Tigers fall in district semifinals

As the old saying goes, it's hard to beat the same team three times in one season. The Nevada Tigers varsity baseball team figured out just how hard it can be as they fell to the El Dorado Springs Bulldogs by a final score of 4-3 in the Class 3 District 12 semifinals Tuesday.

"After a good year like we had, it's always frustrating to end with a loss," Tigers head coach Kellan Foster said. "El Dorado Springs is a good ball club and, unfortunately, we couldn't beat them today."

The Tigers had built a fairly strong resumé throughout the year with two dominant victories over the Bulldogs of El Dorado Springs, as well as going undefeated in district competition. However, the complete loss of momentum that came with dropping the final two games of the regular season just seemed to be too much for the Tigers to overcome.

Through the early innings, it looked as though the game would turn into a pitcher's duel in which the team that struck first could go on to take the victory.

Nevada starter Colby Shepherd needed just four pitches to put the Bulldogs down in order in the top of the first inning. El Dorado Springs starter Kanon Hoover wasn't quite as dominant to start the contest, but was still able to put the Tigers down quietly, facing just one over the minimum in the opening frame.

The Tigers showed the same inability to score runners once they got on base that seemed to plague them in the final week of the regular season right from the start of the game. Hoover allowed 10 hits in the contest, but the Tigers just couldn't seem to do much with their runners and that ultimately led to 10 runners being stranded on the base paths.

The Tigers were able to get to Hoover in the third and fourth innings, plating one run on an RBI double by Ron Johnson in the third, before plating two more runs in the fourth. The Bulldogs were able to recover quickly in their half of the fourth to plate three runs as a direct result of the two things that the Tigers knew they needed to avoid coming into the contest -- walks and errors.

Nevada came out of the fourth inning giving up a total of two walks and one error that led to the Bulldogs putting up just one earned run out of the three scored in the frame.

"It's tough when you get into district competition like this," Foster said. "Everybody's coming with their "A" game and if you don't bring yours, then you won't be moving on."

That was the story of the remainder of the game. The Tigers simply didn't seem to have their "A" game going and that resulted in a 4-3 loss in which the Tigers outhit the Bulldogs 10-4.

Hoover more than did his job for the Bulldogs as well, seemingly able to pitch his way out of any jam that the Tigers attempted to throw at him. Hoover ultimately went the distance, picking up the complete game victory and maintaining his speed and control almost entirely despite throwing 135 pitches.

"Kanon threw a great ball game," Foster said. "He kept us off balance all game, mixing things up, he kept our hitters off balance all game long."

Despite the loss, Foster still spoke very highly of his players and said that he, as well as his players, would have liked to perform better at the end of the year, but was still very happy with the season as a whole.

"The kids played hard all year," he said. "I'd like to congratulate them on an overall successful season."

With that loss, the Tigers finish out their season with a record of 9-8, while El Dorado Springs improved their record to 11-10 and will now move on to play in the district championship game tomorrow.