Snow Canyon 2, Timpanogos 0
No. 2-seed Snow Canyon defeated No. 3-seed Timpanogos for the second time in as many days Wednesday to advance to the 4A Championship Series.
After the Warriors won 3-0 on Tuesday, it was a similar story Wednesday, as they won 2-0.
Snow Canyon struck first in the bottom of the second inning thanks to some clutch hitting from Andrew Lyon and Makaio Swensen. Both hitters got down to two strikes but delivered with runners in scoring position for an RBI each.
Snow Canyon head coach Reed Secrist said, “We’re facing some really good pitching in our bracket. I think our bracket is pretty solid, and we’re seeing some good pitching. It was good to get that little rally and score two.”
Snow Canyon turned to an unlikely hero on the mound, with Jackson Kirby making just his fourth appearance of the season. He pitched a complete game and struck out nine batters.
Kirby, along with catcher Hayden Smith, is committed to play baseball at Glendale Community College.
Secrist said, “He hurt himself right before the season. It’s been a long time, but we’ve kind of eased him back and his last few starts have been great for us. He’s done it since he’s been in the program. It was nice to see him come out and do that.”
Kirby said, “I knew I was starting today last weekend, so I just prepared all weekend and throughout the week and I just got into the mindset to go out there and do my thing.”
Snow Canyon did what most thought to be impossible and held a vaunted Timpanogos offense scoreless in 14 innings. Region 8 champion Timpanogos entered the game averaging 7.5 per game.
Snow Canyon’s players donned the word “Unity” across the back of their jerseys, a word that has been a theme of the team all year.
Secrist said, “That’s something that came around in 2012 when we had some adversity in the program. We put it on the back of our jersey a long time ago, in 2015, and I kind of like it so we’ve kept it there. Unity is big.”
The Warriors had an excellent showing of unity Wednesday when they stormed the mound after Kirby struck out the final batter of the game.
Kirby said, “These guys are my brothers. I know they always have my back and I know I always have theirs, so I always go out there and do the best I can to help us win.”
Snow Canyon, who won its last 4A title in 2021, will turn its focus to hoisting the trophy again. Game 1 of the 4A Championship Series will be Friday night at 7 p.m. against Dixie.
Dixie 10, Bear River 2
No. 1-seed Dixie dominated offensively for a second straight night in a 10-2 victory, this time over No. 5-seed Bear River.
The bats were rolling for the Flyers, as they tacked on two runs in the first inning, four in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and one more in the sixth.
Dixie took advantage of eight walks.
Dixie head coach Danny Ipson said, “It’s just our approach today. We wanted to be a little bit patient at the plate and be able do some of those things, get deep into counts and maybe take advantage of that. That was our approach today and it worked out for us.”
While the offense was hot for Dixie, the defense may have been just as important. They turned a double play to end both the second and third innings and turned another in the sixth with no outs and two runners on.
The play in the field helped pitcher James Lea face the minimum amount of batters through three innings and pitch a complete game. Bear River scored two runs against Lea, but only one was earned.
Coach Ipson said, “I think that was huge. There was a couple of times where they were threatening and James was able to make a pitch and get a ground ball and our guys were able to turn two. We work on defense quite a bit.”
Trace Franco hit a monster double that reached the left field fence to clear the bases and bring in three runs as part of a four-run fourth inning for Dixie. Franco would finish the game 2 for 4 at the plate.
Carter Turley shone on offense as well, as he reached base in each of his four plate appearances.
Dixie last won the state title in 2018 and will face off against Region 9 foe and No. 2-seed Snow Canyon in the 4A Championship Series. The matchup ensures that the 4A baseball champion will come from Region 9 for a sixth consecutive season.