Pitcher Bryce Moyle chips a grounder and advances a runner early in the game against Spanish Springs Wednesday at Ron McNutt Field.
After being routed by Cougars, Moyle leads turnaround with 10 strikeouts vs. Spanish Springs
Carson High showed it has a very short memory.
The Senators rebounded from an ugly 15-run loss to Spanish Springs on Tuesday afternoon to blank the Cougars, 3-0, on a combined 4-hit shutout by Bryce Moyle and Joe Nelson Wednesday night at Ron McNutt Field.
Carson improved to 5-5 in Northern Division I play heading into a two-game series against Bishop Manogue. The teams play Saturday at 11 a.m. at Manogue and Monday at 6 at Carson.
“We were ready for today,” said Moyle, who fanned 10 in 6 1/3 innings of work. “We were embarrassed Tuesday, and we needed to win this one.”
“The kids respond well when their backs are against the wall,” CHS coach Bryan Manoukian said. “It was quite the rebound from Tuesday.”
And, Moyle was a big reason for that. The lefty had his off-speed stuff working to perfection, and Spanish Springs hitters were completely baffled. Of Moyle’s 10 strikeouts, five were on called third strikes.
“I thought it was good pitching on their part,” Spanish Springs coach Ben Hofmann said. “I thought we were up there guessing, and that’s not our approach. I felt like we were guessing, and we were guessing wrong more often than not. I felt like we had our opportunities. He hit a couple of guys one inning. We had our chances to score, but we couldn’t get the big hit. He did an outstanding job of keeping us of balance.”
Moyle did that with his breaking pitch.
“I was able to locate the breaking ball,” Moyle said. “If I don’t locate, I have to pitch forward and throw my fastball. I definitely felt they were guessing up there. They didn’t know what was comig.
“This was my best game of the season. Don’t know if it was my best ever, but definitely my best game of the year.”
Manoukian was obviously pleased.
“By far the best this season,” Manoukian said. “By definition the best of his career here. We’ve been working a lot on his breaking ball. It wasn’t that good earlier this year, but tonight he found it.”
Moyle left with a 3-0 lead and one out in the seventh. He had thrown more than 100 pitches.
“I’m pretty tough on the pitch count,” Manoukian said. “When he went out to start the seventh, he had 94, and the only reason I let him start the inning was that he had a shutout. I told him if somebody reached base, I was going to take him out.”
Justin Mannens reached on an error, and Manoukian summoned righty Joe Nelson from the bullpen. The lanky right-hander got Jake Prizina on a flyball to left and got Ricky Espinoza looking at a called third strike to end the game.
Spanish Springs left two runners on in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Two times the Cougars stranded runners at third.
Carson scored the only runs it would need in the second.
Terek Been reached on an infield single and scored on a double to deep center by Kyle Krebs, who went 2-for-2 and drove in all three CHS runs on Tuesday. Krebs eventually came around to score on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Raymond.
After stranding a runner at second in the third, the Senators got on the board again in the fourth.
Been led off with a walk, but was doubled off first when Josh Prizina flagged down Krebs’ shot and stepped on the bag. Seamus Burns reached on a two-base error. He went to third when Ryan Anderson uncorked a wild pitch. The ball bounced off the backstop right to Raymond, who threw the ball into left field allowing Krebs to score the final run of the game.
Carson had an opportunity to extend that lead in the fifth after Josiah Pongasi hit a one-out double to right. Anderson set down the next two hitters.
NOTES: Manoukian said he didn’t know who would start on Saturday against Manogue ... Josiah Pongasi had two of Carson’s five hits ... Moyle retired seven of the last nine hitters he faced before departing ... Krebs has hit safely in six of his last seven games.