White wipes out Panthers’ bats at Greater Nevada Field
RENO – When Reed ace Jake White took the mound Tuesday afternoon, he wasn’t comfortable.
He was, after all, toeing the rubber in arguably the nicest ballpark in the state – Greater Nevada Field, home of the Reno Aces.
“This place is intimidating,” first-year Reed coach Levi Matherly said.
Spotted with an abrupt 2-0 lead over North Valleys, White walked the first batter he saw on five pitches. He then drew a quick mound visit after wildly throwing over to first, allowing the runner to move up 90 feet.
Then the Raiders’ ace took over.
White pitched into the seventh inning, allowing a lone unearned run on two hits while striking out 10 over 6.1 innings and was awarded the win in a 6-1 victory for the Raiders, their third straight.
“That’s why he’s our ace,” Matherly said. “He did what we needed him to do. I think once he settled in, he did what he was supposed to do.”
Reed (9-14, 6-7) entered the day in 10th place in the 4A North (the top eight advance to the postseason), but just two games out of fourth place. North Valleys dipped to 8-14, 2-11.
Senior centerfielder Lincoln Turner went 4-for-4 and was a home run shy of the cycle. He led off the top of the fifth with a bouncing single up the middle and reached third as the Raiders loaded the bags with two outs.
Leading just 3-1, Turner opted not to wait. Reliever Daniel Sieverin was in the wind up and Turner broke for home. He would’ve got there in plenty of time, but the rare play drew a balk, giving the Raiders a 4-1 advantage.
Miah Harmon followed with a two-run double on a well-struck ground ball down the left-field line to expand the difference to 6-1.
“We kind of talked about it (stealing home) a little bit and (Turner) was pretty convincing there at the end and I was like, ‘alright,’” Matherly said. “We talk about putting pressure on guys, continuing to be aggressive.”
White left with one out in the bottom of the seventh after picking up his 10th strikeout of the game. Tyler Imperato recorded the final two outs.
“At this point, every game is important because you’re trying to get in the fight,” Matherly said. “We’re still looking in from the outside. Hopefully we can continue doing what we’re doing. You just want to peak at the right time and we’re starting to get there.”
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on Jon Pinto bloop RBI single to center and a run-scoring wild pitch. The Panthers responded in the bottom half with their lone run, thanks to a walk and a pair of errors.
Turner’s RBI double to the right-center gap in the top of the third stretched Reed’s lead to 3-1.
Kameron Soubiea joined Turner in the multi-hit club, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The two squads will conclude their regular-season series on Thursday when Reed will host North Valleys at 3:45 p.m.
Cougs ride bats to fifth straight win
Spanish Springs scored six times in the top of the first and pounded out 18 hits on their way to a convincing 14-6 win at McQueen on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars (14-4, 10-3) remained tied with Reno for first place in the 4A North thanks to their fifth consecutive victory. The Lancers (10-13, 7-6) fell for the third time in their last four.
Marlin Brucato went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and three runs scored. Conner Culp finished 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Tanner Smith (2-for-2, three RBIs, run), Dawson Martin (2-for-4, RBI, three runs), Tristan Hussey (2-for-4, RBI, run), and Joey Prizina (2-for-4, two RBI, two runs) also had multi-hit games.
Trevor French grinded through 4.2 innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits, but picked up the win thanks to the offensive explosion.
Culp allowed just one hit over a final scoreless 2.1 innings.
McQueen goes to Spanish Springs on Thursday to conclude the two squad’s regular-season series.
Sparks routed at Truckee
Sparks’ losing streak reached seven games on Tuesday afternoon with a lopsided 18-3 four-inning loss at Truckee.
The defeat came two weeks after Sparks edged Truckee 6-4 at Greater Nevada Field. The Railroaders have plunged to 5-13, 2-12. Truckee climbed to 4-13, 2-11.
Sparks scored all three of its runs in the top of the first, before Truckee answered with two in the home half then exploded for five and nine runs in the second and third innings respectively.
Jorden Aguilar went 2-for-2 with double two runs driven in.
Sparks is at home this weekend, starting on Friday with a doubleheader against Dayton.
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