The Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball team found a new pitcher Wednesday night. As it turned out, he's been standing just a few feet away as their all-state second baseman.

Brayton Carlson allowed only a scratch single in five innings as the Hawks defeated Davenport West, 11-1, in a six-inning affair at Prairie.

Carlson had an arm injury and did not pitch for the Hawks as a sophomore and junior, and he'd thrown only a single inning in relief this season before getting the start Wednesday.

He walked four batters, hit three others and relied exclusively on his fastball, but he gave Coach Matt Thede a quality start.

"I've been heckling Coach a little bit all year, trying to get me to pitch. And he gave me a chance," said Carlson, who will play at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington next season. "We're a little short on pitching, but mostly it's to see what I can do."

Brennan Hammer, Prairie's No. 1 pitcher, is currently sidelined with a knee injury. Thede decided to give Carlson a shot after the right-hander tossed an inning in relief against Davenport Central last Saturday.

"He looked good in a jayvee situation and he looked good in a closing role against Davenport Central," said Thede. "I wanted him to show me first before I put him out there.

"I think he's better in a closing type of role, but it was a non-conference game and we had nothing to lose right now and everything to gain by adding an extra arm to our staff. He went out and battled."

Carlson has a live arm, but had control issues.

"I have to cut out the walks and the hit-by-pitches and throw more strikes," he said. "But the defense played good and backed me and got me out of a few jams."

Carlson received a Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injection in the fall of 2009 when he was sophomore to treat an injury to his right elbow. "It's an alternative to Tommy John surgery," he explained.

He was able to play as a sophomore and junior and made all-state last year as a second baseman, but he stayed away from the mound for two straight seasons. "I didn't pitch because my arm was hurting," he said.

Carlson did not feel any pain Wednesday night.

"It feels good right now," he said. "Obviously it's a little tired because I haven't thrown that many pitches in awhile. I had a good time out there pitching."

Prairie played good defense behind Carlson to help him work around the walks and hit batters.

Tyler Butz made a terrific play at third base, back-handing a ball behind the bag and making a strong throw across the diamond for an out. And freshman right fielder Trey Beckman made an excellent running catch in deep right-center to rob a Davenport West batter of an extra-base hit for the second out in the fifth inning.

Carlson was pitching a no-hitter at that point, but Alex Riessen hit a hard grounder between third base and shortstop that glanced off Butz's glove and into left field for a clean single. Butz ranged far to his left for the ball, but couldn't get there in time.

That base hit did not do Davenport West (13-12) any good, because Prairie left fielder Mitchell Peters fielded the ball cleanly and fired a strike to home plate to nail Adam Scheffert trying to score from second base with his team trailing 9-1 to end the inning.

"Credit to our defense for picking him up and making plays behind him when guys got on base," said Thede. "We didn't let him bleed."

Carlson was nicked for an unearned run in the first inning, but that was it. Tyler Votroubek relieved Carlson and pitched a scoreless sixth inning to finish the one-hitter.

Prairie scored twice in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by Bryce Alberts to make it 11-1 and end the game by the 10-run mercy rule.

The Hawks (13-11) sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs in the first inning to take command from the start. Dylan Pond collected a two-run single in the inning and Carlson hit a two-run double.

Jason Velvick went 3-for-4 for the Hawks with two doubles and two runs scored. Butz went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

Prairie visits Iowa City West for a single game Thursday night and is scheduled to host the Trojans Friday night.

DAVENPORT WEST (1)
Clark, 2b, 1 1 0 0, Rodriguez, ss, 2 0 0 0, Wiese, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Riessen,cf, 2 0 1 0, Simmons, dh, 2 0 0 0, Dorton, lf, 0 0 0 0, Latham, p, 3 0 0 0, Thiessen, rf, 2 0 0 0, Cannavo, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Hoth, c, 1 0 0 0, Scheffert, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 17 1 1 0.

PRAIRIE (11)
Velvick, cf, 4 2 3 0, Mougin, ss, 3 1 1 1, Carlson, p/2b, 3 0 1 2, Butz, 3b/c, 3 2 2 1, Votroubek, 1b/p, 4 2 0 0, Beckman, rf, 3 1 1 0, Alberts, 2b/3b, 3 1 1 3, Pond, c/1b, 3 0 1 2, Davison, cr, 0 1 0 0, Peters, lf, 3 1 1 1. Totals 29 11 11 11.

Davenport West   100 000 -   1   1 3
Prairie                 900 002 - 11 11 2

Latham and Hoth; Carlson, Votroubek (6) and Pond, Butz (6). W - Carlson (1-0). L - Latham. 2B - Velvick 2, Carlson. SB - Carlson.