Carson baseball beats Douglas

MINDEN — Clutch hitting was the difference Wednesday when the Carson Senators surged to an 8-5 Northern Division I baseball victory against arch rival Douglas.

Carson (21-9 overall, 15-6 league) rallied from an early 3-1 deficit, sparked by Jace Keema’s two-run double that broke a 3-all tie in the third inning, en route to its win over Douglas (13-17, 9-12 league) on an overcast afternoon at Tiger Field.

As far as the Senators were concerned, though, that clutch hitting was merely part of their “Family” philosophy. Just ask Keema, who went 3-for-4 to lead Carson’s 12-hit attack.

“It’s just a family at-bat,” Keema said of his third-inning double. “We preach it all the time; just keep at it until you get the pitch you want. Those are the things you do to get on and help your team win.”

The two teams meet again for a 3:45 p.m. contest today at Ron McNutt Field. Carson still has a chance to move up and secure the No. 2 seed for the region tournament (with a win coupled with a Reno loss to Manogue). And Douglas still has a mathematical chance to earn a playoff berth (with a win at Carson coupled with a Reed loss to Spanish Springs).

“We had a hard time putting hits together, but I’m really proud of the kids’ effort today,” Douglas coach Marc Walling said. “A lot of opportunities didn’t go our way that could have changed the outcome. But regardless, our kids showed up to play and they competed.”

And yes, any win in the final week of the regular season is important, especially in a rivalry game.

“It is a big win,” Keema said. “We just take it one game at a time.”

Added Connor Pradere: “You never know how it’s going to end when you’re playing your rival.”

Pradere hit 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and in the process, stole two bases to give him a school single-season record total of 39 for the season.

Pradere singled to lead off the game, advanced on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a Kyle Krebs ground out to give Carson a 1-0 lead.

Douglas came back with three runs in the home half of the inning. Three straight Tigers reached base without benefit of a hit and then Logan Fencl slammed a drive that one-hopped the left field fence for a bases-clearing double.

“Douglas came out and jumped on us,” Carson coach Bryan Manoukian said. “Fortunately we were able to score some runs and get a good pitching performance from John Holton today.”

Carson answered with two runs in the second inning to tie the score. Keema led off with a single and scored on Holton’s double to right field. With two outs, Jesse Lopez lined a single to right field that drove home the tying run.

Lopez provided a defensive spark from left field in the home half of the second when he made a running catch of Haden Keller’s long drive down the line to retire the side.

The Senators continued their momentum into the third inning when Cody Azevedo and Krebs opened with singles. Keema stepped to the plate with one out and patiently waited for his pitch — which he took the opposite way for a two-run double to right field.

“I don’t know how many pitches it was, but he was tough,” Manoukian said. “He finally got a ball he liked and drove it … and that was probably the turning point of the game.”

Douglas threatened to come back in the bottom of the third when Tomas Leitenbauer and Haydn Brown singled. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, however, they were left stranded when Holton retired the side on a strikeout and infield pop fly.

The Tigers pulled to within 5-4 in the fifth inning after Keller reached on an infield hit and scored on Spencer Trivitt’s sacrifice fly.

The Senators answered with two runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 7-4. Bryce Moyle was hit by a pitch, Pradere followed with an infield hit, stole second and then both runners scored on a throwing error.

Carson added one more run in the seventh when Abel Carter singled and scored on Kyle Gagnon’s double to left field.

Douglas loaded the bases in the sixth inning when Fencl doubled, Jayden Foster was hit by a pitch and Hunter Simpson singled. Moyle came onto pitch in relief and worked out of the jam when Keema handled an infield pop fly and then a ground ball at second base.

“Holton threw a good game; he kept us off balance,” Walling said. “And then they brought in Moyle and he always does a good job.”

The Tigers’ Simpson pitched six innings, allowed 10 hits and two walks to go with six strikeouts.

Tanner Valenzuela pitched the seventh.

With his two stolen bases, Pradere surpassed the school record set in 1994 by current Carson assistant coach Matt Morgan.

“It’s a record that’s been around for a long time,” Manoukian said. “We couldn’t be prouder of Connor for working really hard to become a good base runner and getting on base and being a good leadoff hitter.”