Incline baseball | Highlanders start season on hot note
The Incline baseball team is off to a 3-1 start after opening its season with four games in two days this past Friday and Saturday.
The Highlanders kicked off the year with an 8-2 win over Whittell on Friday. They followed up the victory with a 12-5 win over Coleville the same day and an 11-5 win over Smith Valley on Saturday. Incline then lost to Lone Pine, 6-0, also on Saturday.
In a shortened game against league rival Whittell, the Highlanders scored at least one run in each of the four innings, including three runs in both the third and fourth innings to pull away.
Sophomores Tommy Dolan and Tommy Thompson each pitched two innings. Dolan fanned six hitters while walking four in a couple of scoreless innings. Thompson gave up two runs (one earned) and struck out four.
Offensively, six Highlanders contributed one hit apiece. Cam Powell and Kris Dirga each had a triple, while Dolan had a double and Masxsimo Battel, Jack Clouthier and Ben Snyder each singled. Battell, Dolan, Dirga and Nicky Witty each had an RBI.
Incline trailed 4-3 after two innings against Coleville before exploding for nine runs in the third inning.
Clouthier and Dirga each went 2-for-3, Clouthier with two doubles and an RBI, and Dirga with a triple, home run and two RBIs. Austin Sneed had a triple and RBI, Dolan had a hit and an RBI, and Battel had a double and RBI.
Battel and Dirga both threw two innings. Dirga had four strikeouts and a walk while allowing one run. Battell struck out two and walked four.
The Highlanders jumped all over Smith Valley from the start, as they plated five runs in the first and second innings to take a 10-0 lead into the third inning. Smith Valley scored five runs in the fourth.
Powell led the way with a 2-for-2 performance at the plate with a double and RBI. Dolan drove in two runs on one hit, while Snyder, Thompson and Sneed each contributed a hit and an RBI.
Powell pitched three innings, giving up three runs (two earned) and striking out four. Witty allowed two runs (one earned) in one inning of work.
Incline managed only three hits against Lone Pine — a double apiece off the bats of Powell, Dolan and Dirga. Clouthier and Thompson pitched. Clouthier gave up all six runs in four and two-thirds innings, although only three were earned, while striking out three, walking one and allowing six hits. Thompson gave up three hits and walked one while recording one strikeout in one and a third innings.
Support Local Journalism


Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.