Photos by Jeff Barrett
Carbon faced a talented Manti team to open a busy day on Friday in the 3A state softball tournament.
The Lady Dinos immediately found themselves in a big 9-0 hole after two innings. They were able to push across a couple of runs in the fifth, but the game was well out of reach. The Lady Templars beat up Carbon 12-2 to send them into the consolation bracket. Dekota Kraushaar was the bright spot, going 3-3 with one RBI.
Richfield was the next test for the Lady Dinos. Senior Kaitlyn Cripps was not ready for their season to end. She pitched a brilliant game from the circle, tallied four 1-2-3 innings and went the distance. She had a no hitter going into the seventh but gave up two hits and one run in the final inning.
Kennedy Nelson broke the scoreless tie in the fourth with a solo blast to right. Kraushaar came up clutch for Carbon in the fifth when she doubled home Brooke Moosman. Mollie Horsely brought in two more in the sixth with her double and Moosman added on an RBI single to right to make it 5-0. Carbon sent Richfield home after the 5-1 victory.
Following a one-hour break, the Lady Dinos faced off with region rival Juab. The Dinos squandered a couple of chances in the first and second but managed to tie the game at two. In the bottom of the second, the Dinos’ catcher, Cripps, caught two runners attempting to steal. The Lady Wasps then strung together five hits and scored seven runs to go up 9-2.
There was no quit in the Carbon team, however. The Dinos got two back in the fourth and two more in the fifth to close the gap and make it 9-6. Carbon rallied in the sixth with five hits and three walks in the inning. Kraushaar capped off the nine-run stretch with a grand slam over the center field fence. That was all the room Carbon needed as it went on to win 16-10.
The Lady Dinos turned to Cripps again as she came in to pitch five innings of relief and close out the game. She only gave up one unearned run on one hit to pick up her second win of the day. She also reached base five times and went 3-3 with one RBI. Gianna Bruno and Kraushaar each went 2-5 and recorded three and five RBIs, respectively.
The Lady Dinos then played their fourth game on Friday against the Grand Red Devils. Carbon jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Grand got two runs back in the bottom of the first and another in the second to make it 5-3. Cripps then hit a solo shot in the third and put Carbon up by three once again.
Grand scored a run on an error in the fourth and cut it to two. Moosman doubled with a runner on in the fifth. Cripps again came up clutch, singling home the pair to double up Grand once again, 8-4.
Grand rallied in the bottom of the fifth and cut it back to two. The Lady Red Devils then capitalized on a couple of errors and hit a two-out, three-run homer to take a 9-8 lead. Clarissa Noyes answered the bell for Carbon in the sixth and hit a two-run blast to center to regain the lead.
Another error extended the bottom of the sixth and Grand took advantage once again with a two-out hit that scored two. Grand recaptured the lead on the hit to go into the last inning up 11-10.
Cripps doubled with one out in the seventh but was thrown out on the base paths later in the inning. Carbon failed to score and fell in heartbreak fashion 11-10 to Grand.
Cripps went 4-5 with three RBIs. She also pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up nine runs, two earned, on six hits. The Lady Dinos fought hard all day, but their tournament run came to an end as they could not overcome their nine errors against Grand. Seinors Cripps and Kraushaar did all they could to keep Carbon’s season alive but ultimately ran out of gas during the marathon on Friday.
