Simply put, the Carson High baseball team wasted a sensational pitching effort by Jace Zampirro Tuesday afternoon at Ron McNutt Field.
Zampirro allowed only one earned run and five hits in 7.1 innings, but his teammates managed just four hits in a 3-1 extra-inning loss to the Reed Raiders.
The loss dropped Carson to 7-6 in Northern 4A play, while Reed improved to 6-7. The teams meet again on Thursday at 3:45 in Sparks.
"Jace threw his tail off today," Carson coach Cody Farnworth said. "The other kid out there (Mark Nowaczewski) is one of the better pitchers in the league and he battled with him.
"He struggled with his arm speed early. It was a shame we wasted it."
Zampirro fanned two and walked one before turning the ball over to Cole Dufresne who yielded a single and sacrifice fly before retiring the side. The game was tied at 1 entering the eighth.
"I think so," Zampirro said when asked if this was his best outing of the season. "I did a lot better keeping the ball down. My forkball was going really well.
"We're a good-hitting team. The other pitcher threw a really good game. I think we should have won the game."
And despite a solid effort by Mark Nowaczewski, the Senators had ample chances to put this away despite trailing since the first inning. Carson left two on in the first and third innings plus three in the sixth when it scored its only run of the game to send it to extra innings.
"We've got to be able to push across a run," Farnworth said. "We didn't get it done at the plate."
Reed took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ryan Butler reached first after striking out on a forkball. Zampirro said the pitch short-hopped catcher Rory Petersen. Butler went to second on an infield out, to third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield single by Chuck Stroberg.
Zampirro settled down and retired 10 of the next 11 hitters, the only blemish being a double by Beau Tittensor with two outs in the third.
In the bottom of the first, Carson put runners on first and second with two outs, but Rory Petersen's sharply hit groundball was turned into an inning-ending force out.
The Senators were knocking on the door in the third as Gehrig Tucker singled to right and moved to second on Brock Pradere's infield single. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third respectively. Nick Domitrovich chased a 2-2 fastball and struck out and then Luke Maher hit a comebacker to the mound for the third out.
Reed had a chance to up its lead in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with one out after a single by Brett Chavez and a double to left by Tanner Paris. Butler followed with groundball to Pradere at short. Chavez broke for home, but was thrown out after a short rundown between third and home. Tittensor lined to right to end the inning.
Carson tied the game in the sixth.
Maher reached on a one-out error and Petersen walked. Casey Wolfe hit a chopper in front of the plate and Maher was forced at third. Dion Copoulos was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Drew Moreland followed with a groundball to short and was safe when Paris dropped the ball, allowing Petersen to score.
Reed coach Ray Charles argued the call, thinking that Moreland had run inside the 45-foot lane and interfered with Paris. The umpires stayed with the initial ruling. TJ Thomsen struck out with the bases juiced to end the rally.
Paris reached on an error to open the eighth and was sacrificed to second by Butler. Tittensor singled to left to score Paris with what proved to be the winning run. Dufresne came on and gave up an infield single when on a chopper between the mound and first. Dufresne, Moreland (firs baseman) and Domitrovich (second baseman) started on the ball leaving first base unattended. Stroberg followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
Nowaczewski left after allowing a leadoff single to Maher. He was replaced by Justin Means.
Petersen hit a soft liner to short, and Joey Dice doubled Maher off first. Means fanned Wolfe to end the game.
"He (Nowaczewski) pitched outstanding today," Charles said. "I don't know if he's our ace, but he's one of our best pitchers.
"They gave us some opportunities today, and we were able to take advantage of them."