Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/22/2004

It was the Reno High Huskies’ formula for success — hitting, pitching and a lot of togetherness.

Errors, walks and Reno batters hit by pitches put the Cimarron-Memorial Spartans in trouble, but the Huskies’ clutch hitting finished them. The Huskies won a state baseball title for the first time since 1984 when they stopped the Spartans, 12-2, in the NIAA 4A Baseball State championship game at McNutt Field in Carson City on Saturday.

The Huskies got the most out of their six hits and once they staked him to the big lead, 11-0 after three innings, junior starting pitcher Mike Lienert protected it. Lienert went the distance, allowing two runs and five hits, in the game shortened to six innings by the 10-run rule. Drew Johnson walked with the bases loaded to end a game in which the Spartans committed six errors and their three pitchers walked eight batters and hit six Huskies with pitches.

The Huskies finished the season with a 36-5 record and won eight post-season games in a row after losing to McQueen, 4-3, in the Northern 4A Regional first-round game May 12.

“These kids cared about each other. It’s the closest team I have ever had,” said Pete Savage, who ended his 10th season as the Huskies’ head coach. “I think the key is they sacrificed for each other. There have been a lot of players in the last 10 years who have busted their tails for me. This title is for them, too.”

The Huskies went 3-0 in the state tournament after losing to Green Valley in last year’s title game in Henderson.

“Last year, we were so close,” said shortstop Steve Mays, who drove in four runs in Saturday’s game. “We really came together after McQueen. It opened our eyes. We knew the whole team, all 22 guys, would have to step up. We did.”

The Spartans committed four errors in the first two innings as the Huskies put up a couple of 3-spots for the 6-0 lead. The first error came with the bases loaded with out when Ryan Simpson’s groundball was fielded by first baseman Dustin Baxter, whose throw skipped in front of the plate to bring home John Wallace. The Huskies went ahead, 3-0, on a two-run single by Davis Banks that deflected off the third baseman’s glove and got past the shortstop.

Things got worse in the second for the Spartans as they paid dearly for their three errors. Jake Johnson tripled to score Procter Hug, who had reached base on a two-base error, and Johnson came home on a throwing error on the play. Reno made it 6-0 when Mays singled to right to score Wallace.

“We dug ourselves a huge hole,” said Spartans coach Mike Hubel. “We gave up six hits, six errors. You can’t win a state championship that way. We did it two days in a row.”

Cimarron-Memorial committed four errors in a 12-7 winners’ bracket loss to Reno on Friday.

Any Spartan hopes of a miracle comeback were dashed in the third inning when the Huskies scored five runs for the 11-0 lead. The big blows were Mays’ three-run double to left center and Simpson’s towering two-run homer over the left-field fence.

“I knew this was our year after we won zone,” said Simpson, a senior who drove in nine runs and hit two homers in the three tournament games. “We knew what we had to accomplish and we accomplished it. It was everyone. There’s no individuals on this team.

“Everyone was playing for each other. That’s why we won state. We wanted to prove to everybody we’re the team to beat. It’s going to keep going.”

The Huskies looked like they might finish the Spartans by the 10-run rule earlier than they did. After the Spartans had scored twice in the top of the fourth to make it 11-2, Hubel went to his ace, junior Mark Willinsky, who had thrown a four-hit 1-0 shutout against Reed on Thursday. Hubel only gave up one hit against the Huskies and allowed the run after two hit batters and the game-ending walk.

“We thought about it (starting Willinsky),” Hubel said. “But you know what, after that many pitches on one day’s rest , I’m not going to kill his career.

“They (the Huskies) got it done. We didn’t, bottom line.”

For almost everyone else in the Huskies’ dugout, it was their first state title. But assistant coach Bill Penaluna, who was the head coach when Reno won it in 1984 and returned to coaching this year after nine years away from it, has been there.

“This is special,” Penaluna said. “It was a situation we had to come together. We were winning games (in the regular season), but we could’ve been together a little better.

“It all came together when McQueen put it to us. I think they realized, ‘If we’re going to do it, we have to do it as a team, not as individuals.’ I think guys worked harder than we did in ’84. These guys put a lot of effort into it.”

Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/21/2004

The Reno Huskies will be gunning for their first NIAA 4A Baseball State championship in 20 years today.

