OREM — The trademark of Timpanogos Timberwolves' baseball the past few years has been their ability to push runners across home plate.
In the T-Wolves' 6-5 Region 4 home victory Monday over the American Fork Cavemen, they stranded only four base runners and got their six runs on only seven hits. Timpanogos' runs came in a variety of ways — sometimes with a little help from American Fork.
"We certainly had to work a little harder for our runs today than we have so far this year," T-Wolves coach Kim Nelson said.
The T-Wolves, a team without a dominant power pitcher this season, also got some effective pitching at critical times from three different throwers. Starter Garrett Argyle surrendered five singles in four innings of work but in one stretch retired eight straight batters. He did not give up a hit from the second through four innings. His most important out came in the first inning when he ended the frame with a strikeout with the bases loaded.
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"A lot of people will forget that because it happened in the first inning, but that was a big strikeout and got us out of what could have been a big inning for American Fork," Nelson said.
Timpanogos' hurlers only fanned five Cavemen hitters in the game, but two more of those strikeouts were also pivotal to the game's outcome. American Fork had closed to within one in the seventh and had the tying run at second base with only one out, but reliever Kelsey Erickson ended the game with two consecutive strikeouts — both coming on a full count.
The Cavemen took a 1-0 lead in the first on three straight two-out singles, with the last off the bat of Taylor Mangum driving in Steve Parker. Timpanogos tied the score 1-1 in the bottom half when Nash Fowler singled, stole second and scored on a two-out liner off the tip of American Fork shortstop Austin Haws' glove by Brett Lopez.
In the third, with two outs and runners on first and third, Cavemen pitcher Hap Holmstead caught the runner on first wandering toward second. During the rundown, however, Cole McWhorter raced home from third. A towering triple to the center-field wall from Lopez scored another run to put the T-Wolves up 3-1.
American Fork took a 4-3 lead with a three-spot in the fifth. Haws ripped a 1-2 pitch into right field to drive in two runs to knot the game 3-3. Haws then scored on a throwing error on what should have been a double-play grounder to short.
The Cavemen lead was short-lived as the T-Wolves came back with three runs in their half. Fowler was hit by a pitch to open the inning and eventually scored on an infield single by Cole McWhorter. McWhorter later scored on a throwing error. Timpanogos' final run crossed when Erickson dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt.
Haws led off the seventh for American Fork with a double and later scored on a wild pitch. The Cavemen's final runner, however, finished the game at second because of Erickson's back-to-back full-count strikeouts.
"We've got to get at least one win from everybody and to win on our home field, it was just a big win for us," Nelson said.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com