Carpinteria High baseball held on for a 5-4 victory over Nordhoff in the Citrus Coast League opener on Wednesday in Ojai.
Warrior senior Dallas Bartholic slammed the door in the seventh inning, stranding the tying run at third and the winning run at second to finish off his complete game.
“This was a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly, but the bottom line is that it was a CCL win,” Carpinteria High head coach Pat Cooney said. “The bunch showed grit against a good pitcher and responded well when things went sideways.
“Bartholic never wavered, and we got incredible leadership from (Micah) Smith and (Gabe) Martinez. We were able to fight through a complacent start and needed luck on our side against a good team.”
Martinez paced the Carpinteria High offense, going 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Smith delivered three hits and scored a pair of runs, including what proved to be the game-winning run on a passed ball.
Meanwhile, Noah Morente supplied two hits and two RBI, and Brick Trumble supplied a clutch hit in the Warriors’ two-run fourth inning.
Carpinteria High (5-0, 1-0 CCL) and Nordhoff (3-4, 0-1 CCL) will match up once again on Friday in Carpinteria.