Big-league experience

RENO — For about 2 1/2 hours, Carson High baseball players were able to experience the thrill of playing in a professional baseball stadium. Many of the players had been to Aces Ballpark as spectators, but until Friday none of the players had stepped on the immaculate field.

And, thanks to the pitching of Carson’s Chase Blueberg, great defense by Casey Wolfe and Dom Norton, and the hitting of Jace Zampirro and Gehrig Tucker, the Senators celebrated the special day with a 7-2 win over the Reed Raiders in varsity baseball action before a crowd of approximately 400 fans.

“It was a great experience,” said Blueberg, the starting, and winning, pitcher for Carson. “Playing in Aces Ballpark really amped us up. We’d been looking forward to this. All last night I was really nervous, but once we got here started playing, it was just baseball.”

“It was a different atmosphere, but when you get down to the logistics, it’s still high school baseball,” Tucker said.

It certainly was much different than playing at Carson High’s Ron McNutt Field. Because of the immenseness of the stadium, the cheers weren’t as audible as they would have been at a school site. Still, the Carson fans got excited especially after taking a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning and then padding their lead with three runs in the sixth inning.

“It was a real great environment,” Carson coach Bryan Manoukian said. “So many times you go to another team’s field, so it was nice to come and play in a new environment. It’s a beautiful ballpark. The best part is that the coaches didn’t have to do any work. We just showed up and got to coach and then leave.”

This was the second high school game in as many years at Aces Ballpark, but it wasn’t cheap. Each school purchased Aces fund-raising tickets, and if the team is able to sell them all, the schools could realize a profit of $1,500 for their programs. Carson High still has general admission tickets available. The tickets are $8 apiece and good for any game. The tickets can be purchased at any Carson home game.