The one constant in Carson High's offense this spring has been the hitting of senior Nick Domitrovich.
The Senators' lefty has hit in four of five games en route to a .333 average, including a 3-for-3 effort in Thursday's 8-1 loss to McQueen at Ron McNutt Field.
"I've been spending extra time in the cage," said Domitrovich, who accounted for three of Çarson's even hits against McQueen's Logan Camphel. "I'm swinging it real well right now. I'm more aggressive than I have been."
The top of Carson's order - Gehrig Tucker (2-for-3), Brock Pradere (1-for-3) and Domitrovich - accounted for six of Carson's seven hits. The bottom six hitters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-16 with even strikeouts.
"We put the ball in play here and there but it wasn't enough," Carson coach Cody Farnworth. "He (Camphel) came out and threw strikes, and we didn't adjust."
Camphel threw very few breaking balls because he didn't need to.
"He established a good fastball early and just pounded the strike zone with it which is something he does well," McQueen coach Bub Madrid said. "He didn't have to throw too many breaking balls because he was able to spot the fastball."
Jace Zampirro didn't have the same command as Çamphel, and he certainly didn't get the fielding support. Three errors in the first three innings enabled McQueen to take a 5-0 lead, and only two of the runs were earned.
Nick Agliolo walked and reached third when Anthony Calton bunted to the left of the mound. Calton had the bunt beat out, and Zampirro air-mailed his throw over the head of Drew Moreland at first. Agliolo took third on the play and Calton made it to second. Infield outs scored the two runs.
McQueen upped the lead to 5-0 in the third when Calton hit a one-out single. Kody Reynolds was hit by a pitch and Christian Stolo walked to load the bases. Myles Mendive followed with a double play groundabll to second which was booted by Tucker, allowing Calton to score. Higley followed with a two-run single. Zampirro escaped without further damage.
"It was Jace's first (league) start at home," Farnworth said. "I think he was a little nervous throwing a big game. I think he settled down after the first, but we need to play better defense."
Carson, which left two runners stranded in the first and third innings, looked like it might break through in the fourth.
Charlie Banfield was hit by a pitch and stole second. Moreland followed with a groundball to short which was bobbled. However, Banfield took a wide turn around third, and the backdoor throw caught him off the bag. Moments later, Camphel threw wildly trying to pick off Moreland. However Calton hustled in to get the ball and threw out Moreland at second.
McQueen knocked Zampirro out of the box in the sixth, scoring two runs on two hits before Chase Blueberg came on in relief. Blueberg finished the inning, allowing a run and two hits as the Lancers increased their lead to 8-0.
Carson scored its only run of the game in the sixth on a double by Pradere, a single by Domitrovich and a throwing error.
Madrid, whose team improved to 5-0, wasn't happy with his team's offense. He chalked it up to timely hitting after Carson mistakes opened the door.
"We didn't necessarily take that game from Carson," Madrid admitted. "Carson made a couple of errors and we were able to come up with a timely hit. The offense didn't produce like I wanted it to."
NOTES: The team conclude the two-game series Saturday at 11 a.m. at McQueen. Farnworth is undecided on his starting pitcher ... The Senators were without Dion Copoulos (school field trip to Las Vegas) and Rory Petersen (sore back)... Carson is now 3-2 in league play.
