Under the circumstances it could be somewhat understandable that the Carson High baseball team didn't come out like gangbusters.
The rainy and windy conditions were brutal. It was a 10 a.m. start. And Carson was playing Hug, a team it had beaten two days earlier 14-0 and a club that has restored its program after a two-year hiatus.
But Carson coach Steve Cook wasn't happy with how his team came out to play. The Senators, though, eventually put it all together for a sweep of Hug on Saturday, winning the opener 17-3 and the nightcap 23-0.
But in the opener, Carson led just 5-3 going into the bottom of the fourth inning before scoring 12 runs to break the game open.
"I was disappointed with the way we came out the first game," Cook said. "Hug outplayed us the first three innings.
"They we woke up. The second game we came out ready to play from the first pitch. Overall I'm happy with the way we played."
Hug actually had a chance to close to within 5-4 when it had a runner at third with one out in the fourth. But winning pitcher Jack Jacquet got a strikeout and a pop fly to escape the jam.
Adam Anderson began the rally in the bottom of the fourth with a single and Murph Gardner followed with an RBI single. Joe Skates then hit an RBI single and Alex Tanchek scored a run with an infield single. Another run scored on an error on the play to make it 8-3.
T.J. Hein followed with an RBI single, Sean Costella had a bunt single, Royal Good had an RBI double, Wes Osmer had a 2-run single and Skates added an RBI double during the rally to make it 17-3.
Jacquet struck out seven over four innings for the win. Cook said Jacquet struggled somewhat with his command. "I think he's only going to get better," Cook said. "His stuff was good."
Carson scored four runs in the first to take a 4-1 lead. Kevin Schlange and Tanchek had RBI doubles and Skates had an RBI single during the rally. The Senators took a 5-1 lead in the second on Logan Parsley's RBI sacrifice fly.
Skates had three hits and Schlange, Costella, Tanchek and Adam Anderson all added two hits for Carson (8-1, 3-0). Nick Smallman pitched a one-two-three fifth in the game that was called after 4 1/2 innings.
In the nightcap, Kyle Mandoki struck out eight over four innings and allowed just one hit. He faced one batter over the minimum thanks to the defense of catcher Jason Knowles, who picked off a runner at second in the second and threw out a runner trying to steal second in the third.
"I thought Kyle threw very well," Cook said. "He controlled the pace of the game. He had command of his pitches. That's what we're looking for from our guys."
The Senators broke the game open in the third when they scored 10 runs to take an 11-0 lead. Schlange tripled with one out and Parsley scored him with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Carson went on to score nine runs after there were two outs and nobody on. Osmer and Anderson singled, Brooks Greenlee hit an RBI single, Derek Shoaf's infield single scored a run and Schlange followed with a 2-run single.
Parsley then sent a 400-foot bomb to straightaway center field against a stiff wind. The ball landed in a small gap between the lower and higher fence for an RBI groudrule double. Osmer followed with a 2-run double to make it 11-0.
The Senators scored 12 more runs in the fourth. Jeremiah Teeter led off with a walk. Good had two RBI singles, Nick Smallman hit a 2-run single, Costella singled and had an RBI single, Greenlee and Shoaf each had RBI singles and Mike Teixeira capped the rally with a two-run double.
Parsley, Schlange, Osmer, Good, Greenlee and Shoaf all had two hits and Jacquet and Anderson each added a hit for Carson. Skates struck out two in pitching a scoreless fifth as the nightcap was also called after 4 1/2 innings.
