Roundup: Carson 13s in title hunt

The Carson 13 year old Babe Ruth team knocked off the favorite Thursday in the district tournament and continued on its roll Saturday.

Carson defeated South Reno, which was made up mostly of the Washoe Little League team from last season that advanced to regionals, Thursday in a back-and-forth 12-11 affair. The team followed that up with a 12-2 thrashing of Sparks on Saturday at Lampe Park in Gardnerville and are just one game away from the title game.

Carson faces Fallon, the only other undefeated team (2-0) in the bracket, at 3 p.m. today at Lampe Park. The winner of that game will face the winner of the loser's bracket in the double-elimination format tournament.

In its win Thursday, Carson had to retake the lead three times before finally overtaking South Reno in nine innings. Archie Redman provided the game-winning hit when he drove in two runs on pinch-hit at bat.

Carson wouldn't need his late-game heroics Saturday. After giving up two runs in the fourth inning on three hits, Carson answered by scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning. TJ Thompson, Zach Harjes and Redman all hit doubles in the inning and Gherig Tucker tripled to drive in three runs. Carson would tack on five more runs in the fifth.

Tucker and Harjes went 3 for 4 each with four and three RBIs, respectively. Chase Zampiro and Luke Maher also added doubles.

If Carson wins the title game, it would advance to the regional tournament in Yuba City, Calif., in August.

15 year olds drop two: After starting the day with a 13-3 loss, the Carson 15 year old Babe Ruth team showed how let down it was. And unfortunately for the players, that emotion carried over into the second game where it lost 12-2 to Carson Valley. The loss eliminated Carson from the district tournament.

"We were snake bit," Carson coach Scott Moreland said. "Carson Valley threw a great pitcher at us."

Carson managed just three hits in the second game, matching its total from the first game of the day against South Reno.

Tyler McGinley got the start for South Reno and besides a shaky first inning that saw Carson score on a wild pitch and passed ball, he had a solid outing.

Carson grabbed the early in lead in both games, but couldn't put together the same hitting that helped them rally from an 8-1 deficit against Truckee on Friday. Carson won the game 16-14.

14 year olds start off strong: The Carson 14 year old Babe Ruth team is 2-0 in the district tournament after defeating Reno West 10-5 Saturday and South Tahoe 14-6 Friday.

CARSON LITTLE LEAGUERS FALL: Washoe scored 18 runs in the third inning en route to a 25-4 victory over Carson City in the District 1 11-12 all-star tournament.

Carson finished the post-season with a 2-3 record.

Carson managed just four hits - two singles by Brandon Allen, a hit by Hunter Wilfert and a solo homer by Shane Andrews. It was Andrews' first career homer.

"We accomplished what we set out to do which was to make the single elimination tournament," manager Jim Andrews said. "I thought two wins would be enough to get the third seed, but it wasn't and we ended up with Washoe. They are a very good team."