As he was stepping into the box, I put my arm around him and told him, 'I put you in the lineup in this spot for this very moment.'" But little did I know that (after) the first pitch that it would be out of here. – Dixie baseball coach Danny Ipson
OREM — Dixie freshman Cooper Vest has some time left to top the moment he created Saturday, although it will be hard to top.
With the Flyers down 4-3 to Snow Canyon in the bottom of the seventh inning in Saturday's 3A state championship, Vest walked up to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners. Instead of taking a pitch to maybe settle in a bit, the lefty jumped all over the first one — sending a rocket over the right-field wall for a walk-off home run and a state title.
His teammates stormed the field in celebration — dog-piling Vest before he even had a chance to round third base, before coaches and team leaders encouraged him to round all the bases.
"I actually thought I hit it off the wall,” Vest said. “I didn’t even know it was out until I touched home.”
What Vest did know is that his coach, Danny Ipson, may have foreseen that moment when filling out the lineup card.
"He's been playing well for us and it was hard to keep him out of the lineup," Ipson said. "As he was stepping into the box, I put my arm around him and told him, 'I put you in the lineup in this spot for this very moment.'" But little did I know that (after) the first pitch that it would be out of here."
Vest's and Dixie's amazing moment almost went for naught, however, as umpires gathered for a lenghty discussion on whether to allow the home run. Due to some over-anxious teammates tackling him before Vest rounded third, the home run technically could have been disallowed, although officials ultimately allowed it.
"I'm sure there was some discussion if there were some impediment on the runner or what not, as we got to that point," Ipson said. "So I'm just glad it was called our way and it was a situation where we're not going to take that play away from the young man who did perform in the toughest of all situations."
Not tackling Vest right before he rounded third was senior captain Dayton Dempsey, among others.
"I was standing at home plate and wondering what the heck my team was doing," Dempsey said. "I was like, 'That's not where we dog-pile!' I was real nervous during the discussion that they wouldn't give it to us, but I'm just so thankful it stood. This is an amazing feeling right now. It's hard to describe."
Helping set up Vest's heroics was Tyson Fisher, who belted a solo home run to cut Snow Canyon's lead to 4-3 with just one out in the seventh. After an out was recorded, Wyatt Woodland and Kayler Yates strung together a walk and a single, respectively, to set the table for Vest.
The game had been an exercise of frustration prior to Vest's game-winning dinger. Inning after inning would see the Flyers put runners into scoring position only to strand them as the Warriors surged ahead late.
"We were really squaring it up and hitting it hard, but it seemed it would go to the wrong spot, just about every time," Dempsey said. "It was real frustrating, but we just had the attitude to keep at it and things would break our way. And they finally did."
As the last team standing without a loss, Dixie would have been given another opportunity to take a state championship, had it gone on to lose. But for Ipson and his team, a second game wasn't a consideration, even as the first one went to the bottom half of the seventh.
"Baseball is a game of momentum, and for us to come out — we just talked about having this game feel like an elimination-type game, just for the fact of keeping that momentum," Ipson said. "So it was just a matter of wanting to finish the job. … It was pressing in our mind to do it."
As for the team that ultimately got it done, Ipsom had trouble controlling his emotions when talking about each and every player.
"This is just a great group of young men who have listened to what we've said and have trusted the process," Ipson said. "They've worked hard to prepare themselves … and to culminate all of it with this is just unbelievable for us."
As for Vest, and the unlikely prospect of topping Saturday's moment, Ipson said, "Cooper's a great kid and he's going to work hard. Certainly that puts the pressure on him to do it again, but if anyone can, he can."
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney