Cougar baseball season ends

• Neil Jenzen

Echo Press photo by Eric Morken Neil Jenzen suffered the Cougars’ loss to Elrosa last weekend while pitching in the State Class C tournament. He went the distance for Carlos.

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The Carlos Cougars found out firsthand what a dominant pitching performance can do to a potent offensive lineup.

The Cougars went into the Class C state tournament as a team capable of putting up runs in a hurry. On Sunday, Elrosa’s Ethan Vogt quieted that offense, while leading his team to a 6-0 win over Carlos in Arlington.

Vogt tossed a complete-game three hitter to end the Cougars’ season short of where they wanted to be. He struck out eight and walked none.

Carlos starter Neil Jenzen matched him pitch-for-pitch through the first three innings. He needed an almost perfect night on defense to stay close, but unfortunately for Carlos fans, that did not happen. The Cougars committed four errors in the game, which led to four unearned runs.

In the fourth, Jenzen ran into trouble when Elrosa scored three, aided by three errors in the inning, to take a lead that would be plenty for Vogt to hold. His offense got him three more runs in the top of the ninth to put the finishing touches on the win.

Jenzen took the loss despite throwing a complete game for Carlos. He allowed the six runs, two earned, on eight hits and three walks. He struck out four. Aaron Noetzelman, Ryan Severson and Ben Bruggeman accounted for the Cougars’ only hits.

The loss ends a season that saw Carlos flirting with an undefeated record for most of the year. The Cougars’ first loss came in the Resorters tournament against Clarissa. They rebounded to take the Resorters East and Region 14C titles. Carlos ended the year with a 24-2 record.

GAME STATISTICS

ELROSA 000 300 003 – 6 8 0

CARLOS 000 000 000 – 0 3 4

CARLOS PITCHING – Neil Jenzen – (L) 9IP, 8H, 6R, 2ER, 3BB, 4SO

CARLOS HITTING – Aaron Noetzelman – 1-4; Aaron Jenkins – 0-4; Joe Snaza – 0-4; Neil Jenzen – 0-3; Brad Nyberg – 0-3; Noah Johnson – 0-3; Justin Steidl – 0-3; Ryan Severson – 1-3; Ben Bruggeman – 1-3

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, alexandria, carlos, cougars, amateur, baseball, state, tournament, class, c