A dead heat with two games to go.
Tyler May scattered six hits and hit a solo homer to lead Douglas to a 3-1 win over Carson in a Sierra League baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Ron McNutt Field.
The victory moved the Tigers into a first-place tie with Carson at 13-3. The teams meet again today in Minden at 3:30 with Carson's David Charles expected to oppose Douglas' Tyler Hoelzen.
May's win was the 20th of his career, tying him with Shawn Estes, who is currently with the Dodgers' Triple-A team in Albuquerque.
"It feels awesome," May said, referring to tying Estes. "I woke up this morning and I had butterflies. I knew it was going to be a tough game.
"I came out strong. My main point was to keep the ball low. They hit a lot of hard shots, but my defense picked me up big time."
Save for the sixth when Dustin Buttner singled home Kyle Stone with the Senators' only run, May was in complete control. Carson only got two runners as far as third base in the other six innings.
"He (May) knew it was a big game for us, and I thought he pitched well," said Douglas coach John Glover, who expected a tight game.
"They (May and Matt Rutledge) are two of the best pitchers in our league. I knew 'Rut' would be tough. After he settled down, he shut us down."
Rutledge wasn't sharp early, and it cost him dearly in the first.
May walked and moved to third on a soft single by Beau Davis. Tim Rudnick followed with a a sacrifice fly to left scoring May. After striking out Tyler Hoelzen, Tanner Thomas followed with a single that just got under the glove of Barr at third base which enabled Davis to score.
"My arm was a little tight and I didn't pound the strike zone," said Rutledge, who gave up only six hits. "I didn't throw strikes, I didn't get ahead and it hurt me."
Carson put up its first threat in the second, putting runners at second and third, but May caught Tyler Hutchins looking at a third strike to end the inning.
Douglas made it 3-0 in the third when May led off with an off-field homer to right, Rutledge quickly retired the next three hitters.
Carson put runners on first and third with two outs in the third thanks to singles by Tommy Preston and Stone, but Cagle grounded to short to end the inning.
Part of May's success stemmed from the fact that he had an easy time with Cagle, Buttner and Barr, who were a combined 1-for-7. May did a nice job keeping the trio off balance with off-speed pitches.
May was frustrating the Senators, and that led to some interesting strategy on Carson's part.
Brett Valley hit a one-out infield single, but was cut down on a steal attempt by Davis. Normally a team down three runs isn't going to steal a base.
"We were trying to get some motion; trying to stay out of the double play," Carson coach Cody Farnworth said. "We were trying to get something going. We weren't hitting him (very well)."
The same thing happened in the seventh. Tyler Hutchins singled on an 0-2 count, and after May fanned Tyler Smith. The Senators' tried a hit-and-run and Hutchins was cut down at second by Davis. Valley popped to left to end the game.
"Again, we're trying to stay out of the double play," Farnworth said. "It came down to execution. I thought we played a little tight.
"One of our goals is to win the division. That's what I'm concerned about."
Another objective is to win every series, and the Senators can do that if they win today and Friday.