BY DARRELL MOODY
Appeal Sports Writer
RENO " Wee Willie Keeler made a career by "hitting them where they ain't" in the early 1900s.
The Carson American 9- and 10-year-old all-star squad tore a page from that book by pounding out 18 hits, several of them that landed barely out of reach of Reno Continental defenders, en route to an easy 21-2 win in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Tournament on Thursday.
The game was shortened to five innings because of the 10-run rule.
The win sends Carson American into the semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m. against Sparks Centennial at the Washoe Little League Complex.
Other than perennial powerhouse Washoe, Carson might just be the hottest offensive team in the tournament. Carson is coming off back-to-back 20-run games, and has scored 10 or more runs in three of their four district victories.
Every starter had at least one hit in the lopsided win and six of those starters had two or more base knocks. And eight of the nine starters contributed at least one RBI, too.
Shane Andrews went 4-for-5, scored four times and drove in three runs. Bryce Moyle went 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in four runs. Connor Pradere, Jon Collins, P.J. White and Zach Simms all had two hits apiece.
"No one person is standing out," Carson coach Troy Moyle said. "We've been solid all the way around. We're not hitting it hard [all the time]. Because of that they are just falling out of the reach of their fielders."
Carson did all of its damage in the odd numbered innings, scoring four in the first, seven in the third and 10 in the fifth. They batted around in the latter two scoring innings, sending 12 and 15 batters to the plate, respectively.
Carson scored four times in the first, as Andrews, White, Collins and Simms all hit safely. White and Simms drove in a run apiece, while Moyle doubled home two runs.
Reno Continental scored two off Moyle in the bottom of the inning. Moyle fanned Will Barnare with the bases jammed to escape serious damage.
The locals upped their lead to 11-2 in the third with the aforementioned seven-run outburst.
An error, walk and single by Simms loaded the bases with no outs. Jesse Lopez delivered a run-scoring single and Moyle came through with another two-run blow to make it 7-2. Asa Carter was hit by a pitch and Chea Zeunia singled to load the bases.
Pradere singled home a run as did Andrews. Two other runs scored on wild pitches by Reno starter John Muntean.
Zeunia, who got the last two outs of the second inning, wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the third. With one out and the bases loaded, Zeunia fielded a comebacker and made the force at the plate and the Carson catcher alertly threw to third for the third out.
"That gave us a little momentum," said Troy Moyle. "We've had a minimum of errors so far. We have played very good defense. This might be the best defense we've played."
After a scoreless fourth, Carson used seven hits, an error and two hit batsmen to score 10 runs, seven coming after two outs. Carter and Andrews drove in two runs apiece.
White, who pitched the last two innings, easily set down Reno in the fifth. The game ended with Carson executing its second double play of the contest.
Normally when teams are on a roll like Carson, they want to get right back on the field. Coach Moyle gave his team the day off, and he doesn't believe laying off a day will bother his team.
"It doesn't really matter," coach Moyle said. "They deserve a day off. They have worked hard. I think Saturday they will come back so strong because they had the day off."
The winner of Saturday's game is expected to see Washoe. Carson lost to Washoe 18-3 on Tuesday, though the game was close for three innings.
"They want another shot at Washoe," coach Moyle said. "We ran out of pitching. We were excited to be close [4-3] in the third."
Only Bryce Moyle and White won't be able to pitch on Saturday against Sparks. Since Zeunia threw only 20 pitches, he can return to throw on Saturday.
- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or (775) 881-1281