Senator baseball looks to make impact this spring

Another spring season is underway for Carson High School baseball as the Senators hope to continue stringing together improvements from where they left off last season.

Head coach Bryan Manoukian will be back on the bench for another season at the helm.

“We just need to be far more competitive,” said Manoukian. “We lost a lot of games by three runs or less. In those games, we had one inning where we fell apart.”

Avoiding innings with multiple errors or mistakes will be a big part of the Senators’ early season plans to try and piece together some more wins.

Manoukian added the biggest teaching point this offseason has been in the pitching ranks and making sure the staff’s strike percentage is above 60 percent.

“When we hit that mark, we are really competitive,” Manoukian said.

AROUND THE LINEUP

That pitching staff will be made up of several candidates.

Marcus Montes, Tanner Bohemier, Jordan Sieben and Malakye Brooks are four seniors that will be relied on heavily for innings.

The Senator head coach also expects to see Tyler LaFollette, Eli Locatelli, Ethan Cook, Carson White and a few others on the mound when needed.

“He’s (Locatelli) come a long way. Maybe the most improvement of any one individual,” said Manoukian. “It comes down to being able to throw strikes, whoever we call on.”

Marcus Brewster will return behind the dish alongside freshman Chase Grundy, who has caught some attention after playing well over the summer.

When he’s not on the mound, Sieben is expected to play a majority of the innings at first base. Cook is another name you could see at first base as well.

At the plate last season, Sieben tallied a .278 batting average in 20 games.

Noah Silverberg and LaFollette will likely get a bulk of the innings at second base while Jeremy Hernandez returns at shortstop.

Silverberg and LaFollette both hit .250 for the Senators last spring.

Last season, Hernandez had a team-best .338 batting average for the Senators in 81 plate appearances.

“He’s the most capable guy we have at shortstop. He needs to step up and be a senior,” Manoukian said.

Third base will be occupied by Brewster, White or Cook depending on who is pitching and who is playing catcher.

“Carson (White) really solidified himself as a third baseman over the summer. As long as he hits, he should have a chance to get some serious time over there,” said Manoukian. “The addition of Chase Grundy allows me to move Demarcus, who is really good at playing other positions as well. He’s so athletic.”

In the outfield, the corners will be a mix of several players.

Tavin Miller, Cook, LaFollette and Bohemier could all see time in the outfield grass, depending on who is on the bump.

In center, it’ll likely be Bohemier and Montes.

Montes, a senior, put together a .309 batting average last spring with three doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs. He led the team in RBIs with 17 and was tied for the team-high in runs scored with 18.

“We need a lot of guys to be flexible and versatile and bounce around based on who is pitching,” said Manoukian. “It’s something we’ve been working on since the fall. … We have to make sure we are taking care of our arms, but flexibility on the defense is huge.”

LOOKING FOR MORE

After being in the regional 8/9 play-in game each of the last two seasons, Carson is hoping to play itself into the middle of the pack in the 5A North this spring.

“We can’t go 2-14 (in league play) again,” said Manoukian. “There’s more talent than they believe in themselves. That’s our biggest job as coaches is to get them to believe in themselves, and some wins will go a long way in that department.”

(Carson High senior Marcus Montes records a hit at Bishop Manogue last season. Montes led the Senators in batting average as a junior and will be a staple in the lineup this spring. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)