Tigers hang on to defeat Blue Jays
MINDEN — Tomas Leitenbauer scored the go-ahead run for the Douglas Tigers in the fourth inning and then came on to pitch out of a jam in the seventh to help preserve a 5-4 summer baseball victory against the Carson Blue Jays on Tuesday afternoon.
Douglas scored three runs in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead and held on the rest of the way, aided by right fielder Hunter Simpson’s game-ending diving catch of a sinking line drive by Cody Azevedo with the bases loaded.
The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Azevedo and Kyle Krebs. Douglas tied the score on Isaiah Schat’s two-run single in the bottom half of the inning, only to see Carson answer with two more runs in the fourth.
Kindel Isham singled and Leitenbauer walked to open the Douglas fourth, Haydn Brown drove one run home on a ground out and Logan Fencl followed with a two-run double to make it 5-4. Left fielder Brandon Gagnon kept the Blue Jays within one run as he threw out a runner at home for the third out.
Azevedo also converted a fly ball out in right field into an inning-ending double play to end the Tigers’ bases loaded rally in the fifth.
Schat pitched six innings to pick up the win and Leitenbauer pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
The Blue Jays host Fernley in a 7 p.m. game tonight at Carson High School. The Tigers are also at home today at 5 p.m. against Wooster.
