OGDEN -- Sure, they thought it was pretty cool to beat and eliminate the defending 4A baseball champions. The Springville Red Devils are, after all, just a No. 5 seed in the tournament while the Mountain Crest Mustangs carry the title of Region 4 champions.

But ensuring a new 4A champ would be crowned wasn't what really helped make the ride from Ogden back to Utah County so sweet for the Springville baseball players Monday night.The Red Devils were much more enthused about how their clutch 2-1 victory had given them all an excused absence from school and a return trip to Lindquist Field to play another day in the 4A tournament. They were to face Weber at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

"We're just excited to play tomorrow," said Springville coach Willy Childs after kidding around with his players about their earning a day off from school.

Springville High probably would have had a bunch of down-in-the-face baseball players moping around its halls on Tuesday if it weren't for Brent Neel's performance Monday.

With his team needing a win to stay alive, Neel gave the Red Devils a strong seven innings of pitching to pick up the victory. He struck out 11 batters, including the first three he faced and then the final two after walking on two runners in a scary bottom-half of the seventh inning.

"Brent Neel just threw a heckuva game," Childs said.

"I was hitting the inside corners more than I usually do," said Neel, who had some problems with control as his six walks attest but was strong when it counted most. "I just felt pretty much like I was in my zone."

Neel stayed in The Highlight Zone when he turned in his glove and the ball for his bat, accounting for both Springville runs. He doubled and then scored on a Brett Groneman double in the fourth inning, and he recorded another two-bagger to drive in the winning run in the sixth inning.

"He just got it done for us. He's done that all year," Childs said.

Neel would have had another RBI had it not been for a tremendous defensive play by Mountain Crest on his first double. Mustang shortstop Nick Bott showed off what has to be the best arm in the state when he gunned down Springville's Rob Gueck at home plate from short left field to complete a perfect relay play. Neel hit the ball hard to left and Gueck tried to score from first but was stopped cold in his tracks, suffering a mild concussion, as he got smacked in the face with the tag by catcher Doug Robinson.

Jeremy Averett also had a gem of a defensive play for Springville. He somehow snagged a wicked line drive that had extra bases written all over it and turned it into a double play by throwing the surprised runner out at first.

After striking out the side in the top of the first inning, Neel allowed a Robinson triple to begin the second inning. Cole Maughan punched him in with a single, but the Mustangs only mustered up two more hits and couldn't take advantage of six walks.

Springville's slim win kept all of Region 6's teams alive in the playoffs. Provo also won in the first of Monday's losers bracket games. The top three Utah County 4A squads rested Monday and will play at Lindquist Tuesday evening in winners bracket action, with Lone Peak and Pleasant Grove facing off at 4:30 p.m. and league champ Spanish Fork taking on Region 5's best team, Olympus, at 7 p.m.

In Monday's other 4A games:

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PROVO 11, HIGHLAND 10 (8): After Nate Offerman belted a grand slam, and Kaston Ellington hammered a two-run triple to give the Rams an 8-1 lead after two at-bats, the Bulldogs went to work. BYU-bound Jake Chrisman was a big catalyst in the comeback win, going 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and two runs scored. Tyson Ayoso also had a two-run triple, and Breeze Stringham had a pair of RBIs with a three-bagger. Jeremy Burningham stopped the bleeding on the mound for Provo as he pitched five shutout innings in relief.

ROY 2, BOUNTIFUL 0: Travis Kester scored both runs after walking on in the first and third innings as the fifth-seeded Royals surprisingly stayed alive. Roy's Marcus Moore struck out eight Braves while pitching the shutout.

WEBER 10, MURRAY 8: Playing on their home field, the Warriors jumped out to a big lead and then survived a late rally that saw the Spartans score three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on homers by Tyler Vigil and Chris Cowley. Eric Lindley had a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Bryan Larsen drove in three runs on two hits for Weber. Jason Call earned the win by pitching an incredible 135 pitches in six innings.

E-mail: jody@desnews.com

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