They had to survive a wild shootout with Cimarron-Memorial before taking a 13-7 victory at McNutt Field in Carson City on Friday afternoon. The Spartans then played Silverado in an evening elimination game and won, 5-3, to move into a rematch at 10 a.m. today.

The Huskies, 35-5, can capture the state title with a win, but if the Spartans, 29-8, get the victory they will force another game for the title at 1 p.m. today. Friday’s game had a little of everything, including a triple play started by Reno third baseman Jake Johnson that killed any hopes of a comeback in a game, which had three lead changes.

The Spartans took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Reno designated hitter Ryan Simpson showed that this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk with a three-run homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the first. It was a gritty victory for the Huskies, who have won seven postseason games in a row since losing to McQueen, 4-3, in a first-round game in the Northern 4A Regional on May 12.

“Our kids believe in each other,” said Reno coach Pete Savage. “They have a good team attitude. It was a good team win. They’re constantly picking each other up.”

Johnson picked himself up with the sixth-inning triple play. He had committed two errors in the inning that contributed to the Spartans loading the bases after Reno had scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead, 10-7.

Joel Reese hit a sharp, low line drive that a diving Johnson caught before lunging to third base for the force out and then threw to second base to complete the triple play.

“It was such a hard shot all I could do was react,” Johnson said. “It was a couple of inches (off the ground) … a couple of inches, the old cliché. I was hoping somebody would hit the ball to me. You dream of plays like that.”

It was the first time he had committed two errors in an inning since he was a sophomore in a game in Anaheim, Calif.

“I definitely didn’t end the inning on a triple play like that (in Anaheim),” Johnson said. “We don’t want to lose anymore. The loss to McQueen woke us up. You can’t let down anymore. We have to be up for everything.”

When Johnson made the catch, it raised the dust. Johnson said it was his glove hitting the dirt, not the ball.

“To be honest with you, I looked up, I thought it hit the ground,” said Cimarron-Memorial coach Mike Hubel. “It was a freak play. It killed us.”

A defensive letdown of significant proportions wounded the Spartans in the bottom of the fifth inning. After reliever John Wallace, who took the victory, led off the inning with a double, Drew Johnson and Steve Mays reached base on errors by the shortstop Reese. Wallace scored on the ball that Johnson hit to tie the game, 7-7.

After Simpson’s foul popup to first base, Davis’ sacrifice fly was dropped by right fielder Austin Lefevre for the go ahead run. The strong winds probably contributed to all three of the Spartans’ errors in the fifth and could have played a role in the two by Johnson in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Mike Hellen’s double to right-center scored Mays and Banks for the 10-7 lead.

“We fell apart … we committed three errors,” said Hubel. “There was nothing we could do after that.”

Wallace, who also hit a two-run homer to right-center in the sixth, relieved starting pitcher Chris Rickey and pitched the last 2 2/3 innings for the victory, giving up only one single. After the Spartans jumped to the early lead, Wallace, who played first base to begin the game, said he was confident that the Huskies could come back.

“They (the Spartans) were fired up because they had scored four runs in the first inning,” Wallace said. “We knew four runs weren’t enough for them, that we had enough sticks to come back slowly.”

The Huskies did have the offense to come back, but then they needed something that Jake Johnson provided in the sixth inning.

“It (the triple play) was an unbelievable play,” said Reno’s Savage. “Baseball is a game of preparation. It’s a game of luck sometimes.”

Luck is good to have in a shootout.

Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/21/2004

Jeff Schoenbachler liked the start of the NIAA 4A Baseball State Tournament a lot more than the beginning of the Northern 4A Regional.

Schoenbachler, the left-handed ace of the Reno High pitching staff, allowed two runs and seven hits and struck out six batters to help the Huskies take a 4-2 first-round state victory over Silverado at Carson High’s Ron McNutt Field on Thursday night.

Schoenbachler and the Huskies got off to the kind of start that set the tone for the game as they jumped to a 4-0 lead after three innings. The senior struck out the first four batters and his teammates rapped out five of their seven hits in the first three innings.

It was the sixth postseason win in a row for the Huskies, 34-5, who haven’t lost since Schoenbachler was tagged with the defeat in Reno’s 4-3 loss to McQueen in the first round of the regional May 12.

