Senators only need four hits in win

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - Don Amaral hadn't seen anything like it in a decade of coaching high school baseball.

Carson coach Cody Farnworth also couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

South Tahoe outhit the Senators 6-4 on a windy Wednesday afternoon at Todd Fields, but Carson didn't have any trouble controlling the scoreboard in an 11-0 Sierra League six-inning rout.

Senior David Charles delivered a memorable final start for the Senators, tossing five shutout innings. He combined with Nick Domitrovich on the six-

hitter.

Carson improved to 6-10 in league play, while the Vikings remained winless at 0-16.

After Vikings' starting pitcher Ricky Braun struck out the side in the first frame, Carson sent 10 hitters to the plate during a six-run second inning. The Senators only hits of the big inning were a bunt single by Adam Whitt and a two-run base knock to center field by Drew Moreland.

"We came to the plate disciplined, and he got a little wild and we weren't chasing," Farnworth said. "Any pitcher, when you get a guy on base and you have to go from the stretch, it changes things."

Five free passes by Braun and several wild pitches led to the extended rally.

"The only thing that I could see is that he changed his release point on the ball a little bit," Amaral said of starter's bout of wildness in the second inning.

The huge early cushion enabled Charles to relax and throw his bread-and-butter offspeed pitches.

"It helps relieve the stress of being on the mound. I can give up one run, and it's not a big deal when we're hitting like we did," Charles said.

Charles stranded 10 baserunners, including leaving the bags full of Vikings in the third and fifth innings. Charles got out of a third-inning jam by covering first base on a ball hit to the right side. First baseman Whitt's throw beat the head-first slide of Jamie Yelles. In the fifth, Charles battled back from a 3-0 count to Tanner Braun to coax a groundout to short, ending the South Tahoe rally with the sacks filled.

"He goes out and does what he has to do for us, and he's thrown well all year for us," Farnworth said.

Farnworth pulled Charles after five innings as his ace neared 100 pitches. Charles didn't mind either.

"When you got to get out, you got to get out. My arm was a little tight, so I didn't argue," Charles said. "I knew Nick would come in and shut it down, so I wasn't too worried about it.

"I'd rather keep my arm healthy than screw it up just because I want to finish a game."

Charles didn't become emotional after realizing that he had pitched his final game for the Senators.

"It doesn't affect me much because I know I'm going beyond this to pitch. I just see it that another chapter has ended and a new one is gonna start," said Charles, whose postgraduation plans are to play for College of San Mateo in San Mateo, Calif.

Sophomore Dylan Sawyers added a two-run single to center in the third inning as Carson extended its lead to 8-0. Pinch-hitter Rory Petersen scored Shea Bondi with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and the Senators plated their final two runs in the sixth.

Carson and South Tahoe will continue its three-game series at 3:45 p.m. today at Todd Fields. Max DeLallo, one of the top pitchers in Northern Nevada, is scheduled to take the hill for the Vikings.

"We have to put the ball in play tomorrow, especially against Max," Farnworth said. "We have to swing it better, and we have to play defense better."