by Justin Thomas
For the second consecutive year and for the sixth time in program history, Southlake Carroll's baseball team will compete at the state tournament.
The Dragons qualified for this weekend's state tournament in Round Rock by finishing off District 5-6A combatant Marcus in a two-game sweep Thursday and Friday at Arlington's Globe Life Park.
Through five rounds of the postseason, the Dragons have posted a spotless 9-0 record with only two games being decided by fewer than three runs.
The Dragons yet again leaned on dominant pitching in Arlington, opening the series against a Marcus team they split with in 5-6A competition.
In Game 1 on Thursday, Kyle Warden went the distance, allowing just one single with eight strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
Nicco Cole picked up from there in the finale on Friday, shutting out the Marauders for the first three innings as the Dragons built a commanding 10-0 lead.
Marcus would stave off the run-rule momentarily, breaking through for one in the fourth and two in the fifth only to see Carroll respond with a late game surge scoring two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to achieve a final margin of 14-3.
Carroll outperformed Marcus defensively as well, and took advantage of the Marauders' mishaps to the tune of five unearned runs.
Perhaps Carroll's most impressive feat over the course of the series was its production with two outs.
Of Carroll's 20 runs, 13 touched the plate with Marcus just one out away from evading damage.
The Dragons scored six times in Game 1 without an extra-base hit.
Cade Bell and Adam Stephenson (two RBIs) set the table at he top of the lineup with two hits apiece, while Jake Miller had two singles and Matt Werner knocked in a pair.
The squad pounded out 15 hits the following day, scoring four times in the top of the first inning by taking advantage of a Marcus throwing error with two outs.
Four more runs with two outs came around in the top of the third with Marcus' defense again not doing itself any favors.
Stephenson and Millsap (three hits and three RBIs) each had doubles, while Will Quillen tripled off the wall. Werner also continued his productive series with three more hits and a team-high four RBI.
With the sweep, Carroll (33-6) now advances to state and will take on Conroe The Woodlands (25-14-1) at 6 p.m. Friday at Round Rock's Dell Diamond.
The other state semifinal pits San Antonio Reagan (36-7) against Cypress Ranch (32-8-2). The respective winners play on Saturday 4pm for the State Championship.
Game 1: Carroll 6, Marcus 0
FMM 0br0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 3
SLC 0 0 1 4 0 0 x — 6 11 1
WP — Kyle Warden. LP — Blake Mayfield.
Game 2: Carroll 14, Marcus 3 (six innings)
SLC 4br0 6 0 2 2 — 14 15 2
FMM 0 0 0 1 2 0 — 3 8 3
WP — Nicco Cole. LP — Justin Kleinsorge. 2B — SLC: Adam Stephenson, Nik Millsap. FMM: Zach Jordan, Will Harrison, Ryan Hunt. 3B — SLC:brWill Quillen.