Carbon Softball Edges North Sanpete in State Playoffs

Carbon’s Brooke Moosman delivers a pitch to North Sanpete in the 3A State Tournament in Spanish Fork. (Photo Credit: Loren Miller)
Carbon softball defeated the North Sanpete Hawks 15-14 on Thursday during the second round of the 3A State Playoffs in Spanish Fork.
With freshman Brooke Moosman starting in the circle, Carbon fell behind early to the Hawks 3-0 after the first inning.
“I think it was freshman nerves, to be a freshman and be the starting pitcher in that game but she settled down and pitched great with some key hits, she’s a incredible ball player,” said Carbon Head Coach Wade Williams.
Moosman would settle in and go on to pitch well in the next four innings without allowing more than two runs in an inning to score.
“She did very well, when we needed her the most she pulled through and when they got hits off her, she pulled through even more,” said Carbon catcher Lyndsey Madrigal.
The Dinos bounced back in a big way and scored eight runs in the top of the third inning to go up 9-3 on the Hawks. Three of those runs came off the bat of Clarissa Noyes who hit a three-run home run.
Carbon would add two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to go up 11-6 on North Sanpete.
In the top of the sixth inning, Kennedy Nelson hit a two-run home run to extend Carbon’s lead to 13-7.
The Hawks would made a big comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning adding five runs off of pitcher Kaytlyn Cripps who replaced Moosman in the fifth inning.
With the score 13-12 heading into the top of the seventh and almost the entire Spanish Fork softball complex watching, the Dinos would use patience at the plate to add two more runs.
North Sanpete walked the Dinos four straight times with two outs after a Cali Fossat single to give the Dinos a 15-12 lead heading into the last half inning of the game.
Fossat finished the game with a team-high four hits and two RBIs. Noyes, Nelson and Dekota Kraushaar each had three RBIs for the Dinos.
Moosman would come back into the game in the bottom of the seventh to try and close out the game for the Dinos.
In the bottom of the seventh, Moosman would load the bases with one out and allow an RBI single to move the score to 15-13.
North Sanpete would add another RBI single before popping up for the final out and giving the Dinos the win.
“We just needed to settle down and take care of business. I knew that North Sanpete is almost an identical team to us, they hit the ball very well, have good pitching and good defense,” said Williams.”It was going to come down to who wanted it the most and we did.”
Thursday’s second round win against the Hawks was the first under Williams and the first in a decades for the program.
Carbon will advance to the quarterfinals round of the tournament on Friday against Region 14 foe Union at 2 p.m.
Union has defeated the Dinos in both regular season games this Spring.
Madrigal says the first few innings on Thursday will be key for the Dinos.
“I am hoping that we start off strong in the beginning and we just don’t wait until the last minute to start hitting the ball. Especially since we are playing Union and they beat us the last two times,” said Madrigal.
The winner between Union and Carbon will move on to the semifinals at 6 p.m. and the loser will move to the loser’s bracket.