Bracket play got underway at the 2025 4A state baseball championship at Bruce Hurst Field on Monday.
Timpanogos 8, Park City 5
Capping a four-game day in St. George, the Timpanogos Timberwolves recorded an 8-5 victory over the Park City Miners.
After a scoreless top half of the first inning for Park City, Timpanogos got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the frame.
Following an error and a walk, a sac bunt put runners at second and third for the Timberwolves. Colling Morgan was up next, smashing a two-run single to right field for a 2-0 lead. Two hit by pitches followed to load the bases, and the second error of the frame scored a pair of runs to make it 4-0 Timpanogos.
A scoreless second inning followed, and the Miners would break through in the top of the third. With two outs, Royal Matthews reached base before Justin Michaelis delivered an RBI triple to make it a 4-1 game. Jakob DeVries answered with an RBI single, cutting the Wolves’ lead to 4-2.
Park City kept Timpanogos at bay in the bottom of the frame but weren’t able to cut further into the deficit in the top of the fourth.
After a Timberwolves leadoff double was stranded in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Miners looked to rally in the top half of the fifth. Despite having three runners reach base, Park City was unable to get a run across as the score remained 4-2.
Both teams went down quickly in the next half innings, and it looked like the bottom of the sixth would be the same.
Following two quick outs, a single off the bat of Canyon Clegg and a walk gave Timpanogos two base runners. A passed ball and a second walk of the inning followed, loading the bases for Jackson Sotelo.
Sotelo lifted a ball into center field, but the ball was dropped on the catch attempt. Taking too much time, the Miners then committed an error on the throw into the infield, which cleared the bases to make it 8-2 in favor of the Wolves.
Park City was able to get three runs back in the top of the seventh, but the slew of errors throughout the game proved too much to overcome. Timpanogos were able to record the final two outs, preserving an 8-5 victory.
Cooper Hawkes led the Wolves at the plate in the win, reaching base 3 times while recording 2 hits and a stolen base. Pitcher Collin Morgan added a two-RBI single at the plate while tossing 4 ⅔ innings, allowing two hits and striking out three.
The win for Timpanogos sets up a matchup with eighth-seeded Crimson Cliffs on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Park City now falls to the one-loss bracket and will take on No. 1 seed Desert Hills. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Crimson Cliffs 2, Desert Hills 0
In a matchup of two Region 9 squads, the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs edged the top-seeded Desert Hills Thunder 2-0 on Monday evening.
The eighth-seeded Mustangs got the scoring going early in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead after just two at-bats. Jason McArthur led off the game with a single before advancing to third on a wild pitch, and Jackson Wittwer then stepped in and hit a fly ball to right field, scoring McArthur from third for the game’s first run.
It was a pitchers duel the rest of the way, as each team’s starter settled in and shut down the offenses of their opponents.
A few runners were left stranded on the base paths for both sides over the following innings as neither side was able to break through the solid displays of pitching and defense.
The Thunder’s Crew Christensen was replaced midway through the sixth inning after tossing 5 ⅓ innings of 1-hit, 1-run ball, and Crimson Cliffs added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to make it 2-0.
Wittwer led off the inning with a double before a McKay Wright single put runners at the corners. Cutter Christensen followed up with a groundout, but it was enough to get a run across.
That run proved to be the final of the game, as a quick three-up, three-down inning in the bottom of the frame secured the 2-0 victory for the Mustangs.
Pitcher Madden Smith led the way for Crimson Cliffs in the win, pitching a complete game, two-hit shutout while striking out seven.
With the win, the Mustangs now take on the winner of the Park City-Timpanogos matchup from Monday evening. The game will take place on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The defeat sends the No. 1-seeded Thunder to the one-loss bracket, where they will battle the loser of the Park City-Timpanogos game Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
Snow Canyon 10, Bear River 7
Getting the day started in sunny St. George, the defending state champion Snow Canyon Warriors held off a late-inning rally to secure a 10-7 win over the Bear River Bears.
