Carson clinches playoff spot with 10-9 senior night thriller over Douglas
A total of nine senior Senators helped stuff the stat-sheet in Carson’s intense 10-9 baseball victory over the rival Douglas Tigers.
Seniors Landon Truesdale, Abel Carter, Jared Barnard, and Colby Zemp combined to finish 7-for-13 with three Runs Batted In (RBI) on their special day.
Their victory also sealed a spot in the NIAA 4A Northern Baseball Playoffs.
“Any time you can make the playoffs in our league it’s a real accomplishment,” said head coach Brian Manoukian. “It is a very competitive league and every win is hard to come by, so we will take the opportunity and run with it.”
Douglas got the action started early in the first inning with a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo-shot to deep left field from Andrew Rangel.
Carson would tack on a whopping six runs the next half inning with scores from Carter and Zemp mixed in with countless errors on Douglas.
On the defensive side of the diamond, Carter and Joe Tonino made game-saving plays that kept Carson's lead spotless.
Carter’s backhanded save and strike to first from third saved two runs from scoring while Tonino launched a cannon from left field to home plate, tagging out another potential run.
An RBI single from senior Kyle Glanzmann would cap-off a two-run fourth inning giving the Senators a commanding 10-3 lead.
The Tigers would later claw their way back with a four-run sixth inning, but Carson held onto their precious lead late in the seventh.
Postgame, Carter gave his thoughts on his final home game as Carson Senator.
“It has been a great experience playing here,” he said. “I have put in tons of time and effort to the teams here and it’s been paid off tremendously.”
“This senior class has been one of the best groups i’ve been around with,” added Manoukian. “They are a joy to spend time with and travel with so i’m really happy for them to get a chance to play in the postseason.”
For Douglas, key performers included Rangel (1-3, HR, RBI), Jayden Foster (3-5, 2 RBI), and Ayden Murphy (2-5, 2B, RBI).
For Carson, key performers included Carter (2-4, 2B, RBI), Truesdale (3-3, RBI) and pitcher Ben Nelson (5IP, 5H, 5BB, 3ER, 3K).
Carson will face-off against Douglas Thursday in what looks to be an enticing rubber match.