Chet Anderson scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Carbon Dinos stunned the visiting Grantsville Cowboys 10-9 Saturday afternoon in the second round of the 3A State Championship Tournament.
With the game tied and Carbon down to their last strike before extra innings, manager Jeff Cisneros sent Anderson from second to third in a steal attempt. Grantsville catcher Easton Casper’s throw sailed over the third baseman’s head, allowing Anderson to advance home for the win.
“I’m super proud of the boys and the way they continued to fight through a tough game,” said Cisneros following the win. “I tip my hat to Grantsville because that’s a great team. This was a group effort and a big win for our team.”
Trailing 9-5 entering the bottom of the seventh the Dinos scored five runs to complete the thrilling come-from-behind win. Carbon started the bottom half of the inning with four straight singles, two of which led to RBIs from Beau Vea and Dallen Oneil.
Still trailing by two runs, the Dinos continued to produce quality at bats. Freshman Logan Madrigal brought Vea home with a groundout to the shortstop.
A return to the top order started with Chet Anderson lacing a single to second base. Rylan Hart tied the game with a sacrifice fly to right field on the ensuing at bat. With Anderson on second Juab elected to intentionally walk Keaton Rich, setting the stage for the epic conclusion.
“That last inning just created a lot of excitement and I’m proud of the boys,” Cisneros said. “It was a rematch of the state title game last year. We came out on the losing end then and we didn’t want to come out on the losing end again.”
Hart led the Dinos at the plate as he finished 3-5 with three RBI and one run. Anderson and Vea both recorded multiple hits as Carbon matched Grantsville’s total of 11 for the game.
Jordan Fossat earned the win on the mound for Carbon as he pitched 2.2 innings of relief, striking out five batters and allowing no earned runs. Beau Vea started the contest, going 1.2 innings before being relieved by Falk, who finished with
The rematch between two 3A powers came following wins for both teams earlier in the day. Carbon used a brilliant pitching performance from Camden Wilson to dismantle Judge Memorial 13-0 in five innings, while Grantsville comfortably topped Summit Academy 8-2.
After a full two days of baseball Carbon joins No. 1 Juab, No. 3 American Leadership Academy and No. 7 Juan Diego as the only four teams remaining without a loss. The one-loss bracket consists of canyon View, Union, Delta, Summit Academy, Grantsville, Manti, Emery and Grand.
The next challenge for the Dinos will be a meeting with Juab on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m.. The winner of that game will face either ALA or Juan Diego in the semifinals on Friday afternoon.
Thursday’s contest will air live on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM beginning at 10:30 with pre-gam coverage. The live audio feed will also be available at castlecountryradio.com.