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Preps
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 19, 2003
TRINITY -- If fans came to Mitchell Field on Tuesday night expecting an impressive pitching performance, they got what they wanted, but from an unexpected source.
River Ridge's Justin Roth entered the game with a 0.31 ERA but was outpitched by unheralded Mitchell senior Brian Carr, who held the Knights to one hit in five innings to lead the Mustangs to a 7-3 district victory.
"Brian really stepped up when the team needed it," said Mitchell coach Phil Bell, whose team has won three of the past four since two key seniors were dismissed last week. "He showed some toughness tonight and had a nice outing."
Roth (3-2) had allowed two runs -- one earned -- in his first 222/3 innings, but the Mustangs tagged him for seven on seven hits in four innings. After walking two batters in his first five appearances, he matched that on eight straight pitches in the first after a throwing error by third baseman Zack Justus. Mitchell sophomore C.J. Hanson followed with a clutch two-out, bases-loaded double off the wall in left-center for a 3-0 lead.
The Mustangs also got a squeeze bunt in the third from Hanson, who scored on Derek Shaw's two-run single.
Carr (1-0), who moved up in the rotation when ace Tyler Clippard was dismissed, retired the first seven batters in order. A fourth-inning double by Kevin Kuryliew was the only hit Carr allowed.
"We'd never seen him, so he was an unknown entity," Knights coach Jack Homko said. "He had an offspeed fastball that had our kids jumping out and popping out. He did just what I think Coach Bell wanted him to do tonight."
River Ridge (4-4, 2-3) scored twice in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Kuryliew and a single by Justus, but Adam Webb closed out the game for Mitchell (6-4, 2-2) with a 1-2-3 seventh.