“That loss kind of woke us up,” said Schoenbachler, who has signed to play at Long Beach State. “It made us realize what we have to do to win. We can’t sit back. It brought us together.

“I like coming out and winning the first one. That haunted us in the state for a long time.

“We lost (the first game) when I was a freshman and sophomore.”

Reno and another left-handed starter, Chris Rickey, will face Cimarron-Memorial, 28-7, in a winners’ bracker game at McNutt Field at 3 p.m. today. Silverado, 18-18, will test Reed at noon in the first of today’s three games.

Schoenbachler and the Huskies cruised through the first five innings, but had to weather the storm when the Skyhawks struck for two runs in the top of the sixth. Lance Roundy led off the inning with a double down the left-field line and scored on Casey Coon’s two-out double to right. Chad Robinson brought home Coon with a hard-hit single that deflected off Schoenbachler.

But Schoenbachler regained control in the seventh when he gave up a leadoff infield single and then retired the next three batters to end the game. Silverado starter Dan Morris, who gave up seven hits and also went the distance, took the loss.

“I thought offensively we got a good approach in the first three innings,” said Reno coach Pete Savage. “Morris is a good pitcher. We got complacent, but give Morris credit. Jeff pitched a very good game and got stronger as the game went on.”

Schoenbachler agreed that he had gotten stronger as the game progressed.

“I definitely had to focus more. I got tired,” Schoenbachler said. “I had to become mentally tougher than at first.

“A pitcher can’t ask for any more than an early lead. It put me at ease, probably too much.”

The Huskies scored twice in the first inning on Steve Mays’ single and Ryan Simpson sacrifice fly to center. Reno tacked on a run in the second inning on Jake Johnson’s single to left that scored Procter Hug and added another run in the third on Simpson’s single that scored Mays, who had tripled off the base of the right field wall.

Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/15/2004

In some dark corner of Zunini Field, the Reno High Huskies found their bats, the big sticks.

The Huskies used a nine-run first inning and then five home runs to roll to a 15-2 victory over McQueen in a Northern 4A Baseball Regional game that was mercifully cut to five innings by the 10-run rule Friday night.

The win avenged the 4-3 loss the Huskies suffered to McQueen in the first round Wednesday and moved Reno into another game against the Lancers at noon today at Ron McNutt Field in Carson City. The winner will play Reed for the regional title at 3 p.m. today.

“It was a little better approach offensively today,” said Reno coach Pete Savage. “The kids came out with more of a focus and played a good team game.”

The Huskies managed only two hits in Wednesday’s loss to McQueen and 10 hits in Thursday’s win over Spanish Springs, but only two of the 10 had been for extra bases. In Friday’s first game, Reno collected 13 hits, including home runs by Procter Hug and starting pitcher Matt Lienert, in a 12-8 elimination-game victory over Carson.

The Huskies rapped 16 hits in the second game over McQueen with Ryan Simpson, Jake Johnson, Drew Johnson, Steve Mays and Trevor Womack all hitting solo home runs.

But the Huskies did the real damage in the first inning without the aid of a home run as they picked up where they left off in the Carson win as they overcame Senator star Willie Bowman hitting three home runs in the game.

“They (the Huskies) were very enthusiastic. They had confidence,” said McQueen coach Brian Nelson. “They’re a good team plain and simple.”

Nelson minimized the impact Reno’s lopsided win will have on today’s rematch.

“I told the kids, ‘It’s yesterday’s news.” Nelson said. “We’ll show up and be ready to play.”

In the first inning Friday, the Huskies had timely hitting, but two wild pitches by starting and losing pitcher Frank Phillips advanced runners, who later scored.

The Lancers also could’ve gotten out of the first inning behind only 3-0, but Kyle Bertelson’s high pop fly that dropped between the tightly grouped shortstop, second baseman and center fielder went for a two-run double and kept the inning going.

“We didn’t take care of the baseball. When you don’t do that it comes back to bite you in the rear end,” Nelson said. “A nine-spot in the first inning wasn’t on our itinerary.”

Reno’s starting pitcher John Wallace, who picked up the victory with one-hit, four-inning pitching, had two hits as 12 Huskies went to the plate. He capped the inning with a two-run triple.

