couple of high scoring games last week with Pershing County.

Over the last several years Wells has owned the Vandals number holding an 8-3 advantage since 2013. In fact, they have won the last seven straight meetings. The last time Eureka beat Wells was 2013 during league when they split a pair. But Wells won the regional semi-final game that year to knock the Vandals out of the competition.

For the Lady Vandals softball team, they are the same as the boys team, so far having only played in the tournament in Alamo where they finished 1-3, a win over Beaver Dam.

The Vandals girls did well under coach Mary Jane Hodson, losing twice in the state finals to Pahranagat Valley, in 2014 and 2013.

The Wells girls were state runners-up to Pahranagat Valley last year. Eureka and Wells have battled each other for a good many years and currently the Leopards hold a 16-7 edge since 2009, and the Vandal girls are only 1-9 in the last 10 against the Lady Leopards dating back to 2015. The teams split last year, then Wells won the regional tournament title, and later lost to Pahranagat Valley in the state championship game.