Baseball: Douglas-Carson split doubleheader

After going without an extra-base hit and dropping the first game of a doubleheader to rival Douglas Saturday morning in Minden, Carson coach Cody Farnworth was hoping his young team would be able to settle down and avoid a sweep.

The Senators rallied with five doubles in game two, using a late comeback to take take a 5-4 win over the Tigers.

"I really think it was just a matter of settling down for us," Farnworth said. "It's not an excuse, but we are very young. There are just going to be some growing pains.

"Once they settle down and see they can play at this level, they'll be fine. The game is faster, but once they see they can keep up with it, They'll start figuring out.

"I think we started to see that today. We would've loved to take two of three, but at the end we just didn't want to get swept. That's a huge boost for these kids, especially against a team like Douglas. We're not there yet, but we'll keep getting better and hopefully start making some plays."

The Senators got a gritty performance from Nick Dimitrovich on the mound in Game 2 as he struck out five, walked two and scattered five hits and four runs over five innings to keep Carson within striking distance.

With Douglas leading 4-3 heading in the top of the sixth, Carson's Brock Pradere drove a single to left and shortstop Colby Blueberg hit a double into center to move Pradere to third.

Second baseman Rory Petersen then lined a singled down the third baseline to score two runs and put the Senators up 5-4 - a lead they'd hold on to though the end.

Douglas junior righty Matt Thomas had kept the Senators at bay until then, allowing just three runs on six hits up to that point.

"Matt didn't have his best stuff but he was gutsy and got us deep into the game," Douglas coach John Glover said. "He did a good job and it was a pretty good outing for him."

Tiger sophomore Ryan Ford came on to induce an inning-ending double play to get out of the sixth. He went on to strike out two in the seventh and sit the Senators down in order to give Douglas a chance at the end.

"The bullpen is a big question mark for us and Ryan Ford threw very well today," Glover said. "He did a great job to get out of a jam there and kept us in it til the end."

Douglas had a chance to at least tie the game back up in both the final innings as they advanced Brett Parks to third in the fifth and had runners on first and second in the seventh. They stranded all three as Carson relief pitcher Drew Moreland ended the game with a strikeout.

"We made a couple mistakes and they got a couple runs early in the game," Glover said. "We didn't hit very well overall and it cost us in the end.

"Carson did a really good job of putting the ball in play when they needed to and forcing the issue. We couldn't answer at the end. Our execution today as far as sacrifice bunting and hitting and running wasn't very good. That's something we're going to have to work on because we might have to go to it more often. If we can't execute there, then we are going to be in trouble."

Carson got two hits apiece from Shea Bondi and Blueberg while Bondi, Chance Qulling, Austin Pacheco, Cam Mayville and Blueberg each doubled. Bondi had a pair of RBIs and Quilling added another.

Kameron Van Winkle led Douglas, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in the game. Danny King had the Tigers' only other RBI in the game.

King, Thomas, Walker Gemmill and Cody Begovich each has singles for the Tigers as well.

Douglas clinched the series win in game 1 after getting a complete-game on the mound from senior lefty Beau Battista.

Battista struck out three and walked two while scattering seven hits and allowing two runs in improving to 1-1 on the year.

"Beau threw well and that is going to have to happen for us," Glover said. "He's a senior, it's his turn and we'll take an outing like that every day. He kept his pitch count down and only walked two guys. He's had two good outings in a row and that is good to see him coming on like that."

King, Van Winkle and Thomas each went 2-for-3 in the game. King drove in a pair of runs to go with a double, Van Winkle drove in a run and Kyle Ford accounted for the Tigers' only other RBI in the game.

Carson's David Charles was the hard-luck loser in the game, striking out four, walking one and scattering eight hits with four runs scored.

Carson struck first in the top of the third when sophomore Dylan Sawyers translated a nine-pitch at-bat into an infield single. He then stole second and advanced to third on the throw and later came in to score on a passed ball.

"Dylan has good speed," Farnworth said. "He hasn't played for three or four years but he had a great at-bat. He got on base and you see what happened with that.

"We're hoping he can continue to do that for us. His speed is a nice luxury for us."

Douglas answered in the bottom half of the frame when King hit a two-out double to left. King moved to third on an infield single from Shane Fencl and came around to score on yet another infield single off Van Winkle's bat. Kyle Ford followed with a double to left, which scored Fencl.

The Tigers got right back to it in the next inning when Thomas led off with a single to center. Brett Anderson hit a two-out single to center to move Thomas to third as Anderson took second on the throw. King followed with a single to bring Thomas and Anderson around for the 4-1 lead.

"These guys, Johnny always has a team that will hit it pretty well," Farnworth said. "They came in, we had an error and then they string a couple doubles together and smoke the ball up the middle. We were happy with what David did against them on the mound."

Carson shaved a run off the lead in the top of the sixth after Dimitrovich drew a lead-off walk and later came around to score on an Pacheco single to left.

Sawyers led the Senators at the plate in the game, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases while Bondi, Pradere, Quilling, Pacheco and Mayville each had one hit.