Neither Savage nor Nelson had made their up their mind on their starting pitchers for today’s noon game. Savage is expected to use ace Jeff Schoenbachler, who took the loss in the first game against McQueen, sometime today, but wouldn’t commit on a starter.

“It’ll be our whole staff. Our whole staff will be called on (today),” Nelson said. “I can’t wait to get down there. It’ll be exciting.”

For Savage, it’s another test for his experienced team.

“We play a lot of games as a team,” Savage said. “We’ll be excited (today).”

The Huskies’ victory over Carson that started the day was an emotional game as the Senators’ Ron McNutt closed out a 29-year coaching career.

The Huskies and Lienert, who pitched 51/3 innings and picked up the victory, had to contend with Bowman and his blasts over the left-field fence. Lienert gave up all three of Bowman’s homers, but helped himself at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

“I just think it was our ability to score runs every time they did,” Savage said. “Then, we were able to capitalize on some mistakes.”

Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/15/2004

Drew Johnson has a keen sense of timing and flair for the dramatic — not just for the fact that he hit a game-winning grand slam in the top of the seventh inning.

Pitching for the first time in 11 months, he pitched two innings of relief and picked up the victory in Reno High’s 6-5 win over Reed in the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Championship at Ron McNutt Field in Carson City on Saturday.

Both Reno and Reed advance to the 4A State Tournament, which begins Thursday at McNutt Field, but the Huskies’ win capped a brilliant week as they won five games in a row after losing to McQueen, 4-3, in a first-round game Wednesday. Reno, which had routed the Lancers, 15-2, Friday night, needed to beat McQueen again to get into the state tournament and slammed the Lancers, 11-1, in Saturday’s first game.

“I was proud of our senior leadership,” said Reno coach Pete Savage. “Obviously, Drew Johnson came up big. He’s a big-time player.

“Our kids showed a lot of confidence when we were down 4-2 (in the seventh). Let’s face it, guys, Reed is a good team, too. Baseball is a momentum game. I’m real proud. The kids lost the first game (Wednesday), stuck together and came back.”

Reed brought in closer Brad Hurn at the begininning of the seventh to protect the 4-2 lead. Hurn gave up an infield single to pinch-hitter Mike Hellen, a single by Jake Johnson just out of the reach of the shortstop and a walk to John Wallace to load the bases with one out.

Drew Johnson, who will play for the Nevada Wolf Pack next season, powered Hurn’s 2-1 pitch over the right-field fence to give Reno the 6-4 lead. As the ball easily cleared the fence, Reed right-fielder Neil Saiz threw his glove to the warning track in disappointment.

“It (the pitch) was around the belt. I found the sweet spot on the bat,” Johnson said. “Thankfully, it left the park.”

Johnson then went to the mound to protect the lead and gave up a one-out, run-scoring single to Ryan Hill that brought home Robert Woodruff, who had led off the bottom of the seventh with a double. Johnson retired Mickey Lang, who flied out to the left field warning track, and then got Saiz, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the game, on a called third strike to end the game.

Johnson threw in the bullpen last week in preparation for the posibility that he might pitch. That became a likelihood as Reno pitchers reached the 11-inning limit for the week.

“I guess I thought it was my turn (to pitch). We had guys going on one day’s rest,” said Johnson, who had stopped pitching last June because of a strained arm. “I have a phenomenal defense behind me. Our defense has been nails.”

Johnson has pitched for Reno High for three years, but Savage made the decision when he was coaching the Reno Knights summer team last June to have Johnson concentrate on playing center field.

“He’s a five-tool player, so we wanted him to concentrate on playing,” Savage said. “He’s a great team guy. He wanted the ball (to pitch Saturday).”

Reno ran its record to 33-5 with the two wins Saturday. The Raiders, 26-10, felt the sting of the dramatic regional loss, but they were consoled by the fact Reed is going to a state tournament for the first time since 1996.

“It (the loss) wasn’t one thing,” said Reed assistant coach Steve Schnegelberger, who ran the team in the absence of head coach Jon Foss. “We booted the ball a little earlier. You have to give them (the Huskies) credit. They battled.

“The kid (Johnson) came up with a big hit. What can you do? Good game. That’s what we’re out here for, a good game like this.”

