Nolan Sims swears the baseball umpire made the wrong call. And, quite frankly, the Granite High senior couldn't be happier that "Blue" apparently botched it this one time.
Then again, maybe Sims is just lucky the ump didn't buy what he perceived to be a rather weak acting job.
Whatever the case, that one play turned out to be quite pivotal as Granite rallied past Morgan for an 8-4 win in Region 7 action Thursday.
It's unlikely his foot will form a bruise, but Sims claims he was indeed hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. Seeing as the bases were loaded, the HBP would have resulted in a game-tying run. Knowing that, and after a brief delay, Sims started jogging toward first as everybody else wondered why.
"I'm still going to say it hit me right on top of the foot," Sims said with a smile. "I was hoping if I said 'Ow' he'd give it to me."
The umpire — Skyline assistant football coach Larry Eldracher — didn't give him a Band-Aid for his owie and he certainly didn't give him first base. He thought the off-speed pitch, which traveled all of 56 feet or so, innocently hit the ground before it knocked some dirt off of Sims' cleat. First-year Granite coach Chad Harwood wasn't sure whether his player was softly beaned, either.
"I just told him to get up there and hit the ball," Harwood said.
And, boy, did he ever.
On the next pitch, Sims ripped a deep line drive in one of the spacious gaps between right and center in the Granite outfield. Before the ball was returned to the infield, the bases were cleared and Sims was standing on third with a three-run triple that gave Granite a 5-3 lead.
"I came back, and I didn't want to swing at the first pitch, but there it was," he said. "I guess it all turned out for the best. It was (the umpire's) call, but I'll take it."
Mike Cleverly and Brandon Vandermyde followed with run-producing hits as the Farmers plowed their way to six runs in the momentum-swinging fourth inning. Granite had trailed 3-0 after two innings before Cleverly put the Farmers on the board with an RBI double in the third. After three straight batters made it on base safely thanks to an error and two walks in the fourth, catcher Eric Atkinson notched an RBI the easy way by taking ball four. Sims then opened the floodgates with his entertaining at-bat. Cole Ensign also rapped a one-run double for better-than-expected Granite.
The Farmers got some strong pitching from middle-reliever Ryan Roberts and Vandermyde to keep the Trojans at bay the rest of the way. Vandermyde, who pitched a dandy of a no-hitter against Ben Lomond on Tuesday, allowed two base runners before striking out the side in the seventh to wrap it up.
With the win, Granite improved to 12-6 overall and 7-1 in league play. That's the best record any of the Farmers coaching staff can recall the Salt Lake City school having for decades. This is definitely the latest they've been in contention for a region title — though tough games with Bear River and Tooele await them — in a long time.
"We're starting to put things together," said Harwood, crediting his senior leadership for much of the success. "They're not going to roll over and die. They're capable of going a long way."
Just how far?
"We're not giving up until they tell us to go home," Sims said. "We plan on being in the state championship game."