RENO, NV – After a morning snow flurry, the skies cleared and provided a welcoming sunny afternoon where the Bishop Manogue Miners hosted the Galena Grizzlies.  Both teams were looking to keep pace with the division leading, Reno Huskies.  The contest featured Grizzlies’ starter, '19 Brian Baker on the mound and the Northern Nevada strikeout leader was true to form.  Baker threw all six innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits and struck out eight.  ’20 Jack Weise toed the rubber for the home Miners and gave Manogue exactly what they needed.  Weise scattered three hits in complete game effort, striking out seven and did not allow a free pass.  The Miners got all the offense they needed in the fourth, when first baseman, '20 Rylan Charles, took Baker’s  2-2 offering deep over the right centerfield fence. The Miners would plate another run in the inning, when Miner shortstop, ’19 Josh Rolling (UNLV) followed the Charles homerun with a double off the glove of ’19 Cole Demosthenes, (CSU Bakersfield)  who collided with the left centerfield wall attempting to complete the catch. Rolling would score a few pitches later on a passed ball. Weise’s effort made the two runs standup and Manogue improved to 13-8 overall and 7-4 in division play.

Offensively, Weise led the Miners with two of their five hits.  Rylan Charles has been nothing short of stellar at the plate since returning from an off-season injury a few weeks into the season. His homerun on Tuesday was the difference, so today we take a closer look at the Miner first baseman.

’20 Rylan Charles, 1B (Bishop Manogue)

Strong, 5-foot-11 185, Charles is well proportioned with present strength.  He has solid infield actions with a feel for footwork around the first base bag. He displayed pick skills during the course of the game, picking the ball out of the dirt to prevent errant throws.  His arm strength will play at first as well as in the outfield. At the plate he sets balanced and maintains it throughout his swing. Charles has a solid combination of strength and bat speed. His ability to adjust in his lower half to off speed pitches appears slightly hampered by the present flexibility of the aforementioned injured knee. Charles is a reliable defender whose bat will carry and give him a chance to be a middle of the order type bat at the next level.