Warriors split busy week on diamond, post strong track finishes

The Warriors pieced together a solid week overall on the base paths, winning three of four games before running into a Wheeling Central Catholic squad that apparently believes every baseball game should include at least three double plays and a mild amount of emotional distress.

Carrollton opened Eastern Buckeye Conference play May 5, with a 6-1 road win over Minerva. Brayden Swearingen was locked in from the first pitch, tossing a complete game while allowing just one run and refusing to issue a single walk because free baserunners are apparently against his religion. Cooper Haun and Hunter Allison each collected two hits, while Isaac Husted ripped a three-run double to help the Warriors pull away. Haun also swiped two bases because one form of annoyance clearly was not enough.

The rematch Wednesday, May 6, was much crueler to Carrollton, as Minerva walked off the Warriors 2-1 in eight innings.

Carrollton bounced back May 7, edging Edison 4-3 at home. Isaac Husted did a little bit of everything, throwing a complete game while also contributing at the plate. Jayven Johnson doubled and drove in a run, while Husted, Johnson and Jace Witham all collected two hits apiece as the Warriors survived another one-run nail-biter.

May 9, brought a 9-5 loss to Wheeling Central Catholic despite Carrollton turning three double plays, which is normally enough defensive wizardry to earn a coupon for free pizza somewhere. Hunter Allison and Jayven Johnson each had two hits, while Nevan Woods and Witham drove in two runs apiece.

The Warriors closed the week 14-9 overall and 6-4 in the EBC.

Softball

The Warriors played six games in five days, which is less a softball schedule and more like an episode of Survivor.

Carrollton started May 5, by slipping past West Branch 4-3 in an EBC road win. Emilee Shepherd was sharp in the circle, allowing just one run on four hits over five innings without issuing a walk. Kearsten Ball collected two hits, while the Warriors piled up nine hits overall and managed to survive a late Warriors comeback attempt from West Branch.

Alliance cooled off Carrollton May 6, winning 4-1 behind a ridiculous performance from Lilly White, who threw a one-hitter and struck out 14, the statistical equivalent of a pitcher showing up with cheat codes enabled. Laiken Spilker drove in the Warriors’ lone run.

The Warriors answered May 7, with a chaotic 7-6 win over Minerva. Carrollton erupted for six runs in the third inning and then spent the rest of the evening desperately trying to keep the baseball gods from cashing in the receipt. Kearsten Ball had two hits, Erin Shafer doubled, and Breanna Arquilla drove in a run as the Warriors survived despite committing five errors.

May 8, Carrollton picked up another win, defeating United Local 6-4. Juliaunna Miller tripled and drove in a run, Paityn Crank had two hits and a double, and Addie Turkovich went 3-for-4 while spending most of the evening terrorizing the base paths with three stolen bases.

Saturday’s doubleheader against Tusky Valley was the softball equivalent of being chased by a bear twice.

The Trojans took the opener 12-3 behind a monster game from Elliott Wallick, who homered, doubled, and drove in six runs. Shafer provided Carrollton’s highlight with a home run, though Brennen Reichman struck out 17 Warriors hitters in the win.

Tusky Valley completed the sweep in game two, sneaking away with a 5-4 victory after scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. Carrollton rallied from an early four-run deficit, with Reagan Schneiders driving in two runs and Turkovich adding another RBI, but the comeback fell just short.

The Warriors wrapped up the week 12-14 overall and 5-5 in the EBC.

Track and Field

Carrollton spent Friday night at the Fairless Falcon Twilight Invitational collecting top-six finishes all over the place, even if the Warriors narrowly missed out on bringing home individual gold medals.

The girls 4x100m relay team led the way with a runner-up finish in 51.94, while the 4x200m relay placed third and the 4x800m relay finished fifth. Evelyn Beck added a third-place finish in the long jump, Gabi McCort placed sixth in the 3200m run, and Kalye Kiko grabbed sixth in the 100m hurdles.

On the boys side, Landyn Winkler had a busy evening, placing fifth in the 800m run and fourth in long jump. Andy Husk finished fifth in the 400m dash and sixth in the long jump, while Cam Witts and Killian Sweeney both placed in the 110m hurdles. The Warrior's 4x400m relay team also captured fifth place.

Basically, if Fairless handed out points for solid depth across multiple events, Carrollton would have needed an extra trophy shelf.