ST. GEORGE — Starting the baseball season off with a doubleheader against 5A opponents would be a daunting task for any Region 10 team.
The defending 4A state champion Snow Canyon Warriors faced that challenge Friday night and came away with a hard-earned split, losing a thriller to Lehi 6-5 and then winning big against Uintah, 14-4.
Elsewhere around Region 10, Dixie, Crimson Cliffs, Hurricane and Pine View all collected victories on Friday while Cedar lost its second game of the season.
Following are recaps of some of Friday’s Region 10 games. Statistics for the Desert Hills game against Park City Friday night were unavailable.
Lehi 6, Snow Canyon 5
The Pioneers, always a formidable 5A team with a strong program, scored all of their runs in the first four innings.
Jake Olsen drove in two runs for Lehi and McGuire Madson, Maddux Madson and Jackson Brousseau all had one RBI during that stretch.
The game turned on a controversial play in the bottom of the fourth frame. Mounting a comeback, junior Sam Lindsey belted a two-run homerun for the home team to get Snow Canyon on the scoreboard at 6-2.
Ryder Harrison followed with a double, then was waved home on an ensuing hit by Snow Canyon.
Harrison slid for the plate as Lehi catcher Maddux Madson fielded the relay. Madson applied the tag and Harrison was called out, but Madson appeared to drop the ball in his tagging motion.
Snow Canyon head coach Reed Secrist argued the call and was ejected from the contest for “screaming at the umpire.” By rule, Secrist also had to sit out the Uintah game after the ejection.
Losing their skipper motivated the Warriors, who scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to provide the final margin.
Logan Mendenhall hit an RBI double then scored off of Luke Anderson’s dribbler back to the pitcher, which he beat out safely at first.
Crew Secrist worked a long at-bat for an RBI single, but that would be as close as Snow Canyon got as the Warriors were retired in order in the bottom of the seventh.
“Of course, winning state is always the goal for us,” Lindsey told St. George News after the double-header. “But I think that Lehi game was kind of an awakening for us, to show us it’s not going to be handed to us.”
“Last year we had a great team so it was a little bit easier,” he added. “But I think this year we’ll have to work pretty hard for it.”
Snow Canyon 14, Uintah 4
The Warriors rebounded in the second half of the twinbill, pounding out 12 hits to beat the Utes in a shortened game.
Lindsey kept swinging a hot bat for Snow Canyon (1-1), crushing another homerun in the bottom of the third.
“Baseball is a game of failure, so I just had to tell myself if I foul one off or if I strike out, then always just reset and look at the next pitch like it’s a whole new game,” Lindsey said. “Just swing easy and hit the ball square.”
Anderson and Isaac Lyon also hit homers in the win and seven different Warriors collected at least one RBI.
Meanwhile, senior pitcher Jake Johnson cruised through five innings of work, yielding four hits and four runs enroute to picking up the win.
“I was throwing fastball, curveball, changeup,” Johnson told St. George News, “mostly fastballs. I felt like I could blow it by them pretty well. I was spotting well, moving pitches in and out, kept them off balance.”
Overall, the Warriors felt like the doubleheader was a good way to start off their state title defense.
“I think in the first game we came out a little bit tired maybe, but at the end we came out hot and carried it over to the second game,” Johnson said. “So I think if we can keep that energy and mentality up throughout the season that we can do really well.”
Dixie 6, Springville 5
The Flyers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overtake the Red Devils and improve to 2-0 to start the season.
Braxton Yates was the winning pitcher for Dixie.
Blake Watson drove in two runs for the winners while Bronson Thorpe, Grayson Erickson and Jayden Davis all collected an RBI in the victory.
Crimson Cliffs 5, Westlake 0
Jaiven Ross was the winning pitcher in the game and the Mustangs moved to 2-0 after the victory.
Logan West led the way for the Mustangs at the plate, hitting a homerun and driving in four runs. Petey Soto had a double and an RBI for Crimson Cliffs.
Hurricane 7, Grantsville 5
The Tigers plated two runs in the top of the six to edge the Cowboys and are 2-0 after the win.
Sam Johanson picked up the victory on the mound for the Tigers. He also had an RBI.
Pine View 10, Juab 7
The Panthers are 3-0 after scoring four runs in the first inning and six runs in the fourth frame to beat the Wasps.
Brock Roundy pitched the Panthers to the victory. At the plate, Roundy, Andrew Shakespeare and Nash Schroeder all had an RBI for Pine View.
Brandon Roundy hit a double and drove in three runs for the Panthers.
Maple Mountain 10, Cedar 7
Pitcher Miles Topham took the loss for the Reds (0-2). Braxtan Torres had two RBI for Cedar while Calvin Slack smashed a triple.
Lawson Black and Brock Anderson each had an RBI in the setback for Cedar.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.