High school baseball: Spanish Fork breaks through to beat Maple Mountain and lift 2nd straight 5A crown

Spanish Fork’s championship hopes were jeopardized after it lost Game 2 of the title series to Maple Mountain Saturday morning.

In that one, the Golden Eagels had a nearly perfect game. Sophomore pitcher Jeremiah Hall finished with eight strikeouts, and Spanish Fork had only one base hit.

The Dons average about 8.5 runs per game, so being shut out in a championship game was nothing less than infuriating.

But instead of letting the anger ruminate, Spanish Fork channeled it into its at-bats in Game 3 Saturday evening and won its second consecutive 5A title with an 8-4 victory.

Nobody broke through more than sophomore Trigg Cloward. In four at-bats, Cloward had a home run, a sacrifice fly and two doubles, finishing with four RBIs.

“After (Game 2), we were super pissed,” Cloward said. “Every single one of us, but our coaches said, ‘No negativity going on, no negativity going into the dugout.’ We were all positive going forward, and it turned out well.

“I wanted to give my seniors the best chance to win. Holding up the trophy with the seniors again, it’s like the best feeling ever.”

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Maple Mountain got on the board early with a home run from Hall, but the Golden Eagles were held to just that one run through three innings.

Sammy Dart got the win on the mound for Spanish Fork. Dart pitched four innings and racked up five strikeouts despite coming into game three feeling ill.

“In between Game 1 and 2, I had to get some rest, get some medicine,” Dart said. “I actually was feeling really sick during Game 1, so I had to dial it in.

“But Game 3, I just knew that I had to trust my defense. Coming off short rest, you’ve got to grind it out.”

Maple Mountain rallied for two more runs in the fourth, but it never caught up. Instead, Spanish Fork broke the game wide open in the third inning.

The Dons rallied for five runs on five hits in the frame as Dart, Cloward and Pratt Morley all pulled in runs.

For Spanish Fork, it was the breakthrough it was looking for all day.

“Hats off to Jeremiah Hall. He threw a heck of a game that first game,” said Spanish Fork coach Hadley Thorpe. “We play better with our back against the wall for whatever reason, so when we were backed up against the wall, we locked into our approach more at the plate and grinded out at-bats, and it paid off for us when we got some timely hitting today.”

Morley replaced Dart on the mound in the fifth inning and kept up the defensive pressure, getting two strikeouts and giving up no runs.

Maple Mountain fought until the end. With two outs, Kye Ward hit an RBI single to finally score the Golden Eagles’ fourth run and they still had two runners on base.

However, Nixon Warren finished off the game on the mound with the final strikeout to seal the championship.

Saturday’s 5A crown is the 10th in school history for Spanish Fork. It’s also another full-circle moment for Thorpe, who now has two state championships with the Dons. He also won a state title in 2009 as a player.

“Spanish Fork baseball means everything to me,” Thorpe said. “Just the community. I mean, we pack this place every time we come here, and it doesn’t matter if we’re playing on a regular Tuesday at home or we’re here on the big stage.

“Our community shows up, and I just hope to keep building on what coach (Jim Nelson) and coach (Casey Nelson) and the guys before us built. Put our own spin on things, but hope to keep adding to the great legacy that is Spanish Fork baseball.”