Saturday, May. 10, 2008

Carroll Stuns Martin with Two-game Sweep Online Exclusive

Dragons Use Comeback, Hitting Onslaught to Advance

By Zach Warner

Staff Writer

At one point looking set to lose the opening game of its playoff series against the No. 5-ranked team in the state and face an uphill climb playing at its opponent's field in Game 2, the Carroll baseball team experienced a monumental shift that began with one amazing inning.

The Dragons trailed Arlington Martin by an 8-3 deficit entering the bottom of the sixth of Game 1 on Thursday, but scored five runs in the inning to tie the game. Carroll defeated the Warriors 9-8 in the eighth on a suicide squeeze.

The comeback allowed the Dragons to carry momentum into Game 2 on Friday, as Carroll jumped in front of Martin in a hurry and led 6-0 in the third. The Dragons (16-17) went on to pull off the upset in a two-game sweep by defeating Martin (29-5) in a 9-1 final.

Carroll scored four in the second and two in the third, all runs coming off two-run home run shots, to build a sizable lead. Ethan Cunningham, Shaun McPeters and Andrew LaCombe each hit the homers, while Cunningham added a second shot over the fence in the seventh. Cunningham also homered in the Dragons' Game 1 win.

Carroll pitcher Ross Stripling stymied Martin, a team hitting .358 collectively for the season and with its top three offensive players having combined for 102 RBI and 19 home runs, by holding the Warriors hitless through 5 1/3 innings. Stripling (10-0) pitched the complete game and gave up just two hits. The Dragons collected 11 hits in the win.

"That was a great win for our team," said Larry Hughes, Carroll baseball coach. "That just shows that we have the kind of team that we can hold our own with the good teams, the top teams in the state.

"This could catapult us a long way."

The Dragons will next face another top 10 team in Coppell (ranked No. 9 by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association) next week at a time and place yet to be determined. Hughes said it will likely be another best-of-three, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (if needed) format for the regional quarterfinal series.