Carrollton closes season, sends track athletes to regionals

Sometimes baseball is cruel enough to out-hit an opponent by four and still lose. Sometimes softball runs into a pitcher dealing misery from the circle. And sometimes track athletes spend their week collecting regional qualifiers.

That pretty much summed up the week for Carrollton athletics.

Softball

The Lady Warriors opened postseason play May 18 with a road trip to Harrison Central for a Division IV East 2 district semifinal matchup. Carrollton grabbed an early lead, but the Huskies responded with three runs in the fourth inning on their way to a 6-2 victory that ended the Warriors’ season at 13-15.

Reagan Schneiders and Paityn Crank each drove in runs for Carrollton, while Crank added a triple and Kearsten Ball chipped in a hit and a stolen base. Juliaunna Miller reached base three times, scored a run and stole two bases.

Harrison Central pitcher Mikayla Pelegreen struck out 14 batters while allowing four hits over seven innings. Schneiders worked six innings in the circle for Carrollton, allowing seven hits and striking out two.

Baseball

Carrollton baseball had a lighter week after the Warriors earned the No. 2 seed in the Division IV East 2 district tournament and opted to bypass sectional play. That left only the regular-season finale May 20 against New Philadelphia.

Despite collecting 11 hits to New Philadelphia’s seven, Carrollton dropped a 5-2 decision at home. The Quakers used a solo home run in the first inning and a four-run third inning to build a 5-0 lead before the Warriors attempted to rally. Carrollton scored once in the third inning and again in the fifth but could not complete the comeback.

Cooper Haun and Hunter Allison each collected two hits and drove in a run for Carrollton, while the Warriors played clean defense without committing an error. Isaac Husted took the loss after working three innings on the mound.

Carrollton closed the regular season 16-10 and turned its attention to district tournament play.

Track and field

The Warriors track and field teams competed in the Division III district meet at St. Clairsville.

Carrollton’s boys finished seventh in the Division B standings with 47 points, while the girls placed 14th.

Andy Husk delivered Carrollton’s top boys finish by placing second in the 400-meter dash, while Landyn Winkler added a fourth-place finish in the 800. The Warriors also qualified in the 4x800 relay with another fourth-place finish.

On the girls side, Carrollton’s 4x100 relay team placed fourth and earned a regional berth.