KEARNS — Kanab had some modest goals after falling behind San Juan by 10 runs on Saturday afternoon. Just three outs away from being mercy-rule victims, the Cowboys hoped to get their bats going a little bit, and maybe force the Broncos to use some more pitching prior to what looked to be a certain second "if" game to decide the 2A championship.
Kanab accomplished just that — and much, much more.
The Cowboys made up their 10-run deficit in the fifth, and pulled out a dramatic 14-13 win over San Juan to capture their first state baseball championship since 1980.
Kanab trailed 12-2 in the fifth inning before putting together an incredible barrage of offense. The Cowboys hit two home runs, two triples and three doubles to tie the game 12-12 in the bottom of the fifth.
"That was unbelievable," said Kanab coach Mason Fox. "What I was thinking was I wanted them (the Broncos) to use some more pitching, if nothing else. I said, 'Dadgum, if we can make a little run here they'll have to hopefully put someone else in.' I don't even know what happened in that inning. What do you say? That's baseball."
The Cowboys, who came through the winners' bracket and needed just one victory Saturday to claim the 2A title, managed just four hits in the game's first four innings and looked headed for a pressure-packed true championship contest. Fans of both teams seemed to settle into the seats at Gates Field with the idea that there would be a second game.
The Cowboys had other ideas.
Kanab got its bats going with consecutive doubles by Justin Orton, Taylor Guernsey and Craig Brinkerhoff to start the fifth. Bryce Hafen then hit his second home run of the game to get the Cowboys closer at 12-7.
"I thought, 'Oh, here we go,'" Orton said of Hafen's home run. "Everything went good from there on out."
In his second at-bat of the fifth inning, Orton blasted a two-run home run. Craig Brinkerhoff later ripped a mammoth two-run home run to tie the game. Although there were still two innings to play, the game seemed to be Kanab's after its 10-run rally.
"We don't like losing, that's for sure," Orton said. "We never give up. We could have died, gone down really hard."
Kanab took a 13-12 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly RBI by Dustin Reidhead. Orton, the Cowboys' ace pitcher, came in to put the game away in the seventh but encountered trouble. He walked the first two batters he faced, and allowed the Broncos to tie the game on a fielder's choice RBI by Kohler Black.
Orton forced San Juan to strand two runners, which was a game-long issue for the Broncos. San Juan left the bases loaded three different times, and stranded a whopping 16 runners. Kanab was much better in clutch situations, pounding out 11 extra-base hits.
"The big thing with our pitchers and defense is when we see people get on (base) it angers us," Orton said. "We don't want them to score, so I think we really tighten up when that happens."
Only allowing San Juan to tie the game gave Kanab the chance to put it away. Brinkerhoff singled with one out, and then stole second. Dason Ott was hit by a pitch and Hafen was intentionally walked to load the bases. Brendan Judd then put a ball into play, and Brinkerhoff scored the game-winning run by beating the throw to home from San Juan third baseman Dakota Hatch.
"I told our guy (Judd) coming up to just put it in play and see what happens," Fox said. "The way high school baseball is, strange things happen. You can't afford to strike out and take the pressure off the defense right there."
The win eased a lot of pressure off of Kanab and Region 13 teams. No team from Region 13 had won the 2A baseball title since Millard in 1994. Kanab played in the championship game five times since it last won one.
"It's about time," Hafen said. "It's been almost 30 years. We got it done today."
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