ST. GEORGE — Region 9’s high school baseball season passed the halfway point this week, with Dixie, Snow Canyon, and Desert Hills all picking up two more wins each as they swept their respective opponents. Those three teams not only occupy the top three spots in the Region 9 standings, they are also the top three teams out of 24 schools in the 4A classification’s statewide RPI rankings, with Dixie currently being ranked first (0.728), Snow Canyon second (0.725) and Desert Hills third (0.671).
Desert Hills 12, Cedar 0 | Desert Hills 11, Cedar 8
The Thunder earned a sweep of the Reds by winning on the road with a shutout on Tuesday, followed by a come-from-behind win at home on Friday.
In Tuesday afternoon’s contest , the Thunder started things off with an RBI double by Jace Fillmore, the first of five runs that inning. Haigen Reed capped off the rally with a two-run double.
Desert Hills added five more runs in the fourth inning as Hoyt Atkin continued to hold the Reds scoreless. Atkin earned the win by allowing two hits over four innings while striking out six and walking three. Reed, who struck out the side to end the game in the fifth inning, ended up going 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBIs.
Friday night at Desert Hills, Cedar started off strong, with leadoff batter Jacob Boyer belting a double in the first. The Reds then batted through the lineup, collecting four hits, three walks, a hit by pitch and a fielder’s choice as they took an early 5-0 lead. On Boyer’s second at-bat of the inning, he flew out to left with the bases loaded, after which Krew Giles lined out to third to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second, Desert Hills rallied to score four runs, highlighted by a three-run double by Stoakli Tate, who was then driven in by a Cooper Cluff single.
Cedar still led by a run heading into the bottom of the fourth, when the Thunder added five more runs, starting with a two-run double by Andrew Wilson, who was then driven in by Beau Wall’s three-run inside-the-park homer to right field.
Cedar added two more runs in the fifth to cut the Thunder’s lead to 9-7, but Desert Hills answered with a pair of insurance runs.
Tate and Wall finished with three RBIs apiece for Desert Hills. The winning pitcher was Andrew Wiley, who had come in with one out in the first inning and ended up throwing 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Taking the loss on the mound for Cedar was senior Koden Lunt, who pitched the first three innings, while reliever Cody Nash took over for the remaining three innings. Both pitchers had a good day at the plate, with Lunt batting 4-for-4 with one RBI and Nash going 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
The Thunder, who improved to 15-4 overall, 6-2 in region play, are currently ranked No. 3 in the statewide 4A RPI rankings, right behind Region 9 rivals Dixie and Snow Canyon. Desert Hills has a bye in region play next week but will travel to Provo to play the Bulldogs on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Cedar (4-15, 0-8) will face Snow Canyon at Cedar on Tuesday and at Snow Canyon on Friday.
Dixie 5, Pine View 3 | Dixie 8, Pine View 2
The Dixie Flyers stayed atop the statewide 4A RPI rankings with a sweep of the Pine View Panthers.
Tuesday at Dixie, the Flyers got on the board with a two-run triple by Logan Leavitt. Leavitt then scored on a sacrifice fly by Carter Turley, giving Dixie an early 3-0 lead.
Pine View shortstop Nash Schroeder belted a bases-loaded triple in the top of the fifth, bringing the Panthers within one run, 4-3. Dixie then added one insurance run in the fifth to make it 5-3, which ended up being the final score.
Starting pitcher Braxton Yates picked up the win on the mound for Dixie, allowing zero runs on three hits in four innings of work.
Then, on Friday at Pine View, the Flyers trailed 0-1 before scoring five runs in the top of the third to take the lead for good. Max Orton capped off the rally with a two-run single. Orton ended up going 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Logan Leavitt pitched the first five innings and earned the win for Dixie. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three and walking four. Cooper Bartholomew pitched the final two innings for the Flyers.
Dixie improved to 17-2 overall with the win, 5-1 in Region 9 play. The Flyers play Hurricane twice next week. Meanwhile, Pine View (11-6, 2-4) plays Crimson Cliffs next week, on Tuesday and Friday nights.
Snow Canyon 10, Crimson Cliffs 7 | Snow Canyon 8, Crimson Cliffs 1
Snow Canyon defeated the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs in successive games, coming from behind to win in extra innings on the road Tuesday night and rolling to an 8-1 victory on Friday.
In Tuesday’s game, Crimson Cliffs scored six runs in the bottom of the third. Parker Andrus started off the rally with a solo homer, which was followed by a string of singles and walks, with an error thrown in. By the time the inning ended, the Mustangs led 6-3.
Down 7-3 heading into the top of the seventh, the Warriors rallied to tie the game, highlighted by Hayden Smith’s two-run double and Corbin Hafen’s bases-loaded walk. However, Crimson was able to retire the next two batters, leaving three baserunners stranded and the score 7-7.
Crimson Cliffs was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh and thereafter. Snow Canyon finally broke the ice by scoring three runs in the top of the 12th, with Damon Ence hitting a double to score Hafen, then later scoring on a single by Smith.
Talan Kelly then retired Crimson’s final three batters to seal the victory. Kelly, who had come into the game in the sixth inning as Snow Canyon’s third pitcher, ended up with the win, allowing zero runs on one hit and no walks, while striking out 12 batters over the final 5.2 innings.
Offensively, Makaio Swensen and Crew Secrist had three hits apiece for the Warriors.
Things went easier for Snow Canyon on Friday, as the Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and rolled to an eventual 8-1 victory.
Hafen had three of the Warrior’s seven hits, going 3-for-3 and scoring three times.
Snow Canyon starting pitcher Andrew Lyon earned the win by allowing just one run on two hits in six innings of work, while walking four and striking out 11.
Snow Canyon improved to 14-3 overall, 6-0 in region play, and is in first place in the Region 9 standings. As noted above, the Warriors are No. 2 in the 4A RPI rankings, right behind Dixie. Snow Canyon plays Cedar this coming week, while Crimson Cliffs (12-6, 5-3) will face Pine View.
Photo Gallery
Andrew Wilson of Desert Hills fouls off a pitch against Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Desert Hills sophomore Hoyt Atkin delivers a pitch vs. Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News A Desert Hills batter is struck by a pitch, one of six such occurrences during the Thunder's 12-0 win over Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Cedar reliever Parker Johnson delivers a pitch vs. Desert Hills, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News A Desert Hills baserunner scores in the second inning vs. Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News A Desert Hills baserunner is thrown out at third base vs. Cedar, Cedar City, Utah, April 2, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.