A late venue swap and high winds added drama to Friday’s rivalry matchup as the Carbon Dinos completed a season-series sweep over the Emery Spartans with a 4-2 win in Castle Dale.
The second meeting between the two teams was scheduled to take place at Carbon High School. Rain throughout the morning and early afternoon forced the game to be moved to Emery High School, marking the second meeting in four days between the two teams on Emery’s diamond.
“Our field was playable, but if we had gotten any more rain, we wouldn’t have been able to play,” said Carbon manager Rob Smith. “Emery hadn’t had rain all day and we wanted to get the game in, so we decided to move it down here.”
The chaos, uncertainty and weather did not affect Carbon pitcher Maizen Prichard in the least. Fresh off a 12-strikeout performance against Manti last week, Prichard was sharp again as he fanned 15 batters and allowed just five hits in a complete game performance.
Giving up one run in the top of the first inning, Prichard was nearly flawless the rest of the way. Working an array of pitches, Prichard held the top five batters in Emery’s lineup to 3-13 combined at the plate, with eight strikeouts.
“Maizen is throwing really well the last few outings,” said Smith. “He had 12 strikeouts last game and 15 this game. I’ve told him to go throw strikes and not waste pitches. He’s throwing around the zone and allowing our defense to make plays.”
Emery also received an outstanding pitching performance as senior Wade Stilson matched Prichard with a complete game. Giving up just five hits, Stilson recorded nine strikeouts and walked just one batter. Two of the four runs scored against Stilson were unearned.
The Spartans took an early lead in the top of the first inning as Treven Gilbert scored Mason Stilson from third base on a sacrifice to left field. The Dinos immediately responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, as Jace Barlow scored Peyton Molinar on single to right field.
Carbon captured its first lead of the game in the bottom of the second inning after taking advantage of multiple Emery mistakes. With one out in the frame, Logan Bennett reached safely on a dropped third strike. Bennett would cross home plate moments later off a throwing error, giving the Dinos a 2-1 lead.
Following a scoreless third inning, the Spartans climbed even with Carbon as Braxton Butler scored on a Hayden Abrams single. Carbon again immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning. Representing the go-ahead run in the fourth, Michael Vigil reached safely with a walk. Back-to-back stolen bases put the important run on third. A two-out error led to a run for Carbon, breaking the tie for good. Vigil added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off an RBI single from Bennett.
Down to their final three outs, the Spartans threatened Carbon in the top of the seventh inning. Abrams started a potential rally with a leadoff triple, putting the tying run in the batter’s box. Prichard respond with three straight strikeouts to preserve the win.
“Our boys came out swinging, ready to go and had great approaches,” Smith said when asked about the Carbon offense. “Wade (Stilson) is a great pitcher, and we knew that coming into the game. We knew we had to score some runs, so you have to hand it to our hitters.”
Friday’s win marks the third straight for Carbon, moving the team’s overall record to 14-7 with an 8-4 mark in region play. The Dinos will now prepare for back-to-back games against Richfield and North Sanpete on Monday and Tuesday to end the regular season.
For Emery Friday’s game marked the regular season finale, giving the team a record of 14-11 overall and 7-7 in region play. The Spartans are officially locked into fifth place in the talented eight team division.