PROVO — Provo beat visiting Orem 6-5 Friday on the strength of junior pitcher Blake Golding's gutsy complete-game performance.
Golding, pitching on two days' rest after getting the save Tuesday in the Bulldogs' 4-3 win against Springville, didn't have his best stuff but compensated for it with moxie and good pitch location.
"My fastball didn't really have the gas that it had (Tuesday)," Golding said. "I don't know whether it was arm problems or what. But my curveball, this was the first time that it actually did something this year.
"Orem is a good-hitting team. If you miss your spot, they'll hit you. I just had to keep throwing strikes, and I knew my defense would be there for me."
Provo comfortably led 6-2 after six complete. But when the first four Tiger batters reached base in the top of the seventh, Orem had runners on first and third with no outs and the score 6-4. Golding, though, regained his composure and retired the next three batters on a fielder's choice and a pair of lazy fly balls to center fielder Travis Ayoso.
"I hadn't been hitting my spots that inning," Golding said. "I had no gas, really. But then I started to hit my spots again. Those last two outs, once they were hit, I knew they (would be) caught."
Orem quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when shortstop Jason Golightly doubled in a pair of runs. The rally could have potentially been much larger, but Provo catcher David Griner cut down two Tiger runners on steal attempts in the first inning.
The Bulldogs scored four times in the bottom of the second to go ahead 4-2. The key hit of the inning was a two-RBI double by first baseman Craig Brimhall that brought home Griner and Chad D'Haenens.
"It was a 1-0 count, and coach called a hit-and-run," Brimhall said. "I just choked up and tried to hit the ball hard, and it went. The guys were going, so it just made it easier for them to score."
Provo added two insurance runs in the fifth inning for a 6-2 lead.
Brimhall had three RBIs for the Bulldogs; D'Haenens and Griner each scored two runs for Provo.
With their 2-0 win over Orem on April 4, the Bulldogs (7-5, 5-2) have now dealt the Tigers (7-7, 6-2) their only losses in region play.