High school baseball: Upsets aplenty in 3A state tournament as No. 1 and No. 2 lose, fall into Tuesday elimination games

Last weekend, No. 3 Carbon bowed out of the 3A state tournament in the Super Regionals round in a surprising 2-1 series loss. A couple days later, the top two seeds are on the verge of elimination too.

No. 1 Grantsville and No. 2 Juab both lost their first game of 3A bracket play on Monday, dropping them into an elimination game on Tuesday.

The upsets were a wild start to the state tournament on a day when the games shifted to SLCC and BYU after Kearns High’s field was unplayable because of a weekend storm.

For No. 4 Canyon View, No. 6 Manti, No. 7 Union and No. 8 Emery, they took care of business on Monday to put themselves in a more favorable position in the new 3A state tournament format. Instead of the traditional double-elimination format, this year’s tournament is following the format that 6A, 5A and 4A have used in recent years.

Union coach Matt Labrum definitely prefers it.

“I really do like this format. I think it bodes to having the best team rather than just one really good pitcher or something like that. I think the best team has to come through,” said Labrum.

After last weekend’s Super Regionals round, the last eight teams were split up into two separate four-team brackets that will follow a double-elimination format. The two bracket winners then meet on Friday and Saturday in a best-of-three series.

Here’s a look at Monday’s four games.

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Union 3, Juab 2

Peyton Marx had a masterful day on the mound in leading No. 7-seed Union to the 3-2 upset win over No. 2-seed Juab. Marx pitched all seven innings, striking out four and not allowing a walk.

“He was around the play, competitive pitches all game long with all of his pitches, that was the key. He mixed it up with off speed, fastball, kept them off balance and stayed around the plate,” said Labrum.

Marx improved to 7-1 on the season with the win at SLCC.

Union struck first in the top of the second inning as No. 9 hitter Cade Frandsen singled in two runs after Zander Nielsen and Gavin Roberts opened the inning with hits.

“He’s a solid hitter, very patient, and he knows what pitch he likes and he’s ready for it,” said Labrum.

Union tacked on an insurance in the fourth inning as Marx drew a walk with the bases loaded, and that extra run ended up being massive.

In the sixth, Juab’s Connor Cowan laced a one-out double into the gap, scoring Bryce Bowles and Austin Park to cut the deficit to 3-2. With Cowan standing at second, Marx retired the next two hitters to get out of the inning and then retired the side in order in the seventh.

Manti 9, North Sanpete 1

No. 6-seed Manti wasn’t about to take No. 14-seed North Sanpete lightly after the Hawks stunned No. 3-seed Carbon in the previous round.

Manti scored three runs in the first and three more in the second as it jumped all over North Sanpete on its way to the 9-1 at SLCC.

Kayson Bailey went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, while Reggie Frischknecht and Chase Keisel each drove in two runs to lead the way offensively for Manti.

“We came out the gate focused, got timely hits, and played great defense. It was a complete team victory,” said Manti coach Bryan Keisel.

Braxton Henningson earned the win for Manti, as he went four 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and only allowing the one run.

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Emery 9, Grantsville 7

Emery closed the regular season with a 1-4 record, but the Spartans have found their rhythm in the playoffs. After easily sweeping ALA in the Super Regionals round, No. 8-seed Emery jumped all over top seed Grantsville at BYU on Monday, building a 9-1 lead and then holding off Grantsville’s big rally for the 9-7 win.

Wade Stilson pitched six innings for the Spartans, striking out 10. When he reached his pitch count in the seventh inning, things got a bit scary for the underdogs as Grantsville scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh. The hole was too big to climb out of though.

“Wade Stilson pitched stellar throughout for us with 10 k’s. Hitting stayed consistent for us throughout the ball game,” said Emery coach Chase Julian.

Treven Gilbert went 3 for 4 with two RBIs to lead the way offensively for Emery, while Peyton Alton went 4 for 4. Emery certainly benefitted from four Grantsville errors, as only one of the nine runs was earned.

Canyon View 3, Morgan 1

Zack Millett pitched a gem for No. 4-seed Canyon View in the night cap at BYU, as he struck out eight and only allowed four hits in seven innings for the 3-1 win over No. 5-seed Morgan.

Morgan’s Beck Sheffield had a strong night on the mound as well in his six innings of work, but Canyon View nicked a run across in the third, fourth and fifth innings, which was all the run support Millett needed.

Canyon View lead-off hitter Trenton Ludlow scored two of those runs as he finished the game going 2 for 3 with a triple. Asher Slack and CJ McClellan each drove in runs.