JOE SANTORO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL (RGJ.COM)
Posted: 4/30/2006
John Rice and Bryan Carano knew they had a lot of help Saturday at Douglas High.
“Pitching for this team is easy,” said Rice after the Reno Huskies’ 11-1 and 11-3 doubleheader sweep over the Douglas Tigers. “When you are out there on the mound you know you can relax because you know you are going to get a lot of run support.”
Rice and Carano, the Huskies’ doubleheader starters, combined to allow just three runs and five hits in 82/3 innings. The Huskies scored nine runs in the first game while Rice (four innings) was on the mound and seven in the second game for Carano (42/3 innings).
“I love pitching for this team,” said Carano, who retired the first nine Tiger hitters. “I just know they’re going to score runs. It makes me want to go out there and put up zeroes on the board.”
Reno scored in 10 of the 14 innings in the doubleheader and never trailed all day. The Huskies had four three-run innings and one five-run outburst in the second inning of the first game.
“This team is really into unity and that’s how we played today,” Rice said. “Everybody hit well today. Even some guys came off the bench and got some big hits. Everybody kind of feeds off each other.”
Rice led the way with two hits in both games. He had two run-scoring doubles in the first game and tripled and doubled in the second game. He also walked and scored three runs in the second game.
“He’s done that all year for us,” Reno coach Pete Savage said. “He’s obviously a very good player. He really had some good, quality at-bats today.”
He wasn’t the only one. Leadoff hitter Trevor Zaldain had three hits and scored three runs in the two games, shortstop Davis Banks had two doubles, a triple and drove in four runs in the second game, third baseman Alex Gardner homered to open the scoring in the first game and Max Marin had three hits.
“Give them credit,” Douglas coach John Glover said. “They got the big hits when they needed them. They are just a very, very good team. They are good in all phases of the game. And they deserve this. They work extremely hard.”
Rice battled through some control problems in the first game, allowing five walks. The right-hander, though, pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third by retiring the Tigers’ No. 2-3-4 hitters without a run scoring.
“He had some trouble with his control, but he got out of trouble,” Savage said. “That was good to see.”
“I felt real good out there,” said Rice, who also fanned four. “But it’s good knowing you have all that run support.”
Glen Wallace relieved Rice and pitched three scoreless innings to close out the first-game victory. The sophomore struck out seven and allowed just one hit.
“He hasn’t had a lot of chances to pitch for us this year because our starters have done so well,” Savage said. “So he was real ready to pitch today. And he did a real nice job.”
Control also got Carano in trouble in the second game. After mowing down the first nine Tiger hitters, Carano hit a batter and walked two in the fourth. Douglas, though, scored just one run in the inning (on a Carano balk) despite having the bases loaded with no outs.
“We had the bases loaded with no outs today twice and the only time we scored was on a balk,” Glover said. “We have to start getting key hits in those situations.”
Rice and Banks keyed the Reno offense in the second game. The two seniors had back-to-back triples in the first inning and back-to-back doubles in the sixth.
“We just had a real good approach at the plate as a team today,” said Savage, whose Huskies are now 18-0 in the Sierra League and 26-4 overall.
Douglas is in third place in the Sierra at 12-6 and 16-13 overall with one week left in the regular season. The top four teams in the Sierra and High Desert League will qualify for the Northern 4A Regional in two weeks.
“It was just real frustrating today,” Glover said. “At the end of the year you want to play well and build some momentum. We need to find a way to bounce back.”
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