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Carroll softball knocks off Prairie in semifinals




Enroute to their championship appearance in Sectional 38, Carroll varsity softball team won in a semifinal matchup against Clinton Prairie, 7-4. This was a game that went extra innings but found the Cougars victorious after clutch plays in the ninth inning.

Both teams went scoreless in the opening stages of the game before Prairie drew first blood after scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third. Carroll fell behind by two runs after four innings while scoring its first run of the game off of a walk in the third. A homer to left field by Emily Justice brought the Cougars within one run in the top of the sixth.

The semifinal contest between both teams was an offensive hit fest as they each tallied 12 hits in the game. Lauren Spesard led the Cougars with three runs batted in (RBI) followed by two from Justice.

A grounder to short by Spesard evened the game out at four all in the top of the seventh before Carroll’s bats came up big in the top of the ninth. A line drive to right field by Spesard put the Cougars up by two runs early in the ninth inning before Kaylin Randle’s fly ball to left field dealt the Gophers the final blow.

Emma Payton led the charge from the pitcher’s mound with 17 strikeouts in the win.

The Cougars later went on to lose the championship bout to Delphi, 8-2, ending their season with a record of 18-7.

The 18 wins tallied in the 2023 season is the Cougars’ best finish since 2015 and an accelerated turnaround of the program in head coach Sydney Wiles’ second season. In her first season, Carroll went 12-11 but before then went four seasons without posting double figures in wins.

Across the board is a litany of reasons to point toward Carroll’s resurgence starting with the pitching prowess of seniors Emma Payton (2.06 ERA) and Phantazia DeBoard (2.71). Payton and DeBoard combined for 234 strikeouts in their ’23 campaign.

While Carroll boasted plenty of heat from the pitcher’s mound, their approach in the batter’s box led to many W’s as well after they finished the season hitting .364 as a team, led by Payton (.468), Justice (.447) and Randle (.439).

Carroll graduates eight seniors and returns three juniors along with five sophomores from this season’s roster.