RENO -- The Reno Huskies beating Carson wasn't totally surprising. How the game unfolded was.
Reno pounded out 15 hits, including nine extra-base hits, as it won its fifth consecutive league title with a 14-8 win over the Senators on Thursday afternoon at Zunini Field.
The game was suppose to be a pitcher's duel between Husky starter Jeff Schoenbachler, Northern Nevada's top junior, against Carson's Jake Rasner, the area's best sophomore. But it never materialized.
"I thought with Schoenbachler and Jake pitching it was going to be a low-scoring game," said Carson coach Ron McNutt. "I certainly didn't think there would be 22 runs up there. But it's like in college football when you got two great offensive teams. Everybody thinks it's going to be a high scoring game and then the game is low scoring. And the opposite happens when it's two defensive teams. You just never know."
Schoenbachler, whose fast ball was clocked as high as 91 mph yesterday, got the win. The hard-throwing lefty struck out eight batters but walked seven in an inconsistent 4 2/3 innings. Rasner pitched four innings, striking out two, walking two and giving up 10 hits in the loss.
The Senators (23-6 overall, 10-3 league) took the lead on several occasions early in the game, only to see the Huskies (26-1-1, 13-0) get it back in the bottom half of innings. Carson went up 3-1 in the third after an error scored Aaron Henry and Jon Teeter and Eric Melendez' grounder scored Owen Brolsma.
In the bottom of the third, Rasner got the first two batters out, then Reno started an impressive two-out rally that never should have happened. Drew Lipnosky doubled and Jake Johnson was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Then the crucial play of the game happened.
Drew Johnson's grounder to third was fielded by Melendez and he appeared to tag Lipnosky as he was sliding into third base. But the field umpire ruled him safe to load the bases. Ryan Simpson followed with a three-run double to tie the game at 4, then Mays hit a two-run homer to give the Huskies a 6-4 lead.
"It all started on the mound and Jake Rasner knows that," McNutt said. "He got behind in the count, I think, 12 straight batters. And any good pitcher knows you can't do that because then you're left with only one pitch. But give credit to Reno. They answered every time we scored and that's why they're the first-place team."
In the fifth, the Senators pulled off a two-out rally of their own. Schoenbachler walked Willie Bowman with the bases loaded, which scored Henry. Then he struck out Melendez but the pitch got past Simpson and two more runners scored as Carson led 7-6. Once again, though, the Huskies had an answer.
Lipsnosky's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth tied it at 7, then Drew Johnson put Reno up for good with a two-run single to make it 9-7. Lipnosky went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and Brady Dolan hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5. In the fifth, his first pitch two-run homer off Danny Rotter, who replaced Rasner, made it 12-8. Dolan's triple in the first inning led to the game's first run and his single in the bottom of the sixth completed the cycle.
Despite all runs, though, the Senators only managed six hits off Schoenbachler and reliever Chris Rickey. Carson plays a doubleheader against Reno starting today at 5 p.m. at Ron McNutt Field. Tonight's games will serve as both senior night and parent night. Between games, the Senators seniors and their parents will be honored, as will the winners of the Merk Human Scholarships. The annual raffle will also be held between games.
"Tomorrow's a different day," McNutt said. "We knew we had to sweep to finish in first and now we know who we play in the first round of zone. It all boils down to zone anyway. I'm not worried about my guys coming to play tomorrow. There's no pressure on them and they'll play hard. You know, we got a pretty good ball club. I'd much rather play a good team the last week of the season than a team we're going to 10-run. I'd rather have my batters face good pitchers and Reno's got a lot of them."
Carson will play Reed, the No. 3 seed from the High Desert League, in the first round of the zone playoffs. Reno will play fourth-seeded Elko.
