TAYLORSVILLE — Alta rallied for 10 runs in the top if the fifth inning to stun Taylorsville 11-0 in five innings and advance into the quarterfinal round of the 5A state tournament.
"It feels unbelievable," said Alta's Beau Kallas. "I'm glad we could get the win for our team."
Alta loaded the bases with no outs for the first time in the third inning. However, Taylorsville's pitcher Hayden Heugly managed to only surrender one run as he worked the Warriors out of the jam.
In the fifth inning the Hawks had once again loaded the bases with no outs when Kallas slammed a ball off the outfield wall for a three-RBI double. Kallas says he was sitting on a second-pitch curveball and he was able to take advantage when he saw his pitch come down the pipe.
Kallas' double was followed up by two RBI triples, hit in succession, from Brittan Wren and Brayden Goddard. Devin Relf kept the rally rolling with an RBI double before Jesse Emery added the exclamation point by slugging a three-run shot over the right-field fence.
"It felt really good," said Emery, who said he knew from the moment it left his bat that it was going to be a home run. "I was just trying to hit it over the short stops head."
Equally impressive as Alta's offense was Khale Tilby's command of the game from the mound.
"I've got all the confidence in the world in my catcher (Chipper Lucero). He can block anything," Tilby said. "We just tried to keep them off balance."
Tilby surrendered three hits and no runs to a Warriors team that normally boasts a prolific offense.
Alta head coach Barry Harrington says that this is anybody's tournament, but Bingham is still the team to beat. As it happens, the Hawks most likely will face the Miners in the next round.
However, Alta is not intimidated. The consensus in the dugout is that they are excited to have another shot at the defending state champs.
"The approach is the same," said Harrington. "We just have to go have fun."
For the moment, Taylorsville is down, but the Warriors are not out of the double-elimination tournament.
"It's not our first time. We still have a lot of confidence in our team and our ability," said Taylorsville coach Jake Brown. "We think we should be a contender, and we're out to prove that right now."
Brown also noted that his team needs to carry a blue-collar attitude.
The Warriors will face the winner of Brighton and Kearns at 11 a.m. on Monday at SLCC's Cate Field.
Alta will face the winner of Copper Hills and Bingham on Tuesday at 7 p.m., also at Cate Field.
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