Cole McDannald pitches for the Senators on Thursday.
The best weather of the season brought out the biggest crowd of the season Thursday, and the fans were treated to a great rivalry game on Senior Night.
Carson, needing a win to ensure a playoff berth, scored four times in the bottom of the fourth and then held off a seventh-inning rally by Douglas to grab a 5-3 win at Ron McNutt Field.
The win evened Carson’s record at 11-11, putting the Senators into a tie for sixth place with Damonte. Carson gained the No. 6 seed and a first-round game at Galena on Tuesday based on runs allowed against Damonte. The Senators allowed just five runs in two meetings against the Mustangs.
“This game had a definite playoff atmosphere,” Carson coach Bryan Manoukian said. “A lot of people showed up from both schools and both teams played hard. This is why this is the greatest rivalry in the state, and it lived up to that tonight.
“We had a great group of (senior) kids, and I wish I could have gotten them all in.”
The same can be said for the Tigers, who saw their league season end at 9-13. Marc Walling took some extra time with his team after the game.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Walling said. “It was a pretty good pitcher’s duel for a while. The last two days were a lot of fun. It is what this rivalry is all about.
“We were aggressive at the plate and did a good job. We barreled up some balls, and that’s all you can ask.”
Carson ace Bryce Moyle and Douglas’ Haden Keller were locked in a scoreless duel for 3-plus innings. Carson hit into double plays in each of the first two innings, and Keller’s second-inning single was the only DHS baserunner in the first four innings.
And then came the bottom of the fourth, and that’s when the game went south on the Tigers.
Jesse Lopez walked and reached second when Keller couldn’t come up with Moyle’s sacrifice bunt. Abel Carter followed with a run-scoring single to right-centerfield for the first run of the game. Jace Keema drove in a run to make it 2-0, and after Colby Zemp popped up a bunt attempt, Jared Barnard singled over shortstop to score Carter. After Trevor Edis singled, Brandon Gagnon reached on an error, allowing the final run of the inning to score.
Moyle, who was tagged with the loss on Wednesday after giving up an unearned run, gave up an unearned run in the fifth.
Riley Wilkinson and Spencer Trivitt singled to open the inning. Ayden Murphy hit a big-hop grounder to Carter, who stepped on the bag at third and threw a strike to first. Hunter Simpson followed with a groundball that Carter made a nice play on, but threw wildly to first, allowing Trivitt to score from second. Moyle retired Isaiah Schat to end the uprising.
“I don’t think Abel realized he had more time,” Manoukian said. “He made a great play to get to the ball.”
Moyle had an easy sixth, and he was done for the day. He allowed just four hits over six innings en route to the win.
“He threw 30 yesterday and 70 tonight. We weren’t going to let him throw over 100,” Manoukian said. “He was an absolute warrior tonight. He changed speeds really well and threw strikes when he needed to. He was pounding the zone, and Douglas was very aggressive at the plate.”
For Moyle, it was a great way to go out in the final home game of his career.
“I was on a 70-pitch limit,” he said. “I think it was the most people I’ve seen here ever. Senior Night is the best game of the year to play.”
Moyle said Douglas’ strategy of swinging early in the count didn’t bother him, especially because he was on a pitch count.
“I started throwing a two-seam fastball and let them roll over on it,” said Moyle who fanned one and walked one. “I knew they weren’t going to score many off of me.”
Carson made it 5-1 in the sixth, as Brandon Gagnon’s two-out groundball was misplayed, allowing Barnard to score Carson’s final run.
The Tigers made things interesting, scoring two unearned runs. Reliever Cole McDannald was helped by a diving catch by Gagnon in right field. McDannald fanned Kindel Isham on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.