A big week of high school baseball in southern Nevada will end with one of the biggest matchups of the regular season.
Sierra Vista (Las Vegas)
, which is No. 3 in the MaxPreps state rankings, visits No. 1
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) at noon on Saturday with first place in the Southwest League expected to be on the line (each team plays twice before this weekend's contest).
Gorman was atop the Xcellent 25 baseball rankings earlier this season before losing three games to teams from Florida and falling out of the national poll entirely. Now the Gaels (20-3, 8-0) are riding an 11-game winning streak as they search for a fifth straight Nevada 4A state title. Gorman has six players hitting .463 or better, including senior Cory Welch (.508, 5 HRs, 24 RBI), sophomore Joey Gallo (.475, 7 HRs, 33 RBI) and senior Johnny Field (.492, 7 HRs, a team-leading 42 RBI), who has signed with Arizona.
For Sierra Vista, this matchup will be the latest in a string of games against thestate's best teams. The Mountain Lions (19-4, 8-0) have already faced six teams in the top 10 of the MaxPreps state rankings, and are 7-3 in those games.
Senior Nick Kingham has made a huge impact after sitting out last season following his transfer from Calvary Chapel Christian (Las Vegas). The Oregon signee is hitting .435 with a team-best seven home runs and 31 RBI while going 5-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. Junior Jake Hager (.500, 5 HRs, 25 RBI) and senior Julian Cutolo (.508) have paced Sierra Vista's offense. Sierra Vista hosts the Gaels in the return game on May 1.
Before Gorman and Sierra Vista meet, No. 6 Arbor View (Las Vegas) hosts No. 7 Legacy (North Las Vegas) on Friday with first place in the Northwest League at stake. Heading into Wednesday's games, the teams shared a two-game lead in the standings over third-place Palo Verde (Las Vegas). The Aggies (15-7, 8-1) have won six of seven and scratched out a 4-3 win on Monday over Centennial (Las Vegas) and pitcher Michael Wagner, who signed with San Diego. They have been led offensively by senior outfielder Nick Urban (.534, 3 HR, a team-best 29 RBI).
Legacy (13-8, 8-1) has won six consecutive games and nine of its last 10 after a slow start. The Longhorns have five players batting .400 or better, led by senior Donald Glover (.509, 2 HRs, 21 RBI) and UNLV signee Joey Lauria (.490, 2 HRs, 22 RBI).
All this comes after second-ranked Green Valley (Henderson) slugged four home runs in a 19-9 five-inning victory over No. 8 Foothill (Henderson) on Tuesday that gave the Gators sole possession of first place in the Southeast League.