Carson softball opens playoffs

How many playoff games has any member of the current Carson High softball roster played in?

If you guessed zero, go to the head of the class.

The senior-less Senators, who finished second to Reno in the Sierra League this season, face Reed, the third-place finisher from the High Desert League, in the first round of the NIAA 4A Regional tournament today at noon at Carson.

In other first-round games, High Desert champ Spanish Springs plays Wooster, the fourth-place Sierra League finisher, also at noon. At 2 p.m., McQueen, the High Desert runner-up, faces Douglas, the third-place Sierra team. Also at 2 p.m., Sierra League champ Reno takes on Bishop Manogue, the High Desert's fourth-place team. First-round losers will play at 4 p.m.

"This is going to be a good experience for our young team," Carson coach Scott Vickrey said. "We're going to push it as hard as we can. If we can play good defense, hit better than we have been and pitch well, maybe we can sneak a game or two from people. We have a chance if we can keep the score close and make things happen.

"This is one of the better fields in the last couple of years. Reno is a solid team with three good pitchers and good hitting up and down the lineup. We haven't seen Spanish Springs this year, but I've seen (Mallory) Darby pitch before and teams aren't going to score a bunch of runs against her. McQueen has a good pitcher in Katie Eshelman. This will be quality ball. Nobody can be overlooked."

That includes Reed, Carson's first-round opponent.

"I don't see them as a No. 3 seed," Vickrey said. "They're a solid team. This year was the first time in three years that we haven't played them in the Reed tournament. We didn't even get a chance to see them play. They seemed to be playing when we were."

The Raiders are coached by Ray Charles, who played for Ron McNutt's Carson Capitals during his high school days. Charles has two solid pitchers in Kelsey Hawley and Chelsea Cohen. Ali Berry, Cassie Hunt and Tia Wunder are three of Reed's top offensive players.

"We've faced Hawley before," Vickrey said. "She throws a good rise ball and change, and has good control. I believe her bread and butter is her fastball."

Reed will probably see freshman Cassie Vondrak in the circle, though Vickrey hasn't ruled out starting Nikki Keller.

"I haven't totally decided," Vickrey said. "We'll (coaches) get together in the morning and talk about it, and then see how they are throwing."

Vondrak has been a workhorse this season, and she has a tremendous upside. Keller missed a portion of the season recovering from an injury suffered earlier in the year.

One huge key is Carson's short game. Vickrey believes runs will be at a premium because of the good pitching, and he said that runners have to be moved over whenever the opportunity presents itself. He also said that Carson has to do a better job of clutch hitting.

"We had been swinging the bat well, but we struggled against Reno," the CHS coach said. "I think we only got three hits in each game. We have to take advantage of any chances we get to score."

Certainly the Senators need to get continued production from catcher Dacey Hassey and improved production from third baseman Abby Rankl. They possess the most power in the lineup. Crista Casci is the Seantors' table-setter at the top of the lineup and Candice Rutledge hit well in a recent series against Wooster.

Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281

4A Zone Playoffs

Today

Noon - Spanish Springs vs. Wooster

Noon - Carson vs. Reed

2 p.m. - McQueen vs. Douglas

2 p.m. - Reno vs. Manogue

4 p.m. - Spanish Springs-Wooster loser vs. Carson-Reed loser

4 p.m. - McQueen-Douglas loser vs. Reno-Manogue loser