Carson on verge of elimination from reaching postseason

RENO - Carson High's young baseball team was all but eliminated from the Sierra League post-season picture Thursday afternoon.

Bishop Manogue roughed up Carson ace David Charles for seven runs and nine hits en route to a 14-4 victory. The game was stopped with two outs in the sixth inning because of the 10-run rule.

It was the Miners' eight straight victory and put them at 10-6 for the season. Carson, meanwhile, dropped to 4-9. The teams will conclude their three-game series with a Saturday doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Adam Whitt will start one of the games for Carson, but a second starter has yet to be selected.

The only way Carson could reach the playoffs is to win its remaining five games and hope that Douglas loses its final five. One Douglas win would eliminate the Senators.

"We needed to sweep this series and we didn't," Carson coach Cody Farnworth said. "We're playing for pride now.

"I didn't think David had a really sharp change-up today, and when he's not throwing strikes with it, he tends to give up a lot of hits."

The Miners pushed across an unearned run in the first and added two runs in the second on a single by winning pitcher Sean DeWeese, a triple by Austin Petersen and a single by Niles Lujan.

Carson rebounded with two in the third when Shea Bondi reached on an error by shortstop Justin Farley, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brock Pradere and scored on a double by Dylan Sawyers. A single by Nick Domitrovich scored Sawyers.

Manogue collected four more hits in the third to score two more runs for a 5-2 lead. Devonte German and Taylor Burkett delivered the run-scoring hits.

Carson added a run in the top of the fifth on a single by Bondi and a run-scoring double by Pradere.

Charles walked the first two batters he faced in the fifth and gave way to Connor Beattie, who gave up a sacrifice fly to DeWeese and a single to Petersen for a 7-3 lead.

Whitt's sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth made it 7-4, but the Miners struck for seven to end the game. Beattie was charged with six of those runs, while Chance Quilling, the Senators' third pitcher, gave up one.

Manogue coach Charles Oppio was pleased with the outcome. His team has certainly turned the corner after a 1-5 start.

"We knew we couldn't lose another series," he said. "Charles is a good pitcher, and this is the best approach we've had. We did a good job of staying back on the ball. The kids have swung it well lately and they have confidence, which goes a long way. The pitching has been great. I've been relying on four guys the whole time."