It didn't matter who got in the way of Springville in the past week, it turned into a fairly miserable experience for the opposition. The Red Devils set a plan at the first of the season to win the state prep 3A baseball title, and, by the time the tournament came around they were in roughly the same mood as Roseanne Barr at a Pizza Hut.
Friday night at Ken Price Park, Springville capped off the season in convincing style, beating up Bountiful 17-0 in the 3A championship game. The game was called after five innings on the 10-run rule.After a week of terrorizing, they retired to Springville to count up their runs. The final total said it all: Springville 43, Everyone Else 2.
"That was the best team in the tourney," said Bountiful Coach Phil Olsen. "No doubt about it."
The Devils began making their point on Monday night when they demolished Bountiful, 13-2. That was followed by a 4-0 win over Dixie, a 4-0 win over Spanish Fork and a 5-0 win over West. Although Springville put up what is believed to be an unprecedented four tournament shutouts, poor Bountiful took most of the brunt. Devil pitcher Pat Bird threw both games against Bountiful, allowing just three hits. Meanwhile, Springville scored 30 runs in the two games.
By the time Friday rolled around, the possibility of a blowout was beginning to form. Bountiful, a second-place finisher in Region 6, was low on pitching to begin with. Meanwhile, Springville had managed to rest Bird since the first day. "I think they (Bountiful) were out of pitching by today," said Springville Coach Kelly Clements.
After shutting down Springville in the first inning, Braves' pitcher Blake Dawson gave up a leadoff home run to Paul Creer in the second inning. "Creer hit the crud out of the ball, didn't he?" said Clements.
Later, Todd Frischknecht doubled in a run for a 2-0 lead.
The suspense ended in the fourth, as Springville scored six unearned runs -thanks in large part ot two Bountiful errors. The key play was a two-out error that allowed a pair of runs to score, opening the way to an 8-0 lead.
There was more to come. The Devils turned it into a rout in the fifth, scoring nine runs against four different pitchers. The biggest part of the scoring came on Rob Ellis' two-out grand slam.
Bird went the distance for Springville, allowing the Braves only one hit - a first inning single to Jim Ivester. He finished with eight strikeouts and just two walks. The only two runs he gave the Braves in two games were both unearned.
Ryan Hamilton had two hits for Springville, as did Kerry Oman, Creer and Ryan Averett.
Springville finished the year at 21-5 while Bountiful's record was 13-6.
Despite dominating the tournament - and particularly the Braves - Clements was cautious about his success. "What goes around comes around," he said quietly. "And next time it may be us."