Photos by Jeff Barrett
The final doubleheader of the season took place on Tuesday afternoon when Richfield and Carbon met on the diamond. While part of a tight region race with Canyon View, the Dinos could hardly afford a misstep against the Wildcats.
Beau Vea got the nod in Game 1 and immediately began attacking batters. A two-out error turned in trouble, however, when Jarin Ross came to the plate and hit an opposite-field homerun for a two-run lead. The Dinos came back with three straight singles to begin the bottom of the first, but a nicely turned 3-2 double play snuffed out a big inning. Carbon would score two runs on two wild pitches, but the opportunity to jump out in front was missed.
Vea remained strong on the mound and kept the Wildcat hitters guessing. He was hoping for more offensive support, but the Richfield defense was locked in. Carbon continuously put the bat on the ball, but hard-hit shots were directed right at defenders. The Wildcats also took advantage of another double play, this time on a 5-4 line out, to snuff out another threat. With two outs in the fourth, the Dinos opened the flood gates and overwhelmed Richfield. Three doubles and four singles led to seven runs for 9-2 score. Vea did his part with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth and the offense put the game away in the bottom half. Carbon loaded the bases and scored the final three runs to win the game 12-2.
Rylan Hart finished 3-4 with a double and an RBI while Keaton Rich (one RBI) and Vea each went 2-3. Meanwhile, Jacob Vasquez ended 2-3 with three ribbies while Wyatt Falk went 1-2 with a double and two RBIs. On the mound, Vea only gave up the two unearned runs on three hits in five innings while striking out eight batters.
Game 2 was eerily similar as a 1-1 tie remained until the fourth. The bases were loaded with just one out when Rich’s name was called in a high leverage spot. He induced a strikeout and a line out to get out of the inning without surrendering a run. Carbon continued with the momentum with five runs in the bottom half and never looked back. The Dinos scored three in the fifth and walked it off with two in the sixth for a 11-1 win.
Chet Andersen led the way at the plate in a 3-3 effort with a double and one RBI. Colton Lowe hit a massive triple to deep center and finished with three ribbies while Falk again registered two RBIs and went 2-3 with a double. Vasquez remained hot, going 2-4 with two RBIs while Ridge Nelson brought home two runs with a double. Falk picked up the win with six strikeouts in three and third innings, but he also surrendered four walks.
Carbon maintains its one-game lead over Canyon View with two games remaining. Interestingly, the Falcons are currently ranked second in the RPI while Carbon is in third. The Dinos (14-7, 9-1) will play the Wildcats (8-15, 3-7) on Friday in Richfield before hosting Canyon View (14-8, 8-2) on Monday in the season finale. Monday’s critical game will be streamed live on ETV Channel 10 and online at etvnews.com/livesports.
