OGDEN — Skyline certainly has a flare for the dramatic. They played two extra-inning elimination games Wednesday at Lindquist Field, and they survived to play another day. The Eagles beat Bingham 8-7 in 11 innings in the 5A state playoffs.
Fred Ferguson led off the top of the eleventh with a single. Recently named academic all-state third baseman John Langford slapped an RBI double to the gap to put the go-ahead run across, and Mitchell Reid held off the Miners in the bottom of the inning.
It is almost too bad that someone had to lose after the efforts that Skyline's Reid and Bingham's Zach Druce put in for the day. Druce threw a seven-inning, complete-game against Viewmont. He gave up only one run in the day's first contest to get the win. Reid was even more impressive in his start after throwing nine scoreless innings against Riverton in the afternoon game.
The fact that both of them could enter in the nightcap and perform as they did is a testament to their guts and athleticism. Druce threw 4 1/3 innings to keep the Miners in the game, and Reid ran his scoreless streak to 14 innings. He entered in relief in the seventh and threw 5 innings to get the win.
Taylor Pendley got the Eagles on the board early. Ferguson walked and Lanford singled to set the table for Pendley. Bingham must have seen something in a scouting report that said Pendley always tried to pull the ball because the outfield tried a defensive shift.
Centerfielder Cole Anderson was playing in left-center, but the plan back-fired. Pendley drove starting pitcher Tyler Wartman's effort back up the middle, just a few yards right of dead-center where Anderson had vacated. It resulted in a two-run scoring single. It gave Skyline the early lead, and it was the last time the Miners tried the shift on Pendley.
Skyline can blame itself for many of Bingham's runs. The Miners scored three unearned runs in the second inning after Pendley dropped what should have been the third out at first base. Daniel Kroll singled in a run, and Cole Anderson ripped a two-run double down the line to make the Eagles pay for the mistake.
Four of Bingham's runs were scored by players who reached base without a hit. Tyler Peck scored after reaching on the second-inning error, and Jonathon Cluff scored in the third inning after being walked. In the sixth inning, Cole Anderson scored after being hit by a pitch, and Mike Williams walked and scored.
For the Miners, Jonathon Cluff and Anderson each had two RBIs, and for Skyline, Pendley, Tyler Nielsen, Langford and Reid each knocked in two runs.
In other 5A baseball playoff games Wednesday:
BINGHAM 3, VIEWMONT 1:Zach Druce thew a complete-game five-hitter to get the win on the mound. He allowed only one run and struck out three, and he helped his own cause at the plate with an RBI single. Tyler Wartman came through for the Miners with two run-scoring hits. The Vikings' season ended with a record of 17-9.
SKYLINE 1, RIVERTON 0: Skyline won in extra-innings. Fred Ferguson doubled high off the outfield wall to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. He advanced to third on a John Langford groundout. After Taylor Pendley was intentionally walked, Ferguson scored the winning run when Tyler Nielsen grounded to the shortstop but beat out a potential inning-ending double-play. Mitchell Reid threw all nine innings for the Eagles to get the shutout.
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