By Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
There is no better way to kick off the baseball season than with a tournament, which is precisely what Carrollton did over the weekend at Granville High School. First, the Warriors faced Canton GlenOak on Friday, March 28, before meeting Caledonia River Valley the following day.
The Warriors drew first blood in their contest against GlenOak. Unfortunately for Carrollton, the Golden Eagles bounced back, scoring five runs in the fifth inning to break open a tie game and send the Warriors to a season-opening 9-4 defeat.
The game began with promise as Nevan Woods stepped to the plate with two on in the top of the second inning. He sacrificed but reached on an error by GlenOak catcher Gavin McCaulley, scoring Cooper Haun. Carrollton took advantage of yet another error by the Golden Eagles that allowed a second run, and the Warriors were in business with a 2-0 advantage.
GlenOak recovered one of the runs in the bottom of the second, courtesy of an RBI single by Ethan Krum, and then took the lead one inning later after a two-run bomb by Quincy Mazeke. The Golden Eagles were not done with the long ball just yet, as McCaulley smacked another home run in the bottom of the fourth to put GlenOak in front 4-2.
Two can play that game, however, as Carrollton’s Hunter Allison sent a screaming line drive over the left-field fence for a two-run homer, tying the game 4-4. The Warriors’ elation was short-lived, though, as the Golden Eagles proceeded to play small ball and score five runs on a sac fly, two separate run-scoring singles, and a two-run error.
The Warriors got back up on their horses the next day to meet the River Valley Vikings, and if high-scoring offensive fireworks are your thing, this game did not disappoint, as both teams combined for 22 hits and 29 runs in a 15-14 Carrollton win.
The Vikings wasted little time in scoring first, tagging the Warriors for two runs in the top of the first inning on a home run. But Carrollton had an answer, as Brayden Swearingen scored on a sac fly by Landon James. Haun then smacked a two-run home run to deep center to put the Warriors in front 3-2.
Carrollton would score three more runs in the bottom of the first, but the Vikings stayed close, scoring three runs in the top of the second to make the score 6-5. The Warriors then pulled away again, scoring once in the second inning and adding three more in the third — including a two-run blast by Garrett Broadwater — and Carrollton was on top 10-5.
But the persistent Vikings would not go away, scoring five runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game before taking a 12-10 lead in the fifth on an inside-the-park home run. Like two heavyweights trading punches in the center of the ring, the Warriors answered River Valley’s blows with their own — first an RBI single by Jacob Whitmore to tie the score and then a two-run double by Thomas Adey to put Carrollton back on top, 14-12.
The Vikings, in a last gasp, managed to tie the game once again in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Carrollton, as Haun — who went 2-for-3 on the day with three runs and three RBIs — scored the winning run to even Carrollton’s season record at 1-1.
With the loss, River Valley slides to 2-1.