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Whittell baseball routs Coleville in doubleheader, sets up first-place showdown in Div. IV West League

Anthony Gentile
agentile@tahoedailytribune.com
Whittell senior Quinn Kixmiller had four hits in the Warriors’ league game at Coleville on Saturday, April 23.
Anthony Gentile / Tahoe Daily Tribune |

COLEVILLE, Calif. — The Whittell baseball team continued its undefeated start to league play Saturday, April 23 — and did so in decisive fashion. The Warriors swept Coleville on the road in a Div. IV West League doubleheader, delivering lopsided wins that secured a berth in the regional playoffs.

“We’re competing with Virginia City for the top of the league, but we’ve clinched first or second,” Warriors coach Tobias Donahue said. “That puts us in a position to go into those games and play for first.”

Whittell (7-8, 5-0 IV West) downed the Wolves by a combined 46 runs Saturday’s doubleheader. The wins against Coleville (2-9-1, 1-7) were the Warriors’ most decisive of the season.



“They were a very inexperienced team,” Donahue said. “We got a lot of good practice in. It allowed for guys to get a lot of at-bats and most everyone to get in the game.”

The Warriors won Saturday’s opener 31-2 in five innings. Whittell started running players base-to-base ahead 15-2, and still managed to plate 16 more runs in the first five frames.



“We kept our heads in the game,” Donahue said. “We played good defense and we played well the entire game.”

Offensively in the first game, junior Sam Berry finished 4-for-4 with five runs and senior Quinn Kixmiller went 4-for-6. Freshman Cody Ruby pitched 5.0 innings, allowing no earned runs on two hits with seven strikeouts.

In the finale, Whittell completed the sweep with an 18-1 victory. The Warriors scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh to punctuate the win.

Junior Colton Ruby had four RBIs in the second game and junior Kai Mangiaracina went 3-for-3 with three runs. Before the seventh, Whittell was kept off-balance by the Wolves’ left-handed starting pitcher that had speed and a strong curveball.

Berry started and threw 6.0 innings, allowing one run (none earned) on one hit with seven strikeouts in the second game. Colton Ruby threw 1.0 scoreless innings of relief.

Whittell returned to action Tuesday, April 26, against Incline at Greater Nevada Field — home of the Triple-A Reno Aces. The Warriors resume league play Friday, April 29, against Virginia City (12-0, 4-0) in a battle of Div. IV West unbeatens at Lampe Park. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

“They’re excited for it,” Donahue said of Friday’s game. “We’re very up emotionally, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going.”


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