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Early Spark: Miller baseball’s big first inning against Carlisle sparks Mavs to VIC title

Photo by Bart Isley

Miller baseball’s senior left-handed slugger Jack Carey had gotten a peak at Carlisle’s Garret Kangas, snagging an at bat against him in the squads’ regular season meeting.

 

He made that kernel of information count. Carey ripped a first inning grand slam to centerfield, giving the Mavericks a huge early lead that helped spark Miller to a 7-4 victory and the VIC tournament title.

 

“I saw what he had this year and I knew the ball was going to run in a little bit,” Carey said. “I saw the first one pretty well and fouled it off, the next pitch was right down the middle.”

 

The Mavericks scored six of their seven runs in the first inning, with Vince Dileonardo doubling to score Henry Hardie and Jacob Exum singling in Hardie. Then after striking out twice in the first inning, leadoff hitter Jeremy Wagner unleashed a blast to left field in the third for a solo homerun and a 7-0 lead.

 

“The bats have been swinging pretty well and we knew coming into this game we win this game and secure that No. 1 seed (in the state tournament),” Carey said. “It feels really good to play here on Tuesday.”

 

Ethan Chenault got the win on the mound, striking out 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work while surrendering just one earned run. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run. It was an impressive performance for the senior hurler against a Carlisle squad that provided one of the Mavericks’ few challenges during a recent win streak, a 4-2 battle for a road win less than a week ago.

 

The victory was the Mavericks’ sixth-straight win and gives them some solid momentum going into the VISAA Division II state tournament. They likely sewed up the No. 1-seed with the win over Carlisle and will host a quarterfinal game Tuesday against either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed depending on who wins Monday’s play-in game.

 

Laken Tignor and Jack Marshall each went 2-for-4 for the Mavericks and scored a run while Dileonardo posted a 2-for-3 night. Exum had the key first inning RBI and also made several solid plays at shortstop.

 

Carlisle got some offense going in the sixth with three runs, scoring on an RBI single, a bases loaded walk and a botched pick-off attempt. But Matt Sykes ended the inning with a strikeout to set the stage for Jack Masloff to close out the win in the seventh.

 

The Mavericks have added an element to their pitching staff with the return of Masloff in the last two weeks. Masloff struck out a pair of Carlisle batters after surrendering an RBI double in the seventh. Adding an arm like his to a formidable pitching staff that already includes Chenault, Garrett Payne, Sykes and Ian Haney is a huge late season lift.

 

“He came here in the fall and looked so good,” Carey said. “We’ve got him back now and he looks good out there.”

 

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