HENDERSON -- Jon Teeter was the hitter Carson High wanted up in the situation.
He had handled the hard throwing Jordan Parraz his previous two at-bats with solid hits both times. Once again, he ripped a pitch off of Parraz. He couldn't have hit it any harder. The result couldn't have been any worse.
Teeter hit a screaming line drive that appeared to be heading into right field for a go-ahead, two-run single.
Instead it was turned into a game-ending double play as Green Valley escaped with a 3-2 win in the opening round of the NIAA 4A State Baseball Championships on Thursday. The play started a downward spiral that the Senators couldn't quite escape themselves.
Despite another comeback attempt, Galena was able to hold on for a 6-4 win over Carson later in the day. It was redemption for the Grizzlies, who lost earlier to Centennial, 5-4, in a game they should have won.
Galena stayed alive and will play at 3 p.m. today. Meanwhile, Carson goes home.
Steve Lerud, who went 0-for-3 against Centennial, had three hits against Carson.
"That's all I could think about when I was back at the hotel," said Lerud about his mindset between games and wanting to make up for his performance in the first game.
Lerud had an RBI single that gave Galena a 1-0 lead in the first. The Grizzlies still had the bases loaded with no outs, but Jake Rasner was able to escape the jam without any further damage.
Teeter's bad luck continued in the bottom of the first when he was robbed of extra base hits after center fielder Tyler Stafford made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder, diving catch.
Frank Kurnik's home run gave Galena a 2-0 lead in the second. Rasner couldn't pitch through two errors in the fourth as Lerud's two-run single gave the Grizzlies a 5-0 lead.
Ryan Henry came in with the bases loaded and one out and got out of the jam. Henry allowed one run in the seventh when Kurnik doubled, moved to third on Brian Evans' sacrifice bunt and scored on Warren Whitley's sacrifice fly. Henry struck out four through 3 2/3 innings.
Carson began its comeback in the fourth when Teeter singled and Willie Bowman followed with a two-run homer. In the fifth, Cameron Leck doubled, moved to third on Tony Teixeira's sacrifice bunt and scored on Mike Handley's sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.
In the seventh, Teixeira walked and Handley was hit by a pitch after a dropped popup to load the bases. Aaron Henry, who had earlier doubled, followed with an RBI single to make it 6-4. But with the bases loaded and still one out, Tim Thompson induced a double play to end the game. Thompson went the distance for the win and Stafford added a hit for Galena.
GREEN VALLEY 3, CARSON 2
Parraz was throwing in the range of 93 to 96 miles an hour and will likely be taken high in June's Major League draft. He struck out 12 and impressed the many professional scouts who were at the game.
Almost as good was Handley, who held Green Valley to one run through five innings before being touched for two runs in the sixth. Handley struck out nine through 5 1/3 innings.
"He threw a heckuva ball game," said Carson coach Ron McNutt about Handley. "We haven't seen a guy throw 94, 96. That's where he was the whole game. It takes six or seven innings to adjust to that."
Carson adjusted in the seventh.
Eric Melendez singled and Leck's double scored pinch runner Royal Good. Two errors allowed pinch runner John Parmenter to score.
Aaron Henry followed with a single that loaded the bases, setting the stage for Teeter, who lined into a double play. Teixeira and Bowman each added a hit for Carson.
"We had our chances in both games, but this wasn't our day," McNutt said. "I've got no regrets. It was a real good season. We have a lot of young kids. I'm looking forward to them coming back."
CENTENNIAL 5, GALENA 4
Whitley gave the Grizzlies a valiant effort on the mound and had three hits, but Galena let this one slip away. Three errors led to three unearned runs for Centennial.
Danny Ramirez won it in the bottom of the seventh with a game-winning double. Whitley allowed two unearned runs through 6 1/3 innings.
"They always keep us in the game," said Lerud about Whitley and Thompson. "They've been our guys all year."
With the scored tied 4-4, Galena had a chance to take the lead in the seventh. Whitley singled for his third hit, Stafford singled for his second hit and Lerud walked to load the bases with one out, but Galena failed to score.
Galena tied it 1-1 in the third when Kurnik singled and eventually scored on Stafford's sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Ryan Plemmons singled and scored on Davis' double. Davis stole third and scored on an errant throw on the play to make it 3-1. Stafford doubled in the fifth and scored on Davis' single to make it 4-2.
Tournament notes: Carson may have been eliminated, but it can claim the state academic title with a cumulative grade point average of 3.62, the highest of any 4A baseball team in the state. The Douglas High softball team won the state academic title with a 3.66 G.P.A.
Local athletes who had a 4.0 G.P.A. the previous semester were: Carson baseball - Bowman, Ryan Henry, Neil Holmes, Tony Masini, Jared Wulff; Galena baseball - Todd Curtis; Dayton baseball -E Danny Hopper; Yerington baseball - Eric Soukup; Douglas softball -E Devon Bateman, Kelly McKinnon, Kristy Olsen, Valerie Smith; Carson softball - Liz Rankl; Dayton softball - Nicole Greer; Yerington softball - Chelsea Arrighi.
