Douglas High School senior Josh Haller takes an at-bat against Carson on Tuesday afternoon in Minden. Haller drew a walk in the Tigers’ 7-1 win over the Senators.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Douglas (9-13, 5-7 in Class 5A North league play) and Carson High School baseball (8-18, 2-10) traded early blows Tuesday in the rivals’ second league game of the season.
Douglas, which led 3-1 after four innings, plated two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to put together a 7-1 win on its home field.
Even with an early lead, both sides know better than to get too comfortable.
“Anything can happen when you play Carson. It’s the greatest rivalry in the state,” said Douglas High head coach Jim Tucker. “Thankfully, in the fifth and the sixth we were able to string some at-bats together.”
It marks the eighth consecutive baseball win for the Tigers over the Senators.
OVARD GOES YARD
Douglas senior Jackson Ovard threw five innings after getting the starting nod Tuesday.
Ovard finished with five strikeouts and an unearned run scored before Duncan DeLange came in for two innings of relief and added three more strikeouts.
In the third inning, Ovard helped himself out with his third home run of the season, belting another round-tripper off the trailers over the wall in left field.
“He might be one of the only guys who doesn’t try to launch. I compare him to Don Mattingly,” said Tucker. “He probably has one of the best approaches on the team right next to Jeffrey Peters.”
In the fifth, Ovard nearly got ahold of another homer, settling for a one-hop double off the wall in left.
Blaine Bilderback scored Ovard on an RBI single after Jeffrey Peters plated a run on an RBI sacrifice fly.
SENATORS SCORE IN THIRD
Carson’s offense put together six hits in the loss.
The Senators’ lone run came in the third inning on an RBI single to center by junior Ethan Cook. Cook’s season average is up to .312 this spring with 18 RBIs.
Second baseman Kodie Campbell finished the afternoon with a pair of hits, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Tyler and Lucas LaFollette both had a hit, while Noah Hutchison also reached safely. The single for Tyler LaFollette increased his team-best batting average to .333.
On the mound, Will Raggett struck out four Tiger hitters alongside four walks. Eli Locatelli recorded six outs in relief with two strikeouts.
UP NEXT: Douglas was at home Thursday afternoon against Damonte Ranch (3-15, 2-11). The Tigers will travel to McQueen (11-14-1, 6-7) on Saturday.
Carson faced the same two opponents, but in opposite order, as the Senators traveled to McQueen on Thursday before going back to Reno on Saturday to take on Damonte Ranch.
(Carson High’s Kodie Campbell puts a tag on a Tiger base runner Tuesday afternoon in Minden. Campbell went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Senators. / Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage)