Kyle Krebs makes a catch on a wild pitch in a game against Reed on Tuesday.
Clutch hitting was clearly lacking Tueday night, and the Carson Senators paid the price.
The Senators went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners stranded in an 8-3 loss to Reed at Ron McNutt Field.
Reed swept the series and sits atop the Northern Division 1 standings with a 4-0 record. Carson dropped to 2-2.
“Reed is a great hitting team,” CHS coach Bryan Manoukian said. “They hit the ball better than we did tonight. We left the bases loaded twice and came away with just one run I think, and we had second and third with one out and didn’t score. We had a chance to cut the deficit in half.
“It (not hitting in the clutch) was a combination of them making good pitches and us either not swinging or missing.”
Tied at 1 in the bottom of the second, Carson went ahead 2-1 on a run-scoring single by Bryce Moyle with one out. Moyle advanced to second on Jesse Lopez’s infield out. Connor Pradere and Cody Azevedo both walked, loading the bases. Kyle Krebs swung at a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone to end the inning.
Reed pushed across an unearned run on a Pradere error, tying the game at 2.
Carson went ahead 3-2 in the fourth, but again failed to come up with big hits.
Moyle doubled down the right-field line off Reed reliever Austin Johnson. After Lopez popped out, Pradere walked for the second time. Cody Azevedo followed with a run-scoring single and Krebs was walked intentionally to load the bases. Terek Been flied out to right to end the rally.
Reed coach John Phenix said starter Jacob White was on a 70-pitch count.
“I pulled White because of his pitch count,” Phenix said. “The last five hitters was probably the best he looked (all five outs).”
Johnson allowed just three hits over the last 3.2 innings. He struck out both Krebs and Been with runners in scoring position to end the sixth.
CHS starter Jared Barnard limited damage in the first four innings, but he wasn’t so fortunate in the fifth when the Raiders struck for four runs to take a 6-3 lead.
The Raiders pieced together two walks, three hits, a wild pitch and passed ball for their runs. Benny Peck, the hero of Reed’s win on Saturday, came up big again. Peck lined one to left Lopez misjudged and the ball went over his head for a run-scoring double.
Reliever Trevor Edis gave up a run on an infield single to Levi Sanchez and a wild pitch.
“You can’t let a team like Reed extend innings or get extra at-bats,” Manoukian said. “Every time we made an error (or mistake) they scored a run.”
“We did take advantage of situations,” Phenix said. “We had a couple of hits with two outs.
“We beat a good team tonight. That team (Carson) will be there (in the playoffs) at the end of the year.”
Reed pushed across single runs in the sixth and seventh against Edis to complete the scoring.
“I’m pleased with the way they are hitting the ball,” Phenix said.
“It’s just one game,” Manoukian said. “It’s not the end of the world. We’re 2-2.”
The Senators open a two-game series against McQueen on Thursday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Ron McNutt Field. John Holton is expected to start for the Senators.
Galena 12, Douglas 9
RENO — A three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted Galena to a 12-9 Northern Division I victory at home against Douglas on Tuesday afternoon.
Hadyn Brown collected three hits and three RBI to lead Douglas (1-3 league, 2-7 overall) offensively in a back-and-forth game that saw both teams rally back to tie the score.
Douglas scored five runs in the top of the first inning, however, Galena (3-1, 5-3) answered with four in the bottom half of the inning. The Grizzlies scored twice in the second inning to tie the score at 6-6 and added three more runs in the third to take a 9-6 lead.
The Tigers scored once in the fourth inning and added two more runs in the fifth to tie the score, only to see Galena surge back on top in the sixth. Austin Wickham delivered two hits and Parker Kittilsen three RBI to lead the Grizzlies.
Kindel Isham also had two hits for the Tigers, who won the opener of the two-game series Saturday in Minden, 7-5.
JV BASEBALL
Carson loses 12-4
SPARKS — The Senators made nine errors in a 12-4 loss to Reed on Tuesday.
Deisin Roberts and Dan Morrison doubled in a losing effort.
Dave Price of the Record-Courier contributed to this report.
