BY MIKE HOUSER
Appeal Sports Writer
Although Northern Nevada was able to put one more man on base than Southern Nevada " 19-18 " it was the South that was able to push one more player across the plate than its Northern counterpart did to take an 8-7 victory in Saturday's Kelley Baseball Showcase at John L. Harvey Field.
After getting hit by a pitch, Anthony Consiglio, of Centennial High School, came home on a wild pitch thrown by Douglas' Tyler May, to break a 7-7 tie in the top of the sixth inning and provide the South with the winning run.
In a game that saw a total of 18 pitchers " each team put nine hurlers on the mound for one inning apiece " Southern Nevada overcame 11 hits by the North and took advantage of six hit batsmen to squeeze out the win.
Trailing 7-5, Southern Nevada rallied behind Braden Keathley (Silverado), who was hit by a pitch thrown by Galena's Josh Evans and scored on a fifth-inning single by Taylor Doyle (Cimarron-Memorial). Josh Arnold (Arbor View) scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Smith (Cimarron) to tie the game later in the inning.
Sam Friend (Cimarron) added to a big day by the Spartans' contingent, clocking a three-run homer off Douglas' Tyler Hoelzen in a five-run second inning to give the South a 4-1 lead.
"I was just looking for a good pitch," said Friend, who is hitting .410 in Legion summer league play. "It was a fastball a little in. I was actually waiting for a curveball, but he tried to sneak [a fastball] by me."
Friend, who was 1-for-2 with a walk and a homer, has garnered some interest from Cal-State Fullerton and Oregon and received letters from Washington State and Arizona. He was voted the game's Most Valuable Player by local media.
"I was just trying to play as good as I can to make Vegas win," Friend said. "We traveled all day; it's good to come down here and get a win. I got up at 4:30 [a.m.]. That's way too early. I was kinda psyched about it. I didn't even sleep on the plane ride up."
Radar guns and notepads were in display as numerous scouts got an early peek at the state's top seniors-to-be.
Bishop Manogue right fielder Pat Riggs put Northern Nevada on top 1-0 in the first inning with a single to center, which scored Chris Hawthorne, of Reed.
Arbor View's Sean Reilly doubled in Kyle Wesley Grass (Las Vegas) to tie it 1-1 and Kyle Rynearson (Arbor View) scored on a passed ball to put round out Southern Nevada's five-run second inning.
Reno's Zach Sanford doubled off Daniel Levine (Green Valley) before scoring on an error to close the score to 5-2 in the bottom of the second. A single by Reed's Duran DiQuarto scored Carson's Brett Valley later in the inning.
Reno's Tom Jameson added a solo homer to open the third inning and a double by Cody Stevens (Damonte Ranch) scored Sanford as Northern Nevada tied it 5-5.
The North scored its final two runs in the fourth when Wooster's Victor Mendoza's RBI double brought in Ray Daniels (Damonte Ranch) and May. The 7-5 lead was Northern Nevada's last.
"It was fun. It was a relaxed atmosphere for the coaches and the kids were really intense," said Charles Oppio, who guided his Bishop Manogue Miners to a 28-10 record and their first-ever appearance in the Class 4A state playoffs. "When everyone's playing summer ball almost every day, you get high quality baseball, which you had today."
Manogue's Ryan Baker was voted the game Most Valuable Pitcher.
"We came in wanting to get everybody a couple of at bats. We did," added Oppio. "It was great baseball. I want every one of these guys on my team."
- Contact Mike Houser at mhouser@nevadaappeal or 881-1214.