Painter brushes back Carson Valley

Carson City’s 11-12 all-star squad made it two straight with a 4-3 win over Carson Valley Wednesday night at Governors Field.

The victory sends Carson City into a 5:30 p.m. loser’s bracket game today, while Carson Valley drops into the consolation bracket and will also play today.

Vernon Painter threw four scoreless innings for Carson before turning the pitching chores over to Brian Gutherie and then Justin Stevens. Gutherie allowed a run in the fifth and Stevens gave up two in the bottom of the sixth. Painter allowed three hits and fanned six. Carson Valley never got a runner past second base against him.

Carson took a 1-0 lead against Aiden Budden in the first when Gryphon Matthies was safe at first when the umpire ruled that Chase Jackson had come off the base. Matthies stole second and went to third when Evan Simpson’s throw went into center field. Matthies scored on Gutherie’s infield roller to first.

Carson made it 3-0 in the third, stringing together four straight hits.

With one out, Matthies reached on an infield single, moved to second on a single by Jacob Pettay and scored on Gutherie’s single to right. Garritt Benavidez followed with a single to drive in Pettay. Budden escaped further damage by striking out Dylan Roide and getting Stevens on a fly ball to left.

Ty Jackson got to second for Carson Valley in the fourth with a single and stolen base, but Painter set down Budden, Simpson and Ayden Murphy on strikes to end the inning.

Carson scored its final run of the game when Pettay doubled, moved to third on Gutherie’s infield hit and scored on another Benavidez single. Murphy relieved Budden and retired the next three batters to end the inning.

Carson Valley broke the shutout without the benefit of a hit in the fifth.

Noah Guariglia reached on an error by Pettay and moved to second when Gutherie misplayed McKinley Morgan’s ground ball. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Guariglia scored on Gutherie’s second wild pitch of the inning, but Morgan, who was trying to score from second, was thrown out at the plate when he hesitated around third base.

Carson Valley made it interesting in the sixth against Stevens.

Cody Jackson walked and scored ahead of Budden’s one-out homer to right which made it 4-3. Stevens struck out Simpson and then retired Murphy on a fly to center to end the game.

Gutherie and Benavidez were the only Carson players with more than one hit.