| The action was hot as Carbon’s bats and runners tore up the field on their way to defeating Dixie at the Dinofield on Friday afternoon in a state play-in game. |
Sometimes getting what seems to be a break can get a team into trouble. In sports, emotion plays a great deal in how a game comes out. And sometimes when a team is dealt what seems to them to be an unfair blow, they take the power of that anger out on the other team.
That was the case as a strong looking Carbon baseball team ripped up the field on Friday afternoon as they downed the Dixie Flyers in an 11-1 decision that only went halfway into the fifth inning before it was over.
The inicident that turned loose the animals happened in the third inning when Carbon catcher Zac Cloward decided he needed to talk with pitcher Troy Grundy and walked out on the field to do so.
However the umpire, didn’t signal time and Dixie’s head coach, Randy Green, who was acting as third base coach told a Flyer player to head into home while the two Carbon players were meeting near the mound.
The player came in and chaos broke out on the field. The umpire claimed that Cloward had not told him he wanted time called, but Cloward said he had. The umpire ruled that the run counted and Carbon was assessed an error on the scoreboard for the situation. Carbon’s coach. Lane Herrick argued profusely with the officials about the call, but the umpire did not budge.
Carbon players were infuriated. They groused around the dugout with long faces and angry eyes, even though they were still ahead 3-1 and things were looking good for them. But it did give Dixie a glimmer of hope, and that was not what the Carbon squad wanted.
So the Dinos just got together and used the anger in another way; they took their bats and destroyed any dreams Dixie had of advancing to the state tournament in Spanish Fork on Thursday against Bear River.
An apparent break isn’t always what it seems. The game began with Carbon opening up with big bats in the first place, so an incident like that was not something Dixie needed. In the first inning Carbon pounded in three runs.
Then, in the fourth with fire in their eyes, they hit in two more runs.
Once again the Dinos held Dixie scoreless in the fourth inning and then went on a 25 minute long tear batting in six runs, making it possible for the Dinos to win it in five innings based on the leagues 10 run rule.
| Jamal Lewis celebrates the big state victory over the Flyers with Matt Jewkes after the game on Friday. Carbon, ranked number one for much of the season has slipped a bit in the rankings because of some tough losses later in regular league play, but still remains one of the top contenders for the state crown. |
Almost everyone on Carbon’s team registered outstanding play.
Grundy’s pitching gets better with every game. In this contest he threw a two-hitter and at times seemed to throw so hard he almost burned a hole in Clowards catchers mitt.
Cloward did a great job catching in the contest, but he also was a key batter as he drove in three runs on a triple and a home run.
Blake Wilde also smacked in a home run in the game.
“I’m not sure what happened when the umpire ruled on that time out play,” said Herrick on Monday morning. “I think he just forgot he called time. He never gave a signal. But that situation put the fire in the furnace. Look what Cloward did when he got up to bat right after their part of the inning.”
Overall the team amassed 14 hits in the win, something they will also need to do against 11-0 in league play Bear River on Thursday.
“Last year I think that people could say that Snow Canyon and Carbon were heavy favorites to win the state title,” states Herrick. “This year it is much more even. No one has really been dominant. It could be Bear River, Park City, Lehi, Pine View, Snow Canyon, Tooele or us. I guess the only team in the eight that are playing that is some kind of longshot is Uintah, and even they have a good chance.”
The game against Bear River will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the community ball complex in Spanish Fork. That complex is located at approximately 200 West and 300 South about two blocks south of Spanish Fork High School.