Thomas walks off Carson baseball in win over Douglas

Carson 4, Douglas 3

The first of three scheduled meetings between Carson and Douglas baseball couldn’t have been much closer than it was Friday night.

The nightcap of the first regular season tournament of the year for both teams ended in the bottom of the seventh when Senator designated hitter Trey Thomas smoked a walk-off double into the right-center field gap.

As the ball one-hopped the wall, Jade Stotts came around to score clinching a 4-3 victory in favor of the Senators.

“The coaching critiques helped me get where I needed to be,” said Thomas, who ended the night 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI. “It’s special. This is my first time on varsity playing Douglas. … I really will keep this memory with me for the rest of my career.”

Carson head coach Bryan Manoukian echoed his sophomore’s statement, adding that his single in the fourth inning that snuck through the infield helped build confidence in a young hitter, who was 0-for-5 so far on the day.

“He made some adjustments and that dialed him in for his final at-bat,” said Manoukian. “He’s as good of a young hitter as we’ve coached.”

Thomas said his plan of approach was waiting on a fastball to hit out to right field.

Carson tacked on its first three runs of the contest in three separate innings, scraping together a run in the first, second and fourth innings.

After back-to-back singles started the contest, Garritt Benavidez tethered a ball down the left field line for an RBI single to score Kobe Morgan.

Morgan wasn’t done as he roped an RBI double off the left field wall in the second inning to plate Tanner Hunt, making it 2-0 Senators through two innings.

In the fourth, Morgan once again came around to score after stealing second and then advancing to the plate on a Tiger error.

The Senators got a quality start out of Stotts, who threw five innings with six strikeouts.

Stotts kept the Tigers off the board until the fifth inning before Thomas took over on the hill and delivered two nearly flawless innings of relief with two punchouts.

The only base runner Thomas allowed came on a walk to start the seventh before he retired the next three batters in order.

In the third inning, the Senators' defense escaped runners on second and third with no outs after Stotts made a diving toss to catch a Tiger runner at the plate.

After Stotts' run-saving play, the Senators flipped a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam unscathed.

"Really good baseball played today," said Manoukian. "Douglas and Carson are really evenly matched. That game could have gone either way. ... It's why it's the best rivalry in the state."

Fallon 3, Carson 2 (8)

Carson’s opening contest contained nearly as much excitement on the field as the Senators battled their way into extra innings with visiting Churchill County.

Down 2-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, Benavidez came around to score after a Greenwave error, setting up Kenny Aydelott for a chance to tie the contest with Brian Guthrie sitting on third base.

Aydelott took a belt-high fastball and slapped it in the direction of Fallon’s second baseman, but the ball kicked off the glove of the Greenwave infielder and tied the contest at 2-2.

Fallon went on to regain the lead in the eighth inning after a Senators’ error, which resulted Churchill County’s 3-2 win.

“I really got to tip my hat to that Fallon pitcher (Nate Galusha). He’s really good and he’s pitched in some really big games for them,” said Manoukian. “We weren’t laying off the curveball down in the zone and he got us to chase.”

Galusha went seven innings on the hill for the Greenwave, striking out nine while allowing just three Senator hits in the process.

Hunt, who got the starting nod for the Senators, pitched nearly as well allowing four hits in six innings while striking out four.

UP NEXT: Carson (2-1) welcomes Lowry (1-2) and Truckee (1-2) to its home field tomorrow (Saturday), starting at 11 a.m.