Just seven months removed from ACL surgery, Carrollton junior Hunter Allison stood on third base with the game tied, the season hanging in the balance, and the energy of a dugout willing him home.
He didn’t need a bat to finish the job.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Allison dashed for the plate on a passed ball and scored the winning run, sealing an improbable 8-7 comeback over Cambridge and sending the Warriors to the East District championship game.
For a team that trailed by five runs heading into the final two innings, the walk-off moment was the reward for a relentless belief that the game wasn’t over.
“We just never quit. That’s not who we are,” head coach Brian Connelly said after the win. “These guys fight, every pitch, every inning. That’s what makes this group special.”
Cambridge looked to have control after erupting for five runs in the fifth inning, turning a 2-2 tie into a commanding 7-2 lead. Rylee Wilson’s three-run double highlighted the surge, and the Bobcats carried that advantage into the sixth.
But Carrollton chipped away—methodically, patiently—and by the bottom of the seventh, they were poised for something dramatic.
Allison, who earlier launched a solo homer to right and later drove in the tying run with a double in the seventh inning, led the way. His two-RBI night set the stage for his final act: a perfectly timed sprint from third on a misfired pitch.
“I just trusted my instincts,” Allison said. “After everything I’ve been through, coming back from injury, it just felt right to be in that moment.”
His injury—a torn ACL during football season last October, and another the year before that—left doubts about whether he’d even be able to play this spring. Wednesday night, those doubts dissolved into celebration.
Junior Cooper Haun also played a pivotal role, driving in two runs, including the hit that cut in to a one-run game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Garrett Broadwater added two stolen bases to help ignite the Warriors’ comeback.
On the mound, it was junior Isaac Husted who shut things down late. The right-hander entered in relief and was dominant, striking out six over 2 2/3 innings of shutout baseball to earn the win.
“We had to make a change and go with the guy we trusted most,” Connelly said. “Isaac’s just a gamer. He can play anywhere and do anything.”
With the win, Carrollton (19-5) advances to Friday’s district title game against West Holmes—a team that edged them in a high-scoring 11-10 affair back in April. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at Strasburg.
Now, the challenge becomes emotional reset.
“We can’t ride the high too long,” Connelly said. “We’ve got to have a good practice, get focused, and bring that same fight to Friday.”
For Allison and the Warriors, the moment was more than a win—it was a statement of who they are and what they’ve overcome.
“We believed,” Allison said. “And now we’re one win away.”
