The 2018 Carbon baseball team fell short of the state title last year with an upset by Grantsville.
Coming off a year where Carbon won its region and then lost in the state title game to Grantsville, its hard not to be optimistic about the Dinos’ chances. This year’s Carbon team will be extremely different and a whole lot younger. The Dinos lost 10 seniors from last season and will welcome 14 young but talented freshman onboard.
Led by long-time coach Jeff Cisneros, Carbon will bring back several key players that will anchor the team. Shortstop Ty Anderson has already signed to play at USUE after this year. Adrien Sanchez will be the team’s ace and play centerfield. He is looking for a bounce back season after having an outstanding sophomore campaign followed by a down junior year. Anthony Jones returns behind the plate as catcher and Braxton Bennet will pitch and play second.
As far as region goes, Union and Juab will be tough again. Carbon beat the Wasps at Juab to take the region title last year. A rivalry has formed between the two teams and with Union as a result of playing a number of meaningful games against each other over the past few years. Union is projected to be number one in region followed by Juab in second. Due to the turnover from last year, Carbon looks to be in the third spot before the games begin. Preseason ranking does not mean much and Cisneros believes the region “is wide open.”
There might be some growing pains early in the year but Cisneros will have them ready for region. “I intentionally scheduled a tough preseason,” he said.
He went on to explain that records in the preseason do not matter. It is all about playing against good competition and “getting better everyday.” Watch for this Dino team to mature and make a move when region play begins.