A marathon stretch of youth baseball came to an end for the Sparks Centennial all-stars in the championship game of Nevada’s District 1 Renegades tournament Tuesday night at the Shadow Mountain Sports Complex.

Reno National handed Sparks Centennial a 6-5 loss in the title tilt and ended a run of 14 straight days with a competitive game for the local squad.

“We just made a few errors that hurt us,” Sparks Centennial coach Frank Padilla said. “We played 15 days straight. That’s been tough on these kids. But I couldn’t be prouder of my team. They gave all their heart and soul. I’m speechless with the way they played through this whole thing.”

Reno National broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Those proved to be the game-winning scores. Jack Zeltzel and Nathan Hunsberger both singled and circled the sacks for Reno’s key fourth-inning scores.

Sparks Centennial got on the scoreboard first with a run in the second. Jon-Mikel Ugalde singled and came around to score after a walk to Isaac Anguiano and a double by Nick Martin.

The Centennials extended their edge to 3-0 with two more runs in the top of inning three. Derek Rosemark and Blake Zabala initiated the threat with singles. Both came plateward after an Alex Padilla single and a double off the bat of Jamie Romero.

That’s when Reno National had an answer. It posted four runs in the bottom of inning three to grab a one-run edge, 4-3.

Sparks Centennial responded with a single score in the fourth, pulling into the 4-4 deadlock. Dilan Jackson reached on a two-out walk and scored soon after on a Reno error.

Reno National grabbed its 6-4 lead in the bottom of the inning but Sparks tried to hang around. The Centennials trimmed the margin to 6-5 with a run in the fifth. Padilla singled and moved up on an error. He scored on an Anguiano single.

“Reno National is a very good fundamental team,” Coach Padilla said. “They made all the throws. It was a close game.”