Foss missed the Raiders’ last three games in the regional because he committed before the season started to be the best man at his best friend’s wedding in Denver.

“I don’t think it (the title game loss) affects us too much,” Schnegelberger said. “But we wanted to win this game. The kids are disappointed. I think we’ll be fine bouncing back. We’re a good ballclub.

“(Hurn) just got the ball up and the kid hit it well. Give Pete Savage a lot of credit. He’s done it for a number of years and he did it this year.”

The Huskies loaded the bases twice in the first four innings, but only had two runs to show for it. They loaded the bases in the first inning off Reed starter Jake McGee, who limited the damage by getting Steve Mays to ground into a double play that scored a run. After Kyle Bertelson’s groundout scored Mike Lienert in the second inning, the Huskies loaded the bases again in the fourth, but McGee escaped without allowing a run as he got Procter Hug to line into a double play.

In the third, the Raiders had taken a 3-2 lead when Lang’s single up the middle almost hit Reno starting pitcher Chris Rickey to bring home Zack May, and Saiz’s single scored Ryan Lammle and Ryan Hill. The Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth, Saiz’s homer to left, for the 4-2 lead.

RENO 11, MCQUEEN 1: Starting pitcher Jeff Schoenbachler got the Huskies off to a good start by shutting out the Lancers on three hits before having to leave because of the 11-inning rule with a 5-0 lead.

The Huskies jumped on McQueen starter Dan Grubb, who took the loss, for three runs in the second inning. Ryan Simpson led off with a double and scored on Davis Banks’ double to right-center. After Bertelson walked, Hug doubled down the right-field line to score Banks and Bertelson.

The Lancers, who only had three seniors, finished the season with an 11-22 record after winning their first two games in the regional.

“We gave it a good fight,” said McQueen coach Brian Nelson. “Unfortunately, we just came up a little short.

“It’s some confidence we can build on. We have a lot of young kids who saw what playoff atmopshere is all about.”

Joe Santoro
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/11/2004

REED RAIDERS

Head coach: Jon Foss
Team record: 23-9 overall, 12-3 (first) in High Desert League.
Today’s opponent: Wooster, 3 p.m. at Reno High.
2003 Regionals: Lost to Carson, 7-6, and Douglas, 8-1. Both games were at Carson High.
State titles: None

Raiders notes: Foss, a Wooster High graduate, is in his first year as Raider head coach. … Pitcher Jake McGee is expected to be drafted in the first 10 rounds of June’s major league amateur draft. … The Raiders last won a regional game in 2002. … All three of the Raiders’ High Desert League losses came against McQueen. … Reed beat Wooster, 11-1, in late March.

WOOSTER COLTS

Head coach: Ron Malcolm
Team record: 16-15 overall, 8-7 (fourth) in the Sierra League.
Today’s opponent: Reed, 3 p.m. at Reno High
2003 Regionals: Defeated McQueen, 3-2; lost to Reno, 14-4; defeated McQueen, 10-9; lost to Reno, 16-4; lost to Galena, 6-3, in third-place game. All games were at Reno High.
State titles: 2002

Colts notes: The Colts won the regional championship in 2002, beating Reno in the title game, 7-2, at Carson High. … Wooster and Douglas were the only Sierra League teams to beat Reno this year. … The Colts lost seven of their last nine Sierra League games after starting out league play 6-0. … Wooster pitcher Jake Rasner and outfielder Jesse Rasner transferred to Wooster High last summer from Carson High. … Wooster assistant coach Nick Kuster is a former Reed High star and currently teaches at Reed High.

GALENA GRIZZLIES

Head coach: Gary McNamara
Team record: 11-16 overall, 7-8 (third) in the High Desert League.
Today’s opponent: Douglas, 3 p.m. at Carson High.
2003 Regionals: Beat Douglas, 3-0; lost to Carson, 9-7; beat Douglas, 11-1; lost to Carson, 7-5; beat Wooster, 6-3, in third-place game. First four games were at Carson. Final game was at Reno.
State titles: None

Grizzlies notes: Galena won the regional championship in 2001, beating Reno at Reno, 4-2. … Galena has qualified for the last four regionals. … The Grizzlies are 8-4 in the regionals over the last three years. … The Grizzlies swept McQueen in a three-game series last week to jump to third place in the High Desert. … Galena pitcher Rod Scurry is the son of former Hug High star and major leaguer Rod Scurry.

