Douglas is off to a fast start

Carson High graduate John Glover has his Douglas High baseball team off to an 18-1 start with just three weeks left in the regular season.

While Glover is happy with the way his veteran team has performed, he knows the team's toughest days are ahead.

"We understand we have a difficult schedule in the second half," Glover said. "We have a tough road ahead of us."

Glover was referring to three-game sets with Wooster, Reno and Carson. All three series will go a long way in determining seeding for the zone tournament. Douglas went 1-2 in zone play last year, losing to Galena twice and beating Reed.

Pitching and defense have been keys, according to Glover.

"Our staff has done a great job," the DHS coach said. "I didn't know what I had (for sure). (Chris) Honer has been tough, and Bryan Miller and Brandon Huff have really stepped up. Tyson Estes has given us a lot of good innings. The defense has been where we want it to be."

Glover also became a father for the first time on April 7, as his wife, Kristi, gave birth to a baby girl, Emma, who weighed in at 7 pounds and 3 ounces. Congrats to mom and dad.

n Every once in a while, the schools in Northern Nevada attempt to do something that makes you wonder whether these people are really educators.

Before I left the Record-Courier to start at the Appeal, there were nine realignment proposals that had been submitted, and member schools asked their coaches to submit their three favorites.

Take my word for it, there were some real interesting proposals out there. One had a 8-6 split with all the Washoe County schools in one league, and Douglas, Carson, South Tahoe, Fallon, Elko and Bishop Manogue in the other.

That was a cheap attempt by the Washoe County schools to avoid transportation costs. Some others say it was an attempt by Washoe County schools, namely McQueen, not to have Manogue in their division because of football. Manogue will be in the High Desert League for at least one season. The NIAA is scheduled to realign after next year.

There were two North-South proposals which made a lot of sense, and would cut travel down in some instances. If there was going to be a change, either of those two had my vote.

I'd love to point out to people that Manogue is only dominant in one sport - football. Their basketball and baseball teams are OK, and the girls programs aren't overly strong.

People should quit making such a fuss about football. Manogue does have an advantage because the athletes come from all over, but it may find the going a bit tougher when it plays a 4A schedule. We all know that 3A sports aren't that good in the state, thus Manogue has had it pretty easy in all sports when it comes to making the playoffs.

According to Steve Wilcox, Douglas High athletic director, somebody asked at the meeting before the vote was taken why all this was done. Wilcox said nobody said anything, and the vote wasn't taken.

So, next year's alignment remained the same, and the process was a big waste of time. It certainly made me wonder about educators in Northern Nevada.

n Three former area baseball stars - Austin Graham from Douglas and the Carson duo of Joe Mercer and Owen Brolsma - continue to have success for the University of Nevada baseball team.

Graham, a freshman, is hitting .346 (9-for-26) with three homers and 12 RBI. He has four starts in 16 games and had a tremendous weekend in the sweep of Louisiana Tech last week, belting a homer on Friday and stroking three hits on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack outfielder has appeared in 16 of Nevada's 36 games. He's made four starts thus far, and if he continues to hit the ball hard, he may get the starting nod a few more times before the season is over.

"He had a good week," Nevada coach Gary Powers said. "He's starting to figure it out a little bit."

Mercer, who transferred in from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, is pounding the ball at a .347 clip with four homers and 27 RBI. He's seen action at third, catcher and as the designated hitter.

Brolsma, a reliever for the Wolf Pack, is 2-0 with a 4.00 ERA, but will need Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. He's allowed 13 hits in 18 innings, and has been consistent for Powers' squad.

n Feather River College, the three-time defending Golden Valley Conference champion, is 17-10 overall and 12-5 in conference under first-year coach Reed Peters, the former head coach at Air Force, who took over when Jedd Soto left for Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif.

Five area players - Cal Lewis (Douglas), Tom Hoyle (Douglas), Tyler Selden (Fernley), Tim Priess (Carson) and Jon Teeter (Carson) - are on the roster.

Lewis, an infielder, is whacking the ball at a .314 clip with five doubles, four homers and 22 RBI. Priess has made eight relief appearances, compiling a 2.25 ERA with one save in 12 innings. Hoyle, who had arm problems a year ago and red shirted, has pitched four innings and has a 2.25 ERA with no won-loss record. Selden is also having a strong year.

Teeter, a middle infielder, is injured and will red shirt this season.

n As expected, Douglas is in first place in the Sierra League softball chase, and hosts St. Francis-Sacramento today at 11 a.m. in a nonleague doubleheader in Minden. The Lady Tigers are currently 22-5 on the year.

Jim Puzey, the Tigers' assistant coach, said he's been really impressed with the play of Kristy Olsen, who starts in the outfield and occasionally plays first base.

"She's finally getting the chance to have the monster year she is capable of having," Puzey said. "She's among the top three in all our offensive categories. She's been stealing bases and scoring runs as well as anybody in the league. It's nice to see. I always knew she was a good ballplayer. Her knowledge and understanding of the game is a lot better than I thought it would be."

Douglas boasts perhaps the best 1-2-3 pitching rotation in the state with Kayla Dunn, Brittany Puzey and Kellei Kizer mowing down opponents.

"They've all thrown the ball well," Puzey said. "We've pretty much been using a rotation. Kellei has been off a start or two, but she two-hit McQueen and struck out nine."

And, the scary thing about it is that all three pitchers are juniors.

Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281.