RENO " Carson High's baseball team finds itself in a precarious situation entering the third day of the Northern 4A Regional Tournament.
The Senators used both their second and third starting pitchers, David Charles and Tyler Hutchins, in Wednesday's 14-3 five-inning mauling at the hands of the Reno Huskies at Reno High School.
The loss sends the Senators into a loser's bracket game today at 1 p.m. against Bishop Manogue. The winner would face Reno at 4 p.m. The games will take place at Reno High.
One has to wonder whether the slumping Senators, who have dropped four of their last five, will be able to come back and keep their season alive for one more day.
"We have to," Carson shortstop Kyle Stone said. "We have nothing to lose, we have to come back. We have to throw strikes and hit the ball.
"It's calls, fielding and not putting the ball in play. It's all on us."
Carson coach Cody Farnworth has named Cody Barr, the Senators' starting third baseman as the starter against the Miners. Barr has seen limited action on the mound, and didn't start a Sierra League game the entire season.
"It will be by committee," Farnworth said, referring to the pitching plans. "Tyler (Hutchins) can come back."
Two pitchers who are unavailable are Tuesday starter Matt Rutledge, who threw about 120 pitches against Wooster, and Charles, who was raked for 12 runs and nine hits in 2.1 innings.
"He (Charles) didn't have his best stuff, but he still battled," Farnworth said. "The change-up is his out pitch. I didn't see much difference between the change-up and his fastball."
Charles probably should have been lifted at the end of the first after being carved up for eight runs and seven hits, including a grandslam by Zach Sanford and a solo homer by Nick Bietz. Charles threw around 35 pitches, and if he'd been yanked at that point, he could have started against Manogue today. Instead, he threw approximately 35 more pitches and can't come back today.
"We thought about it (taking him out after the first), but he threw better the second inning," Farnworth said. "The kid carried us all year. He didn't have his best stuff. Sometimes you just don't have it."
Charles did strike out the side in the second, stranding runners at first and second.
Griffin Kirsch, who retired the first six hitters to start the game, allowed three runs in the top of the third as Carson sent eight hitters to the plate.
Rutledge led off with a line-drive homer to left and Hutchins followed with a double to deep right. Hutchins moved to third on Tyler Smith's infield out and scored on the first of two Brett Valley singles. A walk to Tommy Preston and a bloop single to left by Kyle Stone loaded the bases. Cagle grounded to second to score Valley and Barr grounded out to second to end the inning.
Charles walked the first two hitters in the bottom of the third, and after Bietz flied out, Kirsch singled home Sanford and Tom Jameson followed with a three-run homer to make it 12-3. Hutchins came in and immediately surrendered a homer to Shawn Walters before retiring the next two hitters.
"I think the offense came out with quality at-bats," said Reno coach Pete Savage, whose team went 18-0 in league. "We had a good approach. Our starting pitcher gave us a good first inning and the kids came out and swung the bats well."