Too little, too late for Tribe

By Cody Pastorella
The Port Arthur News

May 18, 2008 12:14 am

— MONT BELVIEU -- Lamar Consolidated's Brady Rodgers finished on Saturday what he started on Friday.
Rodgers dusted Port Neches-Groves in a complete-game, three-hit, 2-1 victory on Friday night for Game 1. That put the Tribe down a game in their best-of-three series with the Mustangs.
However, PN-G responded in Game 2 by scorching Lamar to a six-inning, 11-1 decision. It seemed as if Lamar ran out of pitchers and all the momentum was in the Indians' dugout going into Game 3 at Barbers Hill, but the celebrating from Game 2 ended with the second pitch of Game 3.
The Mustangs' leadoff hitter, Cody Abraham, yanked a solo shot off Mitchell Todd over right field to give Lamar an early 1-0 lead, a lead Lamar never surrendered.
The Tribe did make their 6-4 loss interesting in the final inning, however. With two outs in the seventh inning, the Indians turned a 6-0 deficit into a 6-4 score with a runner at first base.
That's when Lamar called on Rodgers to get the final out.
Matt Woods, PN-G's third pitcher of the game and replacement for Todd in the fifth spot of the lineup, worked Rodgers to a 2-2 count before grounding out to first base to end the game.
And that's how 2008 came to an end for the Indians baseball season.
  In fact, it was just like the Indians 2007 football season ended. Both seasons came to a close at the hands of the Mustangs.
With the loss, PN-G finishes at 24-7 overall. The Tribe also claimed the District 22-4A championship, posting a 12-2 league mark.
  Head coach Jay Stone said his Indians just did not hit the ball well enough to win in the early innings of Game 3.
"You know, I thought we had all the momentum going into the last game but we just didn't hit the ball when we needed to," Stone said. "I don't know what happened. We just took too long.
"It was too little too late."
With one out in the seventh, Chris Sweetenham picked up a double. Amir Jalali flew out to center for the Tribe's second out. Following that out, Eric Harrington kept the game alive with an infield single, pushing Sweetenham to third. Then Blake Reyenga drew a walk to load the bases for Jon Carnahan.
Carnahan had an amazing day at the plate and behind the plate. With the game still at 1-0, Carnahan threw out two Mustangs at first base to preserve the one-run game.
Then in the sixth inning, amidst a huge, four-run rally by Lamar, Jacob Lynch caught a fly ball in right field and threw a rope to Carnahan, as Dan Hernandez was tagging. Carnahan held on to the ball and made the tag to complete the 9-2 double play.
The senior catcher was possibly even better at the plate. In Game 2, Carnahan went 4-for-4 with three singles, a double, one RBI and Nathan Minshew scored three times as Carnahan's courtesy runner.
Leading up to his seventh inning at-bat, Carnhan was 1-for-3 in Game 3 with a single.
"I knew when I woke up this morning what we were going to have to do to win today," Carnahan said. "I knew what I needed to do to help my team. I knew this could be the last time for me to play in high school.
  "I just wanted to help my team and I wasn't ready to quit. I knew I had to do something (speaking of what proved to be his final at-bat in his high school career)."
He certainly made the most of it. He laced a double to the left field line that traveled all the way to the fence. That hit scored Sweetenham from third and Harrington from second, and it cut the score to 6-2.
Kane Benoit followed Carnahan with a two-RBI single, bringing in Reyenga from third base and Minshew from second.
But that's as close as the Tribe came. Rodgers took the mound after Benoit's hit.
  Woods, in a rare plate appearance, was forced to bat because PN-G's pitching situation. Sweetenham, who closed out the final two innings of Game 2, was the designated-hitter before relieving Todd in the fifth inning of Game 3. When Sweetenham went to the mound, the DH role was dead.
Spence DeRon pinched hit for Todd in the sixth inning and then Woods took Todd's place in the lineup in the seventh inning after the second pitching chance.
Woods was also going to be expected to pitch at least the seventh inning if PN-G had tied or taken the lead.
Todd picked up the loss in Game 3. He surrendered just the one run in the first in four innings of work. Benoit got the win in Game 2. He went four innings, allowing one earned run on four hits.
Sweetenham replaced Benoit in the fifth inning, with the score 4-1, after Beniot allowed the first two Mustangs of the inning to reach base. Sweetenham induced a fly ball before Wayne Willis grounded into a double play.
The sophomore's touch lost its flare in Game 3, however. Sweetenham replaced Todd to start the fifth inning. He gave up two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. The Mustangs also scored one unearned run off Woods in the sixth inning. Woods replaced Sweetenham with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth.
  In all, Lamar scored five runs on six hits through the fifth and sixth innings. That proved to be the difference. Also in Game 3, PN-G left seven runners on base. The Tribe even left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth when still trailing 1-0.
"It was a great season," Stone said. "I hate to see it come to an end. This was a really a great bunch (players) to be around. It was truly a pleasure to share the field with them.
  "We had a great bunch of seniors (five, including starters Todd, Carnahan and Harrington). All of our seniors were such great leaders and we're really going to miss them. I could say a 1,000 positive things about this entire group.
"It was a good season though. We won district and made a nice run. You have to give credit to Lamar. They are a great team. We just didn't come up with the hits when we needed them early."