Douglas High center fielder Thomas Young fully extends to make a snow cone catch against Reno Saturday afternoon. Young went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the 10-2 win.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Douglas High baseball had won 11 games in a row going into Thursday’s 11-3 loss to Reno. However, the Tigers showed their response Saturday, toppling the No. 5 team in the country – per Baseball America – with a 10-2 win on their home field in Minden. The win was powered by a nine-run sixth inning in which Douglas went from down 2-1 to ahead 10-2. It’s also the first time Douglas has beaten the Huskies in a contest since April 25, 2013. Reno came into Saturday's contest with a 16-1 pverall record. “It’s a great feeling,” said Douglas’ Thomas Young. “We battle every day. We get better every day. We’re just a bunch of dogs. It’s a brotherhood right here.” Douglas’ ace James Hubbard got the starting nod, throwing 6 1/3 innings while allowing just the two earned runs and surrendering five hits. Behind Hubbard was some impressive defense from the Tigers, as well. To start the fifth inning, the Huskies put their third straight leadoff hitter on base. Young prevented Reno from doing any damage with a diving, over the shoulder catch in center field, which resulted in a double play due to a Reno runner leaving early. The third out of the frame came on a ball smoked back at Hubbard, who speared it out of the air. “From the beginning of the season we knew we had it in us and we did it,” said Hubbard. In the top of the sixth, Reno had runners on first and third and attempted to score a run on a pickle between first and second to allow the base runner to scamper home. Gabe Natividad chased a Huskie runner back to first before looking home and getting the final out at the plate, keeping the contest 2-1.
(Gabe Natividad yells in excitement after crossing the plate in Douglas' 10-2 win over nationally-ranked Reno High Saturday afternoon. / Ron Harpin)
Tigers unload in the sixth It was the bottom of the sixth inning where everything changed for Douglas. Hubbard singled after Natividad reached on an error before Carter Bleeker drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Natividad tied the contest as he came in to score on a passed ball, leaving Reno to reload the bases after choosing to intentionally Gabe Foster. Gavin Davis, who knocked in the Tigers’ first run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth, was hit by a pitch to give Douglas a quick 3-2 lead. Jeffrey Peters and Brendan Melandow both hit RBI singles in the next two at-bats, with Melandow’s knock clearing the bases on a Husky error in the outfield. With a 7-2 lead and no outs, Young belted an RBI double to center field and was immediately driven in by an Ashton Davenport double to left. Hubbard knocked in the final run with a single to center to cement Douglas’ 10-2 edge. “The RBI to right field from Gavin Davis really built momentum for us,” said Hubbard. The Tiger senior has a 1.28 earned run average so far this season in 27.1 innings pitched with 32 strikeouts. His batting average against is .221. “It’s a lot of offseason work, I believe,” said Hubbard. “He definitely took it upon himself, … He’s an example setter – a lot of seniors that do their regimen before games. They work after practice, they go to the gym and put in extra work,” said Gonzalez. “I’m so proud of these guys buying in and it’s showing off.” Hubbard got the first out of the seventh before Natividad came in and capped the contest with the final two outs. Gabe Foster and Natividad each tallied multi-hit games while Davis registered two RBIs. Melandow was given credit for three RBIs in the win. “We always try to take a little bit out of their book,” said Douglas head coach Ryan Gonzalez of Reno. “But, we’ve got a bunch of dirty little grinders and a bunch of hungry dogs that are ready to throw blows with anyone. … What a great win for this program today. Hubbard pitched his tail off.” UP NEXT: Douglas (13-3, 6-1 in league play) has won 12 of its last 13 games and will get back to work Tuesday at Spanish Springs (7-6-1, 3-1).
