Tribune photo by Chris Ellis - Reed baserunner Fabian Reza rounds second base during sixth-inning action of Game 2. Reza scored one of the Raiders’ four runs in the big inning. The RHS squad overcame a six-run deficit to capture a 7-6 win in Saturday’s second game against McQueen.
Reed couldn’t have gotten a bigger sweep Saturday.
Not only did the Raiders make up a game in the High Desert League standings with the three-game sweep of the Lancers, they really made up two games on Spanish Springs since the Cougars only beat the Lancers twice this season.
Reed now holds onto second place thanks to a tiebreaker edge with its cross-town rival.
“The kids showed heart today, a lot of heart out of these boys. They earned every bit of what they got,” Reed coach Jon Foss said. “They worked really hard the last couple weeks, and they’re pushing themselves. It pays off. It was a great team effort today.”
The Raiders almost had to settle for a split when McQueen jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the nightcap through two and a half innings.
Reed was able to get a run back in the third and the fifth innings, but still had a lot of work to do.
The Blue and Gold got right down to business in the sixth, but needed to find a way to get back to the top of the order with batters No. 7, 8 and 9 coming up.
Dohn Matteoni singled to lead off the inning, and Tyson Barton flew out to center field.
The Lancers thought they had an inning-ending double play when Fabian Reza grounded to short, but Reza narrowly beat out the throw from second.
That brought leadoff hitter Casey Yocom to the plate with two outs. Yocom hit a slow grounder to third base. Tyler York charged the ball and fired to first on the run, but Yocom’s headfirst dive left him with a game-saving infield hit.
Joe Cordi then drew a walk to load the bases.
McQueen coach Brian Nelson was prone to intentionally walking CJ Maldonado during the second game, but did not want to force in a run. In hindsight, maybe he should have.
Maldonado drove a line drive opposite field over the left fielder that cleared the bases and cut the deficit to 6-5.
Maldonado roared around third and came home for the tying run on John Pelino’s clutch base hit to right field.
“Everyone of those kids battled. They kept the pressure on the pitcher and their defense,” Foss said. “John Pelino came through with that big hit to tie it up. He was struggling most of the day. He kept his head about him, and came through big for us in that situation.”
McQueen threatened in the top of the eighth when the Northwest Reno school put runners on first and second with two outs. However, Steve McDonald induced a fly ball to right field, thwarting the threat.
McDonald pitched five innings of scoreless relief and only allowed two hits. He picked up the win on the mound thanks to the middle of the order in the bottom half of the eighth.
Nelson gave Maldonado a free pass for the third time in the game, a dangerous call since Maldonado was the leadoff hitter in the inning. The strategy backfired.
With York pulled up to defend the bunt down the third-base line, that left a huge hole on the left side of the infield and Pelino delivered with a single to left field.
DiQuarto came up with runners on first and second and no outs. He smacked a single to left and Maldonado scored the game-winner easily.
Even though McDonald did not start Game 2, he provided Reed’s second strong performance.
Derric Williford shut down the Lancers earlier in the day, going the distance for a four-hitter in the 5-1 win. He also helped his own cause by blasting a two-run home run in the sixth inning after McQueen had made it 3-1.
Williford also scored a run in the fourth on a Reza sacrifice fly.
The senior struck out seven Lancers and did not walk any.
“They were lights out today. I’m happy for both those kids,” Foss said of Williford and McDonald. “They’ve worked hard this year to get where they’re at. They’ve earned it.”
The Raiders took the lead for good in the opener with a two-run first inning. After Yocom led off with a single, Maldonado plated him with a double and later scored a run of his own.
Reed (15-12, 10-5 HDL) now finishes out its regular season with single games against Fallon on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Raiders are in Churchill County Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
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