Bear River took an early lead in the top of the first inning, as the game began with a walk to Holden Potter and then a sacrifice bunt and a steal moved him over to third before Nick Oliverson delivered a two-out run-scoring single for the 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for Snow Canyon to respond though, as the second batter of the inning, Andrew Lyon, knocked a double off the left field wall and two batters later, Trey Vaughn delivered the game-tying RBI single to make it a 1-1 ball game.
After a quick top of the second, the Warriors broke the game open in the bottom of the frame.
Cael Johnson started the inning off with a walk before advancing to second on a stolen base. Dewy Gibb was up next and knocked in the go-ahead run with a base hit to left field.
After a hit by pitch, an RBI double off the bat of Ledger Shipp made it a 3-1 score. Using a walk and another hit by pitch, the Warriors made it 5-1 before Bear River was able to record three consecutive outs to end the inning.
The Bears were unable to answer in the top of the third after leaving a pair of runners on base, and Snow Canyon made it 7-1 in the bottom of the third, highlighted by three straight walks to start the inning.
An RBI single by Lyon and a sacrifice fly via the bat of Kade Kelsch followed to make it a six-run Warriors advantage.
It seemed Snow Canyon was well on its way to a runaway win, particularly after a Bear River run in the fourth was answered with two runs by the Warriors to make it 9-2 in the fifth.
The Bears wouldn’t go quietly, however, taking advantage of a Snow Canyon pitching change in the top of the sixth to swing the momentum in their direction.
Bear River brought five runs across in the inning, highlighted by a three-run double from Potter, to make it 9-7.
The Warriors added an insurance run to their lead in the bottom of the sixth before stopping the Bears in the top of the seventh to secure a 10-7 victory.
“Both teams came out and competed, and with (Holden) Potter and (Andrew) Lyon on the mound, it’s kind of a great matchup that went south a little bit,” Snow Canyon head coach Reed Secrist said.
Lyon pitched a solid game for the Warriors, tossing five innings while allowing four hits, two runs and striking out three.
For Bear River, on the other hand, Potter threw a complete game but allowed 10 runs to cross the plate in the loss.
“I think both guys were maybe trying a little too hard or whatever it may be, but that’s the first game jitters,” Secrist said. “Glad to get the W.”
Dixie 8, Ridgeline 2
Battling in the second game of the day at Bruce Hurst Field, the sixth-seeded Dixie Flyers upset the No. 2 seed Ridgeline Riverhawks, 8-2.
Dixie began the game looking to score early, as it loaded the bases thanks to a single, a hit by pitch and a walk with just one out. Ridgeline battled back behind a couple of defensive plays, however, to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard.
A similar theme played out in the bottom of the opening frame, with the Riverhawks leaving two runners on base and unable to break through on the scoreboard.
After nearly scoring in the first, the Flyers got the bats going in the second inning. A single and a double to begin the frame put two runners on before Crew Pryor drove in the game’s first run with a sac fly.
Colton Hill added an RBI double two at-bats later to make it 2-0 before another sac fly made it a 3-0 score line.
Ridgeline got on the board in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Nate Dahle after the Riverhawks loaded the bases, but the Flyers knocked in two runs to increase their lead to 5-1 in the fourth.
The Riverhawks were not able to answer in the bottom of the frame, and neither team recorded a run in the fifth inning as the score remained 5-1.
The sixth inning saw the Flyers notch three hits in their first four at-bats to load the bases, and Jake Andreas stepped in and delivered an RBI single to push the lead to 6-1.
Dixie then kept Ridgeline off the board in the bottom of the sixth before making it an 8-1 game in the top of the seventh. A single and a throwing error led to the seventh run of the game before a bloop base hit off the bat of Hill made it a seven-run advantage.
The Riverhawks managed to scratch across a run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Flyers shut the door to secure the 8-2 win.
Andreas led Dixie to the victory on the mound, throwing six innings of 1-run ball, allowing just five hits while striking out three.
The Flyers will move on to face Region 9 foe Snow Canyon on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Ridgeline drops to the one-loss bracket and will battle Bear River on Tuesday at 11 a.m.