PROVO — With postseason hopes on the line, in the final inning in a one-run game, it was the matchup that both coaches wanted.
Provo's top player, Bryce Ayoso, was on the mound. Timpview's Luke Ashworth, batting close to .500, was at the plate. The Bulldogs were up 5-4. There were two outs in the top of the seventh and the tying run was on second.
After getting ahead of Ashworth 1-2, Ayoso got the T-Bird slugger to hit a grounder right back at him. It was the third time in the game that Ashworth had grounded back to the mound. The final time ended Timpview's season and sent the Bulldogs on to face Murray in the state tournament's first round on Tuesday.
The gutsy pitching performance by the Provo senior came one day after he gave up a walk-off homer that made Friday's play-in game necessary. But Ayoso, his teammates and his coach never lost confidence.
"With the season on the line I'd take him out there every time," Provo coach Lance Moore said.
With American Fork, Timpview, Provo and Spanish Fork finishing league play tied for second with 5-5 records, Region 6 officials met Friday morning and decided to break the deadlock by giving two seeds to the teams with the best records against each other and have the remaining two play for the final seed. Since the Cavemen were 4-2 against the other three, they got the league's No. 2 seed. Spanish Fork and Provo were 3-3 against the other three, but the Dons had defeated Provo twice so they got the No. 3 seed. Which left the Bulldogs to play Timpview (2-4) for the No. 4 seed.
"It's just unfortunate that all four of us couldn't go on," Moore said. "But my hat's off to Timpview. They're a good team and they battled us hard."
Timpview scored a run in the first when Charlie Barber chased home Vince Morgan with a double. Provo knotted the game 1-1 in the bottom half when Austin Rowberry singled home Andrew Law, who reached on a fielder's choice and then swiped second.
Provo went up 2-1 when Rowberry again singled home Law in the third. The fourth inning was the key one for the Bulldogs. Brock Brimhall singled, Ben Hatch singled and following a strikeout, Ayoso singled to score Provo's third run. A bloop single by Law loaded the bases. Rowberry drew a walk to force the fourth run across. Provo went up 5-1 when Curtis Porter smacked a sacrifice fly.
The T-Birds, however, scratched back with a late double barrage. In the fifth, Vince Morgan doubled down the left-field line to score Josh Barber all the way from first base. Timpview closed the gap to 5-4 in the sixth when Charlie Barber led off with a double to right and scored on a double by Taylor Barrett. Following a passed ball, Barrett scored on a ground-out to second by Adam Crowley, but that was Timpview's final tally of the season as Ayoso closed the door in the seventh.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com