Senators enjoy Field of Dreams, not Vikes

Carson High freshman Brittany Puzey rounded second base before the ump declared the shot to center field a ground-rule double in the opening inning Tuesday at the Field of Dreams in South Lake Tahoe.

Puzey's leadoff fly took one bounce before hopping the fence and rolling to a stop in the grass in the Vikings' first home game.

And for a moment, the Vikings' defense came alive. Viking catcher Dede Crist tagged a runner heading home for the third out of the inning to hold the Senators to one run.

"So much for No. 44 being hurt," said Viking coach Rich Barna regarding Crist's strained wrist last week.

But during her second at-bat against Viking pitcher Erika Schimmel, Puzey, a freshman, sent a three-run homer over the center-field fence in the top of the second to bring in Talia Joyce and Natalie Mandoki.

The Senators 4-0 lead in the second turned into a 12-2 victory in the bottom of the fifth, bringing their record for the season to 13-1-6 and 6-2 in the Sierra Division of the Northern Nevada 4A League.

"We had good pitching and good defense, and we hit the ball real good," said Senator skipper John Sullivan.

On the other hand, the Vikings didn't execute offensively against freshman pitcher Mandy Carvin.

But it was a strong improvement for South Tahoe, which now stands at 1-12 overall and 1-7 in league.

In their first game against the Senators, the Vikings didn't score.

But senior Saleen Hancock and Erika Schimmel both scored in the bottom of the fourth off of the team's two singles for the day.

"We played better offensively. We hit the ball," Barna said. "Defensively, we only had two errors. They just hit the ball. They're a good hitting team, and they do a good job with their pitch selection."

Puzey doubled as did Kayla Dunn and Carvin, who also tripled down the third-base line.

Sullivan said Schimmel pitched hard "and had a good changeup," but it wasn't enough to keep the Senators from gaining bases and gaining ground in the league standings.