Locals overcome early deficit to advance in winner's bracket at state

FALLON - After coming back from a 3-0 first-inning deficit, the Carson 14-year-old all-star baseball team needed a rally to knock off Fallon in the first round of the state tournament.

Timely hitting and taking advantage of an infield error spotted Carson five runs in the sixth inning to win the game 8-5.

Carson will play Sunday at 8 p.m. against the winner of Saturday's contest between Reno West and Fernley. Fallon, on the other hand, will face North Valleys today at 1 p.m.

"Our batters figured out the pitching," said Carson head coach Ron Pacheco. "The defense started to settle down."

Tyler Smith settled down to get the win after giving up three quick runs and Cody Barr picked up the save.

Down 4-3 in the sixth inning, Barr smacked a double off Trent Blackwater into the left-field gap and Smith followed with a four-pitch walk. Nate Reno loaded the bases after laying down a bunt single down the third base line. "We had clutch hitting," Pacheco noted.

Mike McSweeney tied the game with a bloop single over the second baseman and two more runs crossed the plate after Mason Bondi ripped a sharp grounder underneath the third baseman's legs. Keith Jones singled past the infield to give Carson a 7-4 advantage and Eric Murphy drove in the final run on a fielder's choice.

Fallon skipper Lester de Braga said errors and inconsistent hitting and defense led to Fallon's fall.

"We had some crucial errors at the wrong time," de Braga said.

"We got to tighten up our defense and get the bats swinging if we want to win the game."

Carson found itself in a hole after Fallon scored three runs in the first inning.

Fallon's first two batters reached on walks where Dexter Daum drove in a run on a single and Blackwater had a sacrifice hit for the second run.

Rylan Stevens gave Fallon a 3-0 lead after singling in Daum. Murphy drove in Carson's first run of the game with a single up the middle to score Jones and Barr tied the game at 3 runs with a two-RBI double into the left-field alley.