David Charles came to Satuday's Kelley Baseball Showcase in the hopes of showing scouts he was good enough to pitch at the college level. But the Carson High pitcher wasn't the only one looking to prove his worth. Southern Nevada player Jordan Stewart laced a ball up the third baseline that looked destined for the patch of dirt on the other side of the fence. But the ball sliced foul and Charles struck him out on the next pitch to end the inning.
"That kid in batting practice, he was just home run, home run, home run," said Charles, who struck out two in the fourth inning, his only inning in the game. "He was crowding the plate and I figured maybe if it threw it inside he wouldn't do it - he did - but I got lucky and then I got him the next."
Charles and the rest of his Northern teammates grabbed a 8-4 win over the South in the 12th annual Kelley Baseball Showcase at Bishop Manogue High School. But more importantly than the score, the North proved they had as much talent as the baseball-rich South for the class of 2010.
"I thought there was very good ability on both sides, North and South," said North coach Pete Savage, who also coaches at Reno High School. "I think there's talented players in the state of Nevada. I thought our state was well represented today."
A handful of professional and college scouts were on hand, which included Nevada, Southern Nevada, Western Nevada, St. Mary's and Portland State, among others. For some of the players, which were mostly seniors-to-be, this is the first time that scouts have had a long look at them.
"We're just trying to get our list together, make some phone calls and see what kind of interest we'll get," WNC pitching coach Kevin Edwards said.
The NCAA prohibits coaches from commenting about signable players.
The North grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning when McQueen's Chris Stocker drove in a run on a single. But the North quickly gave up the lead in the top of the second and failed to get another hit until the fourth inning with two outs already on the board.
But the North finally found a pitcher it liked in the sixth inning - the South changed pitchers nearly every two innings, while the North switched every inning. It scored six runs in the inning off Arbor View's Buddy Burden to take an 8-2 lead.
McQueen's Nick Finney hit an RBI-double off the centerfield wall to put the North on top at 3-2. Reno's Pat Gallagher reached on an error by the shortstop and Galena's Eric Howsley followed with an RBI-double to drive in Finney. Galena catcher Tony Guidara was hit by a pitch to load the bases and two batters later Humberto Espinoza of Spanish Springs drove in two runs on a single to left. Reno's Trevor McElroy capped of the scoring with an RBI-single.
Espinoza was named MVP for the game with a 2-for-3, three-RBI performance.
Douglas' Otto Trebotich came in late in the game and went 0-for-1 from the plate.
Charles will get a moment to enjoy the win over the South, who have won the last five 4A state baseball tournaments, but is hoping the phone or his mailbox will see some extra traffic.
"I'm noticed now, I guess," Charles said. "My name's out there and they now where I from and they can just come look at me."