The Lady Dinos softball squad got on the road last Thursday when they traveled to Hurricane to take on the Tigers. After that, they took part in the St George Tournament, playing five games over Friday and Saturday. After falling to the Tigers on Thursday, they closed out the remainder of the weekend with a 4-1 record to start the season at 4-2 overall.

Last season, they finished 13-16 overall, with an 8-6 mark in region play. Moving into the opening round of the state championships, they fell to North Sanpete, dropping them into the one-loss bracket, where they went on to defeat Judge 17-1 and advance to the next round, to face Providence Hall, where they lost 5-4, ending the season.

In the game on Thursday against the Hurricane Tigers from the 4A ranks, Carbon fell behind early and could only manage one run in the 3rd, losing 11-1.

The Tigers came out scoring seven runs in the first two innings, and then it was the top of the third where the Dinos got onto the board when Alexa Jones singled to the pitcher. Jones would score, the only run of the game for the Lady Dinos, on an error by the pitcher.

Jones was 1-3 in the contest with a run scored, and Kadence Vea was 1-2, who also got the start on the mound, going 4.1 innings, giving up 11 runs, 10 of them earned, on 10 hits, striking out two. Bayleigh Sinclair came in and gave up one hit.

The first game in St. George, Carbon, took on the Snake River Panthers from Blackfoot, Idaho. The Lady Dinos took the lead early but used a big fourth inning to take the 14-3 win.

Carbon held the 7-3 lead when they got into the 4th inning. With three on, Sienna Alderson came up to the plate and sent a double to center field, scoring Brailee Peterson and Kennlee Kennedy to put the score at 9-3. Harli Heugly would come up next and send a triple to center field, driving in Vea and Alderson, getting the score to 11-3. The Dinos would add three more runs in the contest, coming away with the win.

Aleece Ardohain was 2-3 with a run scored and two RBIs in the game. Peterson was 1-3 with three RBIs and two runs, and Hugely went 1-3 with four RBIs and two runs in the win.

Presslee Lupo got the complete game win, giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits while striking out five.

Friday’s next game was against the Grand County Red Devils. Carbon led early in this one, but another big seventh inning, this time for Grand, put the Lady Dinos away 11-7.

The Dinos were able to get on the board first, putting up four runs in the top of the inning. The Red Devils would come back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game up at 4-4.

In the second, Ardohain came up to the plate with one on and one out and sent a line drive to right field to drive in Andee Wood to give Carbon a slight edge. Two batters later, Ardohain scored on a passed ball to give Carbon a 6-4 lead.

Carbon would hold Grand scoreless through the next two innings, but in the fourth, the Red Devils found their bats as they put seven runs up to take an 11-6 lead. The Lady Dinos were able to add one more run to close the gap to 11-7, and that is where it would stay, giving Grand the win.

Jones went 2-3, scoring one run, and Ardohain went 2-3 with a pair of runs scored and one RBI. Heugly was 1-2 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored in the loss.

Sinclair got the start on the mound, going three innings, surrendering eight runs, four earned, on three hits. Lupo closed the game with three earned runs on three hits and struck out two.

In Friday’s final contest, the Lady Dinos faced the Corner Canyon Chargers. An eight-run fifth inning would put the Lady Dinos over the top to take a 14-10 win.

The Lady Dinos found themselves down 8-5 headed into the top of the fifth, and that’s when the fireworks started for Carbon.

The inning started off with a pair of walks, and then Italia Dunn sent a single to the left fielder, bringing in Bella Nelson. Shayla Penovich would come up next, hitting a grounder to the shortstop, bringing Josie Vea home. Sinclair came to the plate next, sending a grounder to left field, bringing Dunn home to tie the score 8-8. With Carbon on top 9-8 and 2 outs, Kennedy sent a single to the center fielder, driving in Ardohain and Jones to give Carbon a three-run advantage 11-8. Kadence Vea would hit a single to center, bringing home Nelson and Kennedy to put Carbon on top 13-8. The Lady Dinos added one more run in the sixth, closing out the Chargers 14-10.

Ardohain had a huge game for Carbon, going 4-5, scoring three runs, and collecting three RBIs. Peterson went 1-5 with a pair of RBIs and scored one, and Dunn went 2-4 with a run and an RBI.

Kadence Vea got the complete game win on the bump, giving up 10 runs, eight earned, on six hits while striking out four.

The first contest of Saturday was against Overton, Nevada’s Moapa Valley Pirates. The Lady Dinos used big fifth and sixth innings to come from behind to take the 15-3 victory.

Carbon started quietly as the Pirates put one run on the board in the bottom of the first. The next two innings were silent for both teams, then, in the top of the 4th, Carbon took the lead 3-1.

With one out and two on in the fifth, Alderson would come up, sending a double to the center field, driving in Nelson, and then moving Hugely to third. Kennedy stepped up to the plate next, sending another double to left field, driving in Alderson and Hughley to put the Lady Dinos up 6-1. Then, with two outs, Jones steps up and sends a pop fly to right field, which allowed Dunn and Kennedy to score to give the Dinos the lead 8-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth.

Moving into the 6th inning with Peterson on third, Alderson steps up to the plate, and during her at bat, Peterson would score on a passed ball, and Alderson would send a double to center, driving in Nelson and Hughley, to give Carbon an 11-1 lead. With one out and one on, Dunn hits a grounder to the shortstop, and Alderson scores. Then, one batter later, Jones sends a double to centerfield, driving in Dunn. Ardohain steps back into the batter’s box, sending a ground ball to center, brings home Jones, and Wood to put the Dinos up 15-1 headed into the bottom of the sixth. Moapa Valley added two more runs, but the Lady Dinos claimed the 15-3 win.

Jones was 3-5 with four RBIs, and ran scored. Alderson was 3-4 with four RBIs and three runs, and Heugly went 1-2 with three runs scored in the win.

Kadence Vea once again earned the win with three earned runs on four hits and striking out nine.

The final game of the weekend was one where the Lady Dinos perhaps had revenge on their mind, as they took on the Providence Hall Patriots, the team that sent them home last season from the state championships.

The Lady Dinos found themselves down by three in the bottom of the first when Jones, who made it to third off an error, watched as Ardohain came up to the plate. Jones scored on a passed ball during her at-bat to get Carbon on the board.

The Patriots scored a pair of runs in the second to put the score at 5-1, and the Lady Dinos collected three in the bottom half of the inning, ending the frame down by one, 5-4, heading into the third. After holding Providence Hall scoreless, Carbon went back to work as Nelson stepped up to the plate with one out and reached on a single to the shortstop. Alderson came up next, sending a double to center to bring Nelson home. Lacie Gregersen entered as a courtesy runner for Alderson, and Kennedy stepped up to hit a grounder to short, reaching on an error and scoring Gregersen. Penovich stepped up, driving one to center to bring Kennedy home as the Lady Dinos recaptured the lead 7-5.

The fourth was quiet for both teams as neither could muster any runs, but the Lady Dinos came alive in the fifth when Wood sent a grounder to center, driving in both Nelson and Kennedy to cap the score at 9-5 as Carbon would close out the Patriots for the win.

Jones went 2-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI; Nelson was 2-3, scoring two runs; and Penovich was 2-3 with a run and an RBI in the win.

Lupo earned the complete game win, giving up five runs, two earned on eight hits, and striking out four.

Carbon will head back to the diamond on Tuesday when they travel to face Manti.