RENO - Carson High flexed its collective muscle and stole the show at the eighth annual Kelley Showcase Monday night at Reno High.
The quartet of MVP Royal Good, Kevin Schlange, Brooks Greenlee and Logan Parsley went a combined 6 for 9 with six runs scored and four RBIs to lead the Sierra League to an easy 11-5 win over their High Desert counterparts in an all-star exhibition contest that featured Northern Nevada high school juniors and sophomores.
Good and Greenlee both went 2 for 3, Schlange 1 for 2 and Parsley 1 for 2 with two RBIs.
Good was surprised when his name was called for the George Maldonado Award. He received a baseball glove for his MVP award.
"I didn't really think I'd get it," Good said. "There were a lot of good players out there. It's pretty cool.
"I was pretty happy they had Logan and I at the top of the order. We showed what Carson High has coming back next year. We showed pretty good as a group."
The performance by the Carson quartet caught the eye of Douglas coach John Glover, who coached the Sierra stars to the win.
"It will be tough next year," Glover said, referring to both Reno and Carson. "Both of them have a lot of good kids coming back.
"The kids played hard and enjoyed themselves. They got out in front of people and showed what they had."
And all four Carson players had a big hand in the comeback win.
Trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Sierra stars rallied to tie the game at 4 against Galena's Tony Thompson. Parsley drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and with runners at first and third, Greenlee scored from third when Good stole second. Reno's Davis Banks drove in the tying run with a single to right.
The Sierra stars took control in the seventh, scoring five runs on four hits. Schlange had a run-scoring double off Reed's Jimmy Reed. Reno's Alex Gardner added a sacrifice fly, Damonte Ranch's Chad Mitchell hit a two-run double and Greenlee singled in the final run of the inning to make it 9-5.
Good sparked a two-run rally in the eighth when he beat out a bunt single and scored on Parsley's double. Parsley came around to score on Banks' sacrifice fly.
It wasn't just a good night for the hitters, either.
The Sierra stars got nice pitching efforts from all five of their pitchers. North Valleys' Justin Cutler allowed an earned run in the fourth and Hug's Randy Lagorio was nicked for three unearned runs in the fifth, which enabled High Desert to grab a 4-1 lead. Reno's Banks threw a scoreless inning and Garrett Luippold threw two scoreless innings to open the game.
That was High Desert's last lead. The rest of the game belonged to the Sierra squad.
"I didn't expect to get a big hit," Schlange said of his double. "I hoped to do a little part and maybe drive in a run. It was exciting for me. It was a blast."
Ditto for Greenlee.
"It was an honor to be chosen," the sophomore said. "I had a lot of fun and got noticed. Next year hopefully I can come back and do even better. I got an opportunity to show what I got, and I think I did that."
NOTES: Prior to the game, both teams took several rounds of batting practice before college coaches and Major League scouts and then were timed in a sprint, but were not given their times ... Proceeds from the game went to the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows.
n Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling 881-1281