Baseball Game Preview: Elko Indians vs. Fernley Vaqueros

Elko and Fernley are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2022, but likely not for long. The Indians will take on the Vaqueros at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. Elko is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.

Having struggled with four losses in a row, Elko turned things around against Fernley last Saturday. They never let the Vaqueros get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Indians have posted against the Vaqueros since May 5, 2023.

Toren Duke

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/26/25 @ Fernley	11
03/09/24 @ Truckee	10
04/27/24 vs Fernley	7
04/20/24 @ Dayton	7
03/01/24 vs McQueen	7

Toren Duke was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two runs. He has become a key player for Elko: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 9-15 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Coy Jones, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Javi Robles, who went 1-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

Fernley has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten games. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-15-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Elko, their win bumped their record up to 14-15.