OZARK – The Charles Henderson High School baseball team solidified its area dominance Friday night against Carroll High School, winning 12-1 to give the Trojans an undefeated area record.

“The last time we went undefeated in the area was 2009 so it was special to be able to do it again today,” Trojans head coach Derek Irons said. “We want the guys to be competitive and go out and play hard and I think we did a good job of that today.”

The Trojans (20-5, 6-0) were relentless on the plate, putting runs on the scoreboard in every inning except the fourth.

Gregory Barnette was the most proficient at the dish, going 3-for-3 for the night with a double and three RBI to his name, while Jalin Lawson went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI. Joey Denison went 1-for-4 with two RBI.

“I thought we batted well tonight,” Irons said. “We did better on our strike zone awareness than we have in the past and even though we still left a few guys on base we did better overall.”

While the offense was keeping the pace of the game, the Trojan pitchers were keeping the Eagles off base and off the scoreboard, mostly on the arm of Tripp Blackmon.

Blackmon pitched five of the game’s six innings for the Trojans, striking out four batters and allowing only one earned run in the second inning.

“I thought I did alright tonight,” Blackmon said. “I missed a few spots but overall it was a good day.”

Lawson closed out the game for the Trojans, pitching one inning, allowing only one hit and registered one strike out.

The area title means the Trojans host the first round of the playoffs in two weeks, but with the school’s spring break next week the Trojans will have little preparation time.

“The next few days we’re going to be off and we have spring break coming up,” Irons said. “But we’ve got a good record right now and I’m proud of the guys. We can’t lag and we’ve got to come right back and play good games right out of the gate.”

The Trojans will not play again until April 13 when they go on the road to face Northview, and will play the first round of the playoffs at home on April 20.

“This break is important so that we can rest and come back to finish the season like we need to,” Blackmon said. “We’re undefeated in the area right now so it’s a good feeling.”