Reno softball sweeps Douglas

The Douglas High softball team twice positioned itself to take a victory at Reno High Saturday afternoon, but twice the Huskies found ways late in the game to steal a win away.

The Huskies got a walk-off two-run double from pitcher Stephanie Shuman in game one to pick up a 5-4 win, and got a three-run home run in the sixth inning of game two to get a 4-2 win.

With the two wins, Reno completed a season sweep of the Tigers, spoiling Kayla Dunn's much-anticipated return to the Douglas lineup and two pitching gems from Kellei Kizer in the process.

Kizer struck out 16 batters on the day and only allowed one earned run overall, but eight errors from the Tiger defense, two of which came in the seventh inning of game one and all of them costly, ended up making the difference.

"There's no one beating us," Douglas coach Jim Puzey said. "It's a matter of us not taking care of what we have to do. We beat ourselves today.

"Kellei threw well enough to have two wins ... She should have had two wins. We need to step up and start helping her out on defense."

Douglas built itself a 2-0 lead in game one after Mitzi Olsen singled to left and Jolie Kizer sacrificed her to second. Jessie Kizer hit a sacrifice fly to move Olsen to third and Lauren Hoppe looped a single into right field to bring Olsen home.

Dunn, who started at third base - her first appearance since badly hyperextending her knee in late March - then doubled into the left field corner to bring Hoppe home.

Reno answered with a run in the fifth as Kelly Kumataka singled to right field and Hailey Corthell doubled to bring Kumataka home.

The Huskies brought another run across in the sixth to tie the game as Reno's Maddy Garcia doubled and Shuman reached on an error, allowing Garcia to score.

Jolie Kizer singled to lead off the seventh for Douglas and Jessie Kizer drew a walk. Lauren Hoppe then bunted safely to load the bases and Dunn reached on a fielder's choice with the force out at home.

Catcher Valerie Smith then singled to bring a run home and Kellei Kizer singled to put Douglas up 4-2.

Kellei Kizer then struck out Reno's first batter in the bottom of the seventh, and then walked Kumataka after working the count full.

Corthell popped the ball straight up but it was dropped at third base. Kizer struck out Britton Murdock for the second out, but Garcia the doubled to bring a run home and Shuman doubled to end the game with two more runs.

In the second game, Douglas had a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning, but Reno was able to scoot a run across after an error on what would have been the inning-ending out and that was followed with a three-run home run.

Douglas answered with a run in the top of the seventh, but that was as much as it could put together.

"It comes down to missed opportunities," Puzey said. "We left eight runners on base in that game. You get that many opportunities, you have to score. You can't continue to leave the bases loaded and not bring people in.

"We know what we have to do as a team, we just have to go do it."

Douglas dropped to 18-8, 6-3 with the losses. The Tigers host North Valleys at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.