| Whitney Williams lays down a tag as the runner tries to steal third. |
As one of the better teams in Region eight rolled into town for a double header with the Dino softball team, they knew that their chance at post season play is on the line. Hoping to take at least one, Carbon left the opportunity to strengthen their chance at the last playoff spot. They dropped two to North Sanpete by the scores of 0-10 and 7-9.
Errors again were the downfall for the Dinos. Committing six in game one, they squandered several chances early to shut down North Sanpete. Before the second inning was over Carbon had already given up five runs to their opponents in game one.
In the third and fourth inning, the Dinos had a few scoring chances, but failed to get the hits needed to score the runners. Getting only two hits the entire game made it easy for the Hawks to shut them out. The Hawks, on the other hand, put up a run in almost every inning to end the game in six.
Coach Pinedo gave the Hawks credit, “Their pitcher was good and she made it tough for us to get any hits off of her, but we can’t give up that many errors and have a chance either.”
Carbon did regroup in game two. After both pitchers held the opposition scoreless in the first, each team put up a two spot in the second. Ericka Potts sent one over the fence to put a charge in the Dino offense. The Hawks took the lead in the third and then Carbon tied it up in the fourth.
Again North Sanpete pulled ahead with two in the fifth and the Dinos answered back with one. The sixth was the downfall for Carbon as they gave up four runs without posting any thing in their half of the inning. With two runners on and one out, Carbon gave a pass to a hitter who already had sent two over the fence and loaded the bases. The odds ended up against the Dinos as the next batter hit a grand slam for the four run inning.
But instead of conceding the game, they made a good effort at trying to recover. They rallied with a three run blast by Tammy Harwood. It was her second home run in the game. In the end they fell two runs short of tying up the game. “Our defense still struggled throughout the game. We gave up five errors in the second game that hurt us in the end,” Pinedo said. “Overall I was pleased with our pitching for both games. Paige Pinedo went the distance and walked very few batters. We just continue to have trouble on simple plays and give the other teams second chances.”
The team has only one more region game to play. Delta swept Emery and locked up third so now it is a battle against Emery for the final spot. Carbon will face Delta at home on Thursday and Emery has to take on top dog Juan Diego. Coach Pinedo figures that if the two teams end up tied, then they will have to meet for one more game to see who will claim the spot. He is hoping that his team will keep their bats alive and their errors down and take the game against Delta.
Game time on Thursday will be at 3:30 at the Carbon softball field below the high school.