Carson American rolls to victory

The Carson American 11-12-year-old all-stars didn't need a thrilling finish this time to improve to 2-0 in the district Little League Tournament at Reno's Swope Middle School.

A night after holding off Reno American West for a 5-4 win in a thrilling finish, Carson rolled to a 19-5 win over Sparks Centennial on Wednesday in a game that was called after four innings due to the mercy rule. It was Carson's second straight win over a tough opponent as the locals banged out 13 hits.

"We just hit the ball," manager Jim Blueberg said. "Everybody hit the ball. That was a good team we beat. The kids were up. It's contagious. Hitting is contagious."

Carson scored five runs in the first inning and seven in the top of the second to take a 12-0 lead. After Sparks scored five in the bottom of the second, Carson added two in the third and five in the fourth.

"We played good baseball," Blueberg said. "We looked real sharp other than the second inning."

Connor Beattie pitched a scoreless first before running into trouble in the second. Bryan Sommers came in to record two outs before giving way to Colby Blueberg. Carson recorded the third out when the got a runner in a rundown between first and second with runners at first and second. When the runner from second took off for third, first baseman Austin Law threw a strike to third to nail him for the third out.

Blueberg was 3-for-3 with a double and four runs. Beattie hit a two run home run in the second and tripled in the fourth. Connor Van Dyke doubled, Adam Witt and Nick Domitrovich each had a hit and three runs, Austin Pacheco had two hits and a run, Mark McCraw went 2-for-2 with two runs and Brock Pradere added a hit and a run.

In other action Carson National was beaten by Reno American East to fall to 1-1. In today's action, Carson American will play North Valleys at 5:30 p.m. and Carson National will play Sparks National at 8.