The road to a Region 12 title got a little muddy Friday when the Carbon Dinos lost 6-5 to the Richfield Wildcats.
“We are set to win region,” head coach Brett Bennett said after a three-game sweep of North Sanpete last week before the Richfield game. “If we win the next four games, we will win region.”
With the loss to Richfield, Carbon needs a little luck and another three-game sweep of a Region 12 opponent this week to achieve a coveted region title.
“We win that game and we are in first place,” Bennett said after the Richfield game. “It’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Jarod Lessar went the distance for the Dinos on the mound. Carbon led 5-3 going in to the bottom half of the seventh inning when a couple of timely hits by the Wildcats and a little help from Mother Nature doomed the Dinos in a one-run loss.
With one out and a two-run lead, a Richfield batter lofted a routine fly ball to right field that caught the wind just right for a solo home run to cut the lead to one. After a walk and a bloop single to shallow right, Lessar hit the next batter to load the bases.
Evan Jerome then singled, knocking in two Wildcats runners to win in walkoff fashion.
Cole Fossat and Colton Greener each had doubles. Kellen Trujillo notched a double and a triple in the loss.
Carbon (9-10, 6-3 Region 12) will travel to Juab (5-8, 5-3 Region 12) Tuesday before hosting the Wasps Thursday for a doubleheader. Both teams trail league-leading Payson, which owns a 7-2 Region 12 record. All three teams have three region games remaining on their schedules.