Late arrivers to Ron McNutt Field for the Carson High School baseball game on Thursday weren't the only ones surprised by Elko's 9-0 lead after just a half inning.
Indians coach Marc Suyematsu was just as shocked by Elko's nine-run, nine-hit outburst in the top of the first, which helped his team defeat Carson 16-7.
"Never in my wildest dreams had I thought we would have a nine-run lead at Carson, but it sure was nice to have," said Suyematsu, whose team raised its record to 3-5 with the victory. "It allowed our batters to relax at the plate and not feel as much pressure. But any time you're playing Carson, no lead is big enough."
The loss was the first for the Senators (6-2) on their field this season; Carson's other loss was in a double forfeit against Douglas.
"Right from the start, we weren't ready to play," said Carson coach Ron McNutt. "I think we overlooked them. I've got to take the blame, I didn't get the team up to play."
Three Carson pitchers threw to 14 Elko batters in the top of the first, which took 32 minutes to play. The nine runs were the most by Elko in one inning this season.
The crucial hit that ended starter Ben Moore's day in the first came when, with two outs, No. 9 hitter Dusty Ferrar delivered a bases-loaded single which scored two runs to give Elko a 5-0 lead. After Ferrar's hit, Elko went on to record two more hits and a walk off Tim Woodside to plate four additional runs. Ryan Buttner then came in to record the inning's final out.
Elko pitcher Manuel Alvarado said the nine-run lead made his job easy.
"Once I had a 9-0 lead, I had a cushion to work with and all I had to do was throw strikes and let my teammates field the ball," said Alvarado, who helped himself in the first by recording two doubles and two RBIs.
"Manuel is our No. 1 pitcher, and with him on the mound I felt good about our chances of winning," Suyematsu said. "But obviously we couldn't relax, because Carson is too good not to come back."
Carson did rally to put itself into contention, scoring three runs in the second, three in the third, and one in the fifth to cut the Indians' lead to 11-7 entering the sixth. The key hit for Carson during its three-run third was a pinch-hit single by Nick Gitthens, which scored two runs.
But Elko responded with four unearned runs in the top of the sixth to give itself some breathing room once again.
Justin Wines, who had started for the Indians in left field, came on to effectively pitch the final four innings for Elko. He allowed just one run and two hits in his relief appearance.
"We had our shot, then had a couple of errors and gave them some runs we didn't need to," McNutt said. "When you do that, you're going to be in trouble."
Carson officially had four errors in the game, but the scorer could have easily given the Senators twice as many. The Senators also made other mistakes, such as hitting an Elko batter with the bases loaded and getting called for catcher's interference.
The bright spot for the Carson pitching staff in the loss was the sophomore Buttner, who allowed just two runs in 2 innings of relief. First-baseman Matt Leck and Moore were the Senator batters with two hits.
Although Carson used six pitchers on Thursday, McNutt said the pitching staff would still be in good shape for Saturday's home doubleheader against McQueen at 10 a.m.
Scheduled starting pitchers for Carson in the doubleheader are Chris Padgett and Ken Heald.