Carson falls to Manogue

This time, the Carson High softball team was unable to put together a big seventh inning comeback to win the game.

Instead, Bishop Manogue worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh and then scored two runs in the top of the eighth to pull out a 4-2 nonconference victory at Carson on Friday afternoon.

"We just didn't get it done," said Carson coach Scott Vickrey, whose club dropped to 9-7-1 overall for the season. "We didn't do the little things we needed to move base runners along. Bases loaded and no outs (in the seventh), that was the whole game in one inning as far as we were concerned."

It was a different finish than on Tuesday when the Senators scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to stun Sierra League rival Wooster 5-4.

On the other hand, the Manogue Miners (6-10) enjoyed a nice comeback after only collecting one hit in a 13-0 loss against High Desert League-leading McQueen the day before. Heather Sanders scattered eight hits over eight innings to earn credit for the victory.

"She kept us off balance today," Vickrey said. "She mixed it up inside and outside. We were able to put runners on base, but we weren't able to get many of them home and a lot of that is to her credit in the circle."

Carson did come back from a 2-0 deficit after Manogue scored single runs in the third and fifth innings.

The Senators got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fifth when Christa Casci walked, advanced on a Candice Rutledge single, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Dacey Hassey's sacrifice fly to left. Carson tied the score at 2 in the sixth when Jamie Yenter walked to lead off, Kaitlin Burrows singled to center with two outs and Robyn Conn followed with an RBI double to center.

Manogue threatened in the top of the seventh after J.V. Powell reached on an infield hit and Tara Beck singled to left, but Mandy Carvin pitched out of trouble when she got a ground ball to Jamie Yenter at second base and then rang up a called strike-three with a fastball on the inside corner to end the inning with runners on second and third.

In the bottom of the seventh, Rutledge reached on an infield error to start Carson's rally. Hassey singled to center and Jessica Ashbaugh got aboard when her sacrifice bunt was mishandled for an error to load the bases with no outs. Next up, Yenter's ground ball resulted in a force out at home. Sanders then retired the side on an infield fly and ground out.

Sanders helped win her own game in the eighth when she singled with one out to start a Manogue rally. Melissa Vargas slapped a bunt to the left side for another hit, then after a ground out, Ali Zugel's short fly into right field fell for a single that drove both runners home.

"To their credit, they did the little things they needed to do," Vickrey said. "When they needed a bunt to move the runner along, they got it."

Carson threatened again in the bottom of the eighth when Burrows reached on an infield hit and Rutledge singled up the middle with two outs, but Hassey hit a pop fly that Manogue shortstop Tara Beck caught in short left field for the final out.

Rutledge hit 3-for-5, while Conn went 2-for-5 and Burrows 2-for-4 to lead Carson offensively. Beth Reedy hit 2-for-3 and scored Manogue's first two runs.

Carvin allowed 12 hits for Carson, walked none, hit one batter and struck out seven. The senior right hander has compiled a 6-4 record and 1.59 ERA in 74.2 innings of work this season.

"We were a little flat coming out. Part of that might have been playing four games in five school days," said Vickrey, whose club also beat Damonte Ranch on Monday and South Tahoe in a league game on Thursday. "But if we go to zone and state, we're going to have to be able to do that."

n Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.