RENO - All-star games are usually fun for the participants for. It gives them a chance to meet and get to know players they face during the regular season.
Such was the case at Saturday's Nevada Baseball Coaches Association All-Star game at Bishop Manogue featuring the top 4A junior baseball players in Northern Nevada.
Carson and Douglas were well represented as seven players - Brock Pradere, Chance Quilling, Austin Pacheco, Rory Petersen and Nick Domitrovich from Carson and Cody Begovich and Leo Trebotich from Douglas - participated in the doubleheader.
Aside from dropping both games to the High Desert team, 12-7 and 6-4, the local players from the Sierra League team said they enjoyed the experience.
As a group, the local contingent went 8-for-28 with a homer and four RBIs. Pacheco went 2-for-5, a homer and triple, on the day while Begovich went 3-for-4. Domitrovich had an RBI double, while Quilling doubled and Rory Petersen singled and hit a sacrifice fly.
Sierra all-star coach Ron McNutt made sure that all his players got to play seven innings on the day.
"It is fun to meet the other players and stuff," said Pacheco, who admitted that he would have rather attended Carson's graduation instead to see all of his senior friends graduate. "In the summer you get to know players more than you do in the regular season. It's not that intense."
"It's fun," said Begovich. "I get to come out and do what I do. It puts added pressure on you, though, because you're being recognized as one of the best (returning) players in Northern Nevada."
The area players really made their presence felt more in the second game.
After High Desert scored twice in the first off Galena's Drew Anderson, Pacheco led off the bottom of the first with a walk. He moved to second on an error, advanced to third on Begovich's single to right and scored on Petersen's sacrifice fly.
The Sierra stars knotted the game at 2 in the third when Begovich doubled to the base of the wall in center and scored on a single by M.J. Farthing. Two at-bats and Begovich had a hand in both runs.
"So far I've been swinging well," Begovich said. "I've just been trying to relax up there."
Chase Kittilsen of Spanish Springs gave the High Desert team a 5-2 lead with a three-run homer off Manogue's Kyle Pruneau.
In the bottom of the fifth, Domitrovich hit an opposite-field double to score Galena's Jorge Medina, who had reached on an infield single, to make it 5-3. In the sixth Pacheco hit a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
Wooster's Filiberto Castro closed out the scoring with a solo homer to left-centerfield off Manogue's Devonte German.
In the opener, the High Desert bolted to a 12-1 lead as Cody Reynolds of McQueen drove in High Desert's first four runs with a three-run homer and a double. Galena's Cole Fenner had Sierra's only RBI in that span.
Sierra pitchers Beau Cullen and Manogue's Austin Burkett combined for eight walks and two hit batsmen. Seven of those walks were charged to Burkett, who gave up eight runs in 1-plus innings of work.
It wasn't until McNutt went to his bench that the game got interesting.
Pacheco led off the fifth and was hit by a pitch. He scored moments later on a double by Damonte Ranch's Justin Bridgman. Begovich drove home Bridgman with a double. Manogue's MJ Farthing followed with a three-homer to make it 12-5.
The Sierra stars added two more in the sixth.
Pacheco, who decided to take the summer off from baseball, homered off Spanish Springs' Chad Little. Manogue's Connor Thompson doubled in the other run. Pacheco's homer came on a first-pitch fastball.
"I needed a break," Pacheco said of taking the summer off.
For a guy who hasn't seen much live pitching, Pacheco didn't look too much out of sync.
"He (Pacheco) had a great game," McNutt said. "The Carson kids did well, especially in that second game. I thought all the kids did well.
"We talked to them before the game that it wasn't about winning. It was about giving the kids a chance to showcase their talents. We didn't have signs or anything. Kids could steal if they wanted. It was fun out there today."
