TUCSON — The Carthage baseball team opened the first half of its spring break trip in Tucson, Arizona, with a pair of victories across five games. The Firebirds earned wins over Bethany Lutheran and Aurora while facing Hamline and Southwest Minnesota State, using timely offense throughout the opening stretch of the trip.
Game One
- Final Score: Bethany Lutheran 11 - Carthage 1 (8 innings)
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Records: Bethany Lutheran 5-1, Carthage 1-3
Game Two
- Final Score: Hamline 10 - Carthage 7 (10 innings)
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
Game Three
- Final Score: Carthage 3 - Dakota Wesleyan 0
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Records: Carthage 2-4, Dakota Wesleyan 9-5
Game Four
- Final Score: Carthage 11 - Aurora 2
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Records: Carthage 3-4, Aurora 4-5
Game Five
- Final Score: Southwest Minnesota 15 - Carthage 10
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Records: Southwest Minnesota 12-5, Carthage 3-5
Game One
- Bethany Lutheran opened the scoring with three runs in the third inning.
- Joe Zuleger later delivered an RBI single that brought home Zander Tubbs, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
- Bethany Lutheran added one run in the fifth before breaking the game open with three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to secure an 11-1 victory in eight innings.
Game Two
- Hamline scored first with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
- Carthage answered in the bottom half of the frame as Tubbs singled and Michael Ossenfort launched a three-run home run to give the Firebirds a 4-1 lead.
- Hamline responded with four runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to regain the advantage.
- Carthage trimmed the deficit to one when Mattie Gapinski drove in two with a single, and Tubbs added a solo home run.
- Hamline sealed the win with an RBI triple in the ninth and two RBI singles in the 10th to claim a 10-7 victory.
Game Three
- Carthage opened the scoring when a fly ball from Paul Reedy was deep enough to score Ossenfort following an error by the catcher.
- The Firebirds extended the lead when Caden Meyer singled to bring home Christian Duarte.
- Duarte later added a solo home run to push the lead to 4-0.
- Carthage pitching and defense preserved the shutout the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Game Four
- Reedy put Carthage ahead in the second inning with an RBI triple to center field that scored Duarte.
- Aurora responded with two runs in the third before Tubbs tied the game with an RBI single.
- In the fourth inning, Meyer doubled to center, and an RBI double from Ossenfort gave Carthage a 5-2 advantage.
- With the bases loaded, Cade McCubbin was hit by a pitch, and Meyer later drew a walk to bring in another run.
- Reedy crossed the plate later in the inning as Carthage built an 8-2 lead.
- McCubbin added a three-run home run in the sixth to help secure an 11-2 win.
Game Five
- Southwest Minnesota State scored six runs in the second inning and three in the third to build a 9-0 lead.
- Carthage responded in the fourth as Dylan Ston delivered an RBI single and later scored alongside Tubbs to cut the deficit to 9-3.
- In the fifth, Herget singled to left, and a sacrifice fly from Ston reduced the margin to four.
- Southwest Minnesota State added three runs in the sixth, but Carthage answered in the seventh with RBI singles from Tubbs and Zuleger.
- After the Mustangs added one run in the eighth and two in the ninth, Carthage's final push included a groundout that scored Ossenfort and a wild pitch that allowed Ston to cross the plate.
- A flyout and a fielder's choice ended the rally as Southwest Minnesota State secured the win.
- Up next, Carthage plays Crown on Thursday, March 12, starting at 6 p.m. MST.
