Reno Knights (8) vs Las Vegas Bulldogs (9)

The Bulldogs struck first scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning as Reno starter, '20 Caedon Kottinger struggled to settle in. Reno answered with five in the top of the second only to have the Bulldogs answer with 4 in the bottom half, making it 7-5. The Bulldogs tacked on two more in the fourth, extending the lead 9-5. The Knights plated two in the fifth and one in the sixth cutting the lead to 9-8. ’20 Trevor Szczepanek on in relief of Bulldog starter ’21 Sam Simon, recorded the final three outs in order, securing the victory. Offensively, ’19 Austin Krysczcuk (UNLV) paced the Bulldogs going 2-2 with 4 RBI, three of which were courtesy of a three-run home run. '20 Travis Rice and Jonathan Merino each had two hits as well. For the Knights, ’20 Lane Oliphant, C, and ’20 Donovan Ratfield, 1B, had three hits each.

’20 Trevor Szczepanek, RHP (Centennial)

Lean, 6-foot-5 165, Szczepanek has a large frame with room for weight and strength gains. He throws from a low ¾ slot with a heavy cross body delivery which lends deception. His fastball ranged 79-81 with a slurvy breaking ball, 67-68. He showed feel for a changeup 70-71. This is an intriguing arm with a possible future as a submarine type arm. He has a loose arm with good flexibility and would be difficult to manage for opposing hitters if he took his arm slot all the way down. If his feel for spin translate to the lower arm slot, he would be extremely tough on right handed hitters.

’21 Sam Simon, RHP (Centennial)

Sturdy, 6-foot-2 200, Simon has present strength and stamina as a starter. He delivered from a high ¾ slot with consistent down plane. His fastball ranged 84-89, pitching mostly 86-88. The curveball was a touch lite at 67-72 with inconsistent depth. He showed solid feel for a changeup 76-78 with arm side life. He was a solid athlete off the mound, fielding bunts and first base feeds/coverages.