With a flick of his wrists, Joe Jacobitz put two runs on the scoreboard and the Carson Capitols on track to a 11-1 victory against the St. Louis Eagles to conclude opening day play in the 22nd annual Capitol Classic on Monday night at Ron McNutt Field.
The switch-hitting Jacobitz belted a two-run homer with two outs in the first inning to give the Capitols a lead that was never relinquished in a game that lasted five innings.
The Classic, which has attracted 12 teams representing 11 states, continues through Sunday with six games daily at Carson High School.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, the Capitols came back to score four more runs in the second and five runs in the third.
"I thought we came out and swung the bat well tonight," Capitols coach Ron McNutt said.
It all started in the first after Joe Mercer singled with two outs. Next up, Jacobitz reached out and hit his home run over the A&W Root Beer sign in left field.
"That was a big hit," McNutt said. "He's been hitting from the left side most of the summer, but he's come up and hit some home runs from the right side, too."
Jacobitz, a product of St. Ignatius High School in the Bay Area, went 2-for-3 with four RBIs to lead the Capitols' seven-hit attack.
Brian Kleidosty contributed a two-run double in the third inning and Dustin Pedroia doubled home a run in the second for Carson.
That was more than enough support for the combined four-hit pitching of J.P. Howell and Will Quaglieri. Howell, an all-city pitcher as a junior at Jesuit High School this spring, struck out eight and walked three over four innings to earn credit for the win. Quaglieri, a graduate of Bishop Manogue High School in Reno and now at Purdue University, worked a scoreless fifth for the Capitols.
The Capitols also showed some defense when right fielder Anthony Carano came up with a tumbling catch of a short fly ball in the third inning.
Matthew Sauer hit 2-for-3 and Robert Kirk drove in the Eagles' run.
The Capitols play again today at 5 p.m. in a game against Hawaii and a possible matchup against Brandon League, who was a first-team all-state pitcher as a junior at Saint Louis High School in Honolulu this spring.
Left-hander Brian Cochran, from Fallon and Feather River College, will start on the mound for Carson.
McNutt was pleased not only with the Capitols' performance, but by what he saw overall during the first day of the round robin Classic.
"I was happy about the whole tournament in general," McNutt said. "We had some pretty good games and pretty good crowds. And I think it's only going to get better from here on."
