High school baseball: Union sweeps Canyon View for first 3A state title since 1989

No. 7-seed Union earned its first ever 3A Utah state championship with a 2-0 series sweep over No. 4-seed Canyon View.

Union won Game 2 9-3 on Saturday to clinch its first state title since 1989, when it was part of the 2A classification.

A trend that head coach Matt Labrum says has gone on all season started the scoring for the Cougars, as both Gannon Labrum and PJ Hancock earned a bases-loaded walk to score the first two runs of the game.

“The funnest part and the coolest part is that if somebody doesn’t get it done, the next guy will. That’s what I liked, just hand it off to the next guy,” said Labrum.

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Union continued the scoring in the top of the fourth inning on a ball that was crushed to deep left field by designated hitter Camden Frandsen for a two-run homer, his first home run of the season.

Things didn’t stop there for the Cougars as they tacked on four more runs in the inning to ultimately put the game out of reach.

Union entered the postseason with a difficult path to the final day but made it after sweeping No. 10-seed Ogden in the Super Regionals, defeating the defending champion and No. 2-seed Juab twice and defeating No. 6-seed Manti twice in two days.

On Saturday, Labrum made the bold decision to go with freshman Dylan Watahomigie on the mound, and the gamble paid off as Watahomigie pitched a stellar four innings and allowed just one run. He exited the game to a standing ovation from the fans.

Tyson Marx entered to pitch the fifth and sixth innings, and Gavin Roberts finished the seventh.

“It’s kind of crazy, I didn’t think I was going to come in a lot,” Watahomigie said. “It feels great because (coach Labrum) comes back to me and believes in me that I can do it, and everybody else, they are cheering me on and telling me I got this, and when they tell me that, they don’t want (anyone) else on the mound except for me.”

Said Labrum: “We knew he had it. He’s just calm, he trusts what he does and we felt good about it. As soon as I announced it, the whole team erupted.”

Teamwork was a key for the Cougars all season, and their ability to depend on each other was pivotal in the championship series.

“That’s been the biggest thing about this team, is that it has been a team,” Labrum said. “That’s the strength of our team. Man, we were tight and they just wanted to play together.”