RENO — The afternoon started with a shoddy pre-game and it got worse from there for the Carson Senators.
Damonte Ranch jumped out to a 5-0 first-inning lead and cruised to a 10-0 mercy rule win over the Senators Tuesday afternoon in a Northern Division I contest.
Carson dropped to 9-8 and Damonte remained undefeated at 17-0. The teams conclude the two-game series Thursday at 6 p.m. at Ron McNutt Field. Bryce Moyle will start on the hill for Carson.
Six of the first seven hitters Carson starter/loser Kyle Krebs faced hit safely before the junior right-hander settled down and got out of the inning.
Jared Blake and Grant Goff reached on singles, and Daniel Page hit a three-run homer on a hanging curve ball. Johnny Damon singled, and after Jacob Applebach struck out looking, Tommy Dolan doubled home Damon to make it 4-0. Dolan moved to third on a single by Trevor Schryer and then scored on an infield out.
Krebs settled down, retiring 10 straight after Schryer’s hit. The Mustangs were held scoreless until the fifth.
“He just threw with more confidence,” CHS coach Bryan Manoukian said. “He got into a nice rhythm there after the first inning. He might have been a little nervous.
“Damonte is a very good baseball team. They are very aggressive at the plate. They put the ball in play; hit line drives. They do the things they need to do.”
Krebs said after the game his teammates rallied behind him in the dugout, which gave him confidence.
“I didn’t have a care in the world after that first inning,” Krebs said.
Damonte coach Jon Polson noticed the difference.
“He (Krebs) got better,” Polson said. “He had a nice three-inning stretch in the second, third and forth. I thought he showed a lot by coming back how he did.
“It is always nice to get on top early. We did that on Saturday and we did it today. We gave our pitcher a chance to catch his breath.”
Carson managed just five hits off Bradley Bourdase. Krebs and John Holton had doubles, while Brandon Allen, Terek Been and Josiah Pongasi singled.
The Senators had a few chances to score, but went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The best chance to score came in the second when Allen and Been singled. Holton and Seamus Burns popped out and Moyle walked to load the bases. Cody Azevedo grounded to third to end the threat.
In the third, Krebs hit a two-out double and was stranded when Allen was retired on a bouncer to first. Holton hit a one-out double in the fourth, but Burns struck out and Moyle flied to left. In the fifth, Pongasi hit an infield single and stole second, but Krebs’ roller to second ended the threat.
The Mustangs ended the game in the fifth, scoring five times on four hits, two walks and two hit batters. Ben, who relieved Krebs with one out, plunked Page with the bases loaded to score the game-ending run.