It's kind of a marathon, but it's the state tournament. (Tournament officials) will get the games in and we're just ready to go, it doesn't matter how long we're at the park. This is the best time to be at the park. – Spanish Fork coach Casey Nelson
OREM — It took a while to get things going — two and a half hours to be exact. But when Spanish Fork finally got to take the field, the Dons quickly made up for lost time.
Spanish Fork (13-12) defeated Mountain Crest, 16-6, in five rainy innings at UVU on Tuesday evening, sending the Mustangs (20-8) to the one-loss bracket of the 4A state tournament.
"It's kind of a marathon, but it's the state tournament," Spanish Fork coach Casey Nelson said of the seven hours his team spent at Brent Brown Ballpark. "(Tournament officials) will get the games in and we're just ready to go, it doesn't matter how long we're at the park. This is the best time to be at the park."
Both teams started slowly, combining for four runs and four errors in the first two innings, before senior McKennon Jarvis gave the Dons a narrow 4-2 lead with a two-run home run to start the third inning.
The Spanish Fork defense got three straight outs in the bottom of the third and then caught fire in the top of the fourth. The Dons went through their entire lineup, sending three players to the plate twice in the inning, and scored eight runs on just three hits for a 12-2 lead by the middle of the fourth.
"We played a bunch of small ball that inning, a couple guys got some big knocks, I think four hit batters, and all that with two outs too," Nelson said. "It was a two-out nightmare right there, a bunch of guys just executing."
Spanish Fork was impressive throughout the game with two outs. In fact, 10 of the Dons' 16 total runs were scored with two outs.
"We really focus a lot on our two-out RBIs and our extend-the-innings," Nelson said, "and it worked out today."
Mountain Crest responded with three runs on four hits to stave off the mercy rule, but the Dons added to the lead in the fifth inning — scoring another four runs while only allowing one — to end the game.
Tanner Nielsen earned the win for Spanish Fork, striking out seven batters and walking just one in the complete-game victory. Meanwhile, Mountain Crest starter Jarrett Hunt was credited with the loss. He pitched three innings and gave up four earned runs.
Jarvis finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs while designated hitter Devin Argyle was 2 for 5 with four RBIs.
With the win, Spanish Fork will play the winner of the game between Timpanogos and Salem Hills. The two will meet when the winner's bracket resumes on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Mustangs will return to Orem for the 1:30 p.m. game against Maple Mountain on Wednesday.
sthomas@desnews.com
Sarah Thomas earned a degree in Mathematics from the University of Utah and is currently pursuing an MBA at Westminster College. She has been covering sports for the Deseret News since 2008.