The Dinos held a two-game lead over the Spartans going into Friday’s match, meaning a win would eliminate Emery from the region championship running. Desperately needing a victory, the Spartans set out to play a clean game after three errors hurt their chances against Carbon on Tuesday. That goal did not come to fruition as the Dinos scored four runs on two errors in the first two innings, capped off by a Jordan Fossat two-out, two-RBI single.
Oakley Alton continued to battle on the mound and kept the Spartans close. He did not record many strikeouts in the outing, but his three strikeouts came in big moments that helped to keep Carbon from extending its lead. Emery got things going in the fourth after a walk and an error made way to Gannon Ward’s two-RBI triple. Kade Dimick was called into relieve and came through for the Dinos with back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to strand Ward on third.
Fast forward to the final inning, where Emery still trailed by the same score, 4-2. With one out, Jax Madsen and Luke Stilson each hit singles, putting the tying run on the bases. The Dinos then committed two errors, allowing the runs to score and knotting up the game at four.
Ward came up to the plate with two outs and two runners on with a chance to go ahead. He got a hold of a pitch and sent it through the infield to run his RBI total to four and put Emery in the lead. He later came around to score on a wild pitch to go up by three. The Dinos brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the inning, but Trevin Wakefield struck out the final two batters to complete the comeback as Emery won it 7-4.
Errors played a large role in the game as the teams combined for seven. Only one of the 11 runs between the two teams was earned.
The Dinos remain in the driver’s seat and will still be crowned region champs if they sweep the Red Devils this week. Carbon (13-7, 7-1) will host Grand (4-14, 2-6) on Tuesday and Tooele (9-9) on Wednesday. The Dinos will then head to Moab on Friday to wrap up the week against the Red Devils.
With the win, Emery pulls within one game of the Dinos with just one week to play. Emery (11-5, 6-2) will face Bear Lake (11-7) on Monday night at the Bee’s Stadium before playing Richfield (13-8, 6-2) on Tuesday. The Spartans will then face the Wildcats once more on Friday.
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- Photos by Jeff Barrett
