John Carroll sweeps Calvert Hall for its first MIAA A baseball championship
After years of close calls, the Patriots finally break through and claim a title
by Derek Toney
For nearly a decade, John Carroll baseball has been knocking on the proverbial door in the MIAA A Conference.
The Patriots finally walked in Sunday afternoon. John Carroll rallied for a 6-3 victory over Calvert Hall at Joe Cannon Stadium and a sweep of the best-of-three championship series.
“I love these boys, I trust them with my whole heart,” said Patriots coach Darrion Siler. “They worked hard..they put the sweat, the tears, the blood in the bucket. They expected to have it end this way.”
“We wanted this so bad,” said John Carroll senior first basemen Casey Carpenter. “We had so much trust..when somebody messes up, somebody gets in line and gets it done.”
Hitless through the first five innings, John Carroll (28-8 overall) scored six runs over their final two at-bats. Carpenter, who will play for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington next year, hit a two-run home run and senior Cameron Leach provided a pinch-hit RBI.
When Patriots senior shortstop Andrew Jourdan nabbed Calvert Hall’s Lucas Reiner’s liner with the bases loaded for the final out, John Carroll, for the first time, was the last team standing in the area’s best conference.
John Carroll coach Darrion Siler talks to his team after Sunday’s game two of the MIAA A Conference baseball championship series. The Partriots claimed the crown with a come-from-behind 6-3 victory at Joe Cannon Stadium. (Derek Toney)
In 2022, the Patriots lost to Archbishop Spalding in the finals of the then-double elimination tournament. The Patriots were two outs away from a return finals trip in 2023, leading 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh against Calvert Hall.
The Cardinals got a walk-off grand slam to eliminate John Carroll. The Patriots failed to qualify for the four-team, best-of-three series tourney last year.
“We had high expectations,” said Siler of last season. “The kids, the coaches…we put in the extra work to get back to where we should be.”
John Carroll overtook then-defending champ Spalding for the postseason's top spot. After sweeping Mount St. Joseph in the semifinals, the Patriots topped Calvert Hall in the finals’ series opener Saturday.
Sunday, the Patriots were no-hit for five innings by Cardinal starter Grayson Ryan. John Carroll’s only action came in the first inning as Carpenter walked, moved to second on a hit-by-pitch before going to third on a passed ball. He scored on Dallas Brooks’ fly out to right.
Carpenter got the Patriots’ first hit with a clean single to right with one out in the sixth. Will Rhine laced a double down the right field line, scoring Carpenter from first. Brooks took Ryan’s first offering into right center, plating Rhine and pushing the Patriots’ advantage to 3-1.
“They know they can trust each other, pass it along to the next guy,” said Silver. “Let them do their job; I’ll do mine.”
That was evident in the seventh after Calvert Hall rallied to tie. Miguel Leon opened with a walk and pitch hitter Nicolas Stockson pushed him over to second with a bunt.
Leach took Calvert Hall reliever Nathan Rodriguez’s first pitch right inside the left field line, scoring Leon and giving John Carroll the lead for good. One out later, Carpenter sent an opposite field high fly ball over the 318-foot sign in right.
“The best moment of my life,” said Leach. “We’ve worked for this our entire high school career, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.”
It was another tough ending for Calvert Hall, which battled back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-1, and had the bases full in the bottom of the seventh.
The Cardinals (23-11), who lost in the finals for the fourth straight year, went 0-5 this season against John Carroll.
“We’ll keep working and try to get back here next year. We’re pretty much tired of being that bridesmaid,” said Calvert Hall coach Brooks Kerr. “We want to get that ring.”
After years of falling short, John Carroll finally crossed the championship finish line Sunday. The Patriots wore an emblem on the back of their hat, remembering Josh Hamer, a baseball and football player who died in 2017 in a car accident.
Hamer’s uniform number was 25.
“I think he knew 2025 was going to be special,” said Siler.
