Rain washed away four of the eight games scheduled at the American Legion state baseball tournament Wednesday at Oquirrh Park. In the four games that were completed before the downpour, Brighton and Payson both swept doubleheaders to advance in the loser's bracket.
While fans and players sought cover from the rain, tournament officials rescheduled the four delayed games. Cyprus and Granger were slated to play this morning at 11, while Cache Valley and West were to start at 11:30 a.m. The winners will meet at 8:30 p.m. tonight.The four undefeated teams were also washed out last night, but will try to make up lost ground this afternoon. At 2 p.m., Viewmont was scheduled to play Taylorsville, and Tooele and Bingham were to play at 2:30 p.m. The two winners will face off at 8 p.m. tonight. The loser of the Tooele-Bingham game plays Brighton at 5 p.m. today and the loser of the Viewmont-Taylorsville game goes up against Payson at 5:30 p.m.
Brighton 7, Ogden 0
Brighton pitcher Joe Noorda had a busy day, throwing six innings of three-hit shutout ball against Ogden. He also started the second game against St. George. He and Buggy Sudbury doubled against Ogden and Joe Nichols tripled in the first game of their doubleheader.
Brighton 7, St. George 5
Noorda pitched the first three innings against St. George, but was relieved by Scott Harrison, who got the win. Joe Nichols drove in a two-run homer in the decisive four-run sixth inning. Micah Mangrum singled in the tying run and then a defensive error allowed the go-ahead run to score. Troy Tuttle went 4-4 for St. George, who was eliminated.
Payson 8, Bountiful 7
Payson's Jake Huff was the hero, hitting a seventh-inning home run to beat Bountiful. Ben Marziale hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning.
Payson 6, Alta 3
Payson pulled off a surprise, knocking Valley tri-champs Alta out of the tourney. A big five-run fifth inning sparked Payson. In that inning, Marziale had his second triple of the day. Huff had a run-scoring double. Jason Barney, Jamon Taylor and Shawn Conroy singled in three RBI.