DOUGLAS TIGERS

Head coach: John Glover
Team record: 24-6 overall, 12-3 (second) in the Sierra League.
Today’s opponent: Galena, 3 p.m. at Carson High.
2003 Regionals: Lost to Galena, 3-0; beat Reed, 8-1, lost to Galena, 11-1. All games were at Carson.
State titles: None

Tigers notes: The Tigers are 3-10 in the regionals over the past five seasons. … They have opened each of the last three regionals against Galena. Galena beat Douglas in the first round in 2001 (16-3) and 2003 (3-0). Douglas beat Galena in 2002 (6-3). … The Tigers started the season by winning their first 18 games. … That 18-game winning streak was followed by a four-game losing streak. … The Tigers will play all of their regional games at Carson High. … Glover is a former Carson High catcher.

RENO HUSKIES

Head coach: Pete Savage
Team record: 28-4 overall, 13-2 (first) in the Sierra League.
Today’s opponent: McQueen, 6 p.m. at Reno High.
2003 Regionals: Beat Elko, 16-0; beat Wooster, 14-4 and 16-4; beat Carson, 10-8, in championship game. All games were at Reno High.
State titles: 1962, 1977, 1978, 1984

Huskies notes: Reno is 9-1 in the regionals at Reno High over the past three years. Their only regional loss at home during that time was in the 2001 championship game to Galena, 4-2. … Reno won the 2000 regional by beating Carson at Carson and won the 1999 regional at Reno High by beating Wooster. … Drew Johnson is playing center field despite having his jaw wired shut. Johnson broke his jaw just over a month ago. … Johnson and pitcher Chris Rickey have signed letters of intent to attend the University of Nevada. … Pitcher Jeff Schoenbachler has signed with Long Beach State and is expected to be drafted high in this June’s major league amateur draft.

McQUEEN LANCERS

Head coach: Brian Nelson
Team record: 9-20 overall, 7-8 (fourth) in the High Desert League.
Today’s opponent: Reno, 6 p.m. at Reno High.
2003 Regionals: Lost to Wooster, 3-2; beat Elko, 7-2; lost to Wooster, 10-9. All games were at Reno High.
State titles: None

Lancers notes: The Lancers started the season 0-10. … McQueen got within one victory of the regional title game in 1999. … The Lancers are 6-10 in the regionals over the past five years. … The Lancers are the only High Desert League team to beat Reed this season. They swept the Raiders in a three-game series in late April. … The Lancers were swept by Galena last weekend.

CARSON SENATORS

Head coach: Ron McNutt
Team record: 21-13 overall, 8-7 (third) in the Sierra League
Today’s opponent: Spanish Springs, 6 p.m. at Carson High.
2003 Regionals: Beat Reed, 7-6; beat Galena 9-7 and 7-5; lost to Reno, 10-8. First three games were at Carson. Final game was at Reno.
State titles: 1972, 1979, 1992

Senators notes: McNutt is retiring after the Senators’ final game this year. … The Senators advanced to the regional title game in 2003 where they lost to Reno. … Pitcher Scott DeFriez and outfielder Jeff Hurzel have been suspended for breaking team policies and will not play before Saturday, McNutt said. … The Senators needed to sweep Douglas last Saturday (they lost both games) in a doubleheader at Carson to finish second in the Sierra League. A second-place finish would have meant that the Senators would have stayed at Carson throughout the regional. They will now have to play Thursday and Friday at Reno High.

SPANISH SPRINGS COUGARS

Head coach: Mike Bosco
Team record: 17-12 overall, 11-4 (second) in the High Desert League.
Today’s opponent: Carson, 6 p.m. at Carson High.
2003 Regionals: Did not qualify.
State titles: None

Cougars notes: This is Spanish Springs first appearance in postseason play. … The Cougars are in their third year of existence. … A three-game sweep over Galena in late March gave the Cougars a 6-0 start in High Desert League play. … The Cougars also won five of their last six league games. … Bosco and Reed’s Jon Foss will be making their regional debuts today.