South Tahoe High Baseball team wins Northern Nevada title, on way to NIAA 3a State Tournament

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After an amazing display of perseverance, teamwork, and talent on the baseball diamond last week, the South Tahoe High School (STHS) Vikings came from a first-round loss to the loser's bracket to becoming the Northern Nevada 3A Baseball champions.

And now they are looking to bring home a state championship trophy to South Lake Tahoe for the first time.

The STHS Vikings are the first team in the history of the Nevada 3A North to come out of the losers bracket and win the Regional championship, according to Coach Mark Shehadi. The team is 40-2 over the last two years and has been undefeated at home.

And not only do they excel on the field, but they also excel in the classroom with a team-combine GPA of 3.76.

The STHS baseball team is on its way to Mesquite, Nevada Wednesday to compete in the NIAA 3a State Baseball Tournament. Their first-round opponent will be the home team Virgin Valley on Thursday, May 18 at 3:30 p.m. STHS is the number one seed from the north, while Virgin Valley is the number 2 seed from the south. Virgin Valley's record is 9-1 in the league, 24-11 overall.

The winner of that game will play against the winner of the Pahrump Valley - Churchill County game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Pahrump-Churchill game is being played just before the Vikings on the same field at 1 p.m. The championship game will be played on Saturday.

"We have had this special group since they were in tee ball," said Coach Shahadi. "It's been an honor to get to spend this time competing with these fine young men! They are all so fun and very talented. The confidence I have in these young men is unmatched!"

Shahadi said every single player on the Vikings has made the Northern Nevada 3A West All division teams, as well as many making the 3A All-North Team, with a few making the 3A All-State team.

In the regional tournament last week, STHS had a bye in the first round, lost to Churchill County 4-1, then beat Elko 7-6, Spring Creek 5-3, Truckee 2-1, and Churchill County twice in the championship round as their bats really warmed up, 14-6 and 19-3.

"We should be in line to receive a national academic award," added Shahadi.

"I'm looking forward to representing STHS and all of South Lake Tahoe in our bid to win the first State championship So Tahoe baseball has ever had," said Shahadi.

Team:
Joel Gomez
J.R. Elizalde
Christopher Haven
Nico Wagner
Ian Ross
Vinnie Abbandondalo
Garrett Friederici
Caden Matthews
Forrest Jones
Haden Stephen
Jonathon Bender
Elijah Hammer
Evan Orr

Coaches:
Mark Shehadi
Rod Moore
Jon Hetherton
David Jones
Chad Stephen
Daren Hammer