Tigers show no love for Hug

MINDEN -- After dropping two of three games against Wooster in an important Sierra League baseball series the week before, the Douglas High School baseball team found itself backed up against a wall.

No problem. The Tigers simply backed right through the wall by sweeping a weekend series from Hug, capped off by 11-1 and 15-1 victories in an abbreviated double header on Saturday. Both games were called in the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.

Coupled with their 18-0 win against Hug in Reno on Thursday, the Tigers improved their league record to 6-3 (9-5 overall) and remained in playoff contention. The top four teams from both the Sierra and High Desert leagues qualify for the Northern 4A Regional Tournament in May.

"You've got to come out ready to play every day, no matter who you're playing," Douglas coach Hal Wheeler said. "If you don't you're going to slip, and right now, we've got no room for error."

Austin Graham pitched two-hit ball, struck out and walked only one batter over five innings to pick up the win in game one. Graham helped his own cause at the plate as he hit 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

Cal Lewis also hit 2-for-3, highlighted by a three-run homer for the Tigers in their game-breaking six-run fourth inning. Erik Olson also hit 2-for-3 with a double in the game.

Douglas scored seven runs in the third inning to break open game two. Luke Rippee hit 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs, while James Bunting went 3-for-3 to lead the Tigers offensively. Graham was 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs and Olson 2-for-3.

Shane Cauley, Rippee and Olson also combined on a 6-4-3 double play to end a Hug rally in the fourth.

Tommy Hoyle and Matt Jacobsen combined to pitch two-hit ball in the second game. Hoyle struck out six and walked one. Jacobsen threw the final inning and retired the side in order.

Douglas plays again this week in the Atwater Easter Tournament in Atwater, Calif. The Tigers play Livingston at 4:30 p.m. and Atwater at 7:30 on Tuesday, then they come back on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. to play perennial Northern California power De La Salle.