The spring sports season is just kicking off in most states, so uneven matchups are bound to pop up in some corners, just as they did in basketball and other winter sports. Still, one baseball final in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has stood out from the crowd so far: On Friday, Carrollton (Texas) Christian Academy knocked off Ingram (Texas) The Highlands School by an incredible final score of 37-1 … in just four innings.
Yes, you read that score correctly. In a game called after just four frames, Carrollton Christian averaged nine runs per inning. As noted by the Dallas Morning News, that mean that was brought up by an unbelievable 17-run fourth inning. Think about it; that's a football number in a single inning. Meanwhile, the Saints held Highlands to just one run in all on Friday night, relegating the Highlanders to a rather ignominious loss.
As one might expect, the questions that will now be raised will focus on whether that final scoreline was really necessary or appropriate. No details of how aggressive Carrollton Christian performed on the basepaths or with its lineup have emerged, but it's likely that the Saints had a broad idea that the Highlanders would be a tad bit overmatched, since their entire program roster is comprised of just 14 players.
Of those 14 Highlanders, only eight entered the season with established varsity numbers. The fact that the team's practice photo looks a bit like an image taken from a Wes Anderson flick (we understand he probably came from class, but the fact that a player is still in full slacks and tie kind of sells the indie vibe, doesn't it?) doesn't help make the case for the Highlanders' relative program strength, either.
Will Friday's 37-1 blowout be the final lopsided loss of the baseball season across the nation? Almost surely not. In fact, it's not even the worst baseball blowout we've seen in Texas in recent years, with a 50-1 whitewashing in 2011 serving as that pace setter.
Still, it at least provides a benchmark for the start of sportsmanship discussions about whether a team really needs to score 37 runs in a victory that truly appeared to be long-since wrapped up; Prep Rally, for one, certainly doesn't think anyone would have given Highlands much of a chance to rally from a 20-1 deficit in three innings even if the game had continued.
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