Calvert Hall denied Spalding a chance at a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference four-peat, but the Cardinals couldn’t stop John Carroll from making its own history.

In fact, no one was able to derail the No. 1 Patriots in their quest for the program’s first MIAA A Conference crown, which culminated with Sunday’s 6-3 victory against the No. 4 Cardinals at Joe Cannon Stadium, giving top-seeded John Carroll a perfect 4-0 record in tournament play.

“I love these boys. I trust them with my whole heart,” John Carroll coach Darrion Siler said. “They’ve worked hard. They’ve put the sweat, the tears, the blood in the bucket. They expected to have it end this way, and I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished. They know they can trust each other, pass it along to the next guy. Let them do their job; I’ll do mine.”That was never more the case than in the decisive seventh inning as a pair of pinch hitters helped John Carroll forge a 4-3 lead before veteran first baseman Casey Carpenter blasted a two-run home run to give the Patriots what turned out to be an insurmountable advantage.

In the seventh, Miguel Leon drew a walk, stole second base, then was moved to third on a well-executed sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Nicolas Stockston. Pinch hitter Cameron Leach then lined a single down the left field line to score Leon for the go-ahead run.

“I knew before the inning that sometime during the inning (I was going to hit) but I wasn’t sure for who,” Leach said. “I was looking for a fastball early in the count; got it middle in. Put a good swing on it and put it right down the line.

“The best moment of my life. We’ve worked for this our entire high school career, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.”

Two batters later, Carpenter crushed a shot over the right field fence for a three-run advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh.

“I knew he needed to get back in the dugout, so he had to give me something to hit,” Carpenter said of Calvert Hall reliever Jake Dulski. “He made a mistake, and I took advantage of it. We wanted it so bad. First time in school history.”

Calvert Hall, which has reached the championship series the past three seasons without capturing a title, loaded the bases against reliever Zach Olszewski with two outs. Jack Hudson came on in relief and got the final out, a diving catch by John Carroll shortstop Andrew Jourdan on a line drive to his right to end the contest and send the Patriots into a frenzied celebration.

“I thought we played our hearts out,” Cardinals coach Brooks Kerr said. “That’s a good team, a great lineup. (Pitcher Grayson) Ryan threw a great game. They just bunched some hits together. We got the bases loaded. Then the line drive … but that’s baseball.

“We’ll keep working and try to get back here next year. We’re pretty much tired of being that bridesmaid. We want to get that ring.”

The Patriots struck first in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Dallas Brooks following a walk, a hit batter and a passed ball. The Cardinals answered right back with a sacrifice fly of their own by Brayden Wolf that followed two outfield miscues, including one that led to a ground rule double by Will Haacke.

Calvert Hall looked to take its first lead in the fourth and fifth innings with three runners in scoring position, but a line drive snagged by Carpenter and a flyout to deep center spoiled both opportunities.

After being limited to a single base runner from the second through fifth innings, John Carroll took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth on a double by Will Rhine down the right field line that scored Carpenter, who singled to the right side against Calvert Hall’s defensive shift to the left side of the infield. Brooks followed with a run-scoring single to right center field for a 3-1 advantage.

Anthony Williams trimmed that deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning on a double to left field to score Clark Mileto, who singled and reached second on the play through an error in right field. Williams then scored on a bloop single to shallow left field by Ethan Frank for a 3-3 tie. Two additional runners were stranded by Patriots starter Pierce Quinn when he struck out Will Haacke with the count full.

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