Timp Sports Weekly
August 6, 2013
Publisher's Message
As a very biased sports journalist, I must sadly report that my Awesome American Fork Cavemen fell a round short of winning this year's Utah Baseball Academy League's 17-under age division state pennant. That honor went to their arch rivals, the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings. So as they celebrate their first state baseball title in years, I will present two stories about last week's final two rounds of the UBAL's 17-under age division playoffs. The first account will deal with Pleasant Grove sinking my Awesome Cavemen in a nine-inning semifinal. The second account touches on how the Ferocious Vikings buried the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, 11-1 in the championship game. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
magnanovelist@gmail.com
Ferocious PG Vikings Defeat Awesome AF Cavemen 6-5 in 9-Inning Semifinal July 29
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's dreams of a summer state baseball pennant sank in a nine-inning Utah Baseball Academy League semifinal played on the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings' home field July 29. With the 17-under age division state title on the line, the Ferocious Vikings defeated the Awesome Cavemen 6-5.
By the way the first inning went it, the game promised that American Fork would have its hands full, but the Awesome Cavemen would still take home a close victory, despite aggressive hitting from the Ferocious Vikings.
The game opened with Awesome Caveman Emmett Green singling into center. After the Ferocious Vikings had pinched Green in a fielder's choice play at second, pitcher Jade Smoot walked Austin Pitcher. Koy "Squeeze Toy" Dibb doubed in Kody "Coco" Hall and Pitcher. A nephew of American Fork wrestling legend John "Superstud" Bartholomew, Andy Bartholomew smacked a standup double that drove Dibb in. A Logan Flinder sacrifice groundout scored Bartholomew, but through intercepting a Riley Winter fly ball, center fielder Zach Peterson shut down the Awesome Cavemen's rally.
Peterson followed up that interception through doubling in Ben Eldredge during the bottom of the first. After pitcher Craig Brailsford struck out Easton Walker, Smoot doubled in Peterson. A grandson of Pleasant Grove wrestling coaching legend Daryl "The Anchor" Henry, Payton Henry hit into a double play that stopped Pleasant Grove.
With Smoot not letting any Awesome Cavemen get on base in the top of the second, the Ferocious Vikings came out blasting with hits in the bottom of that inning. Its lower half opened with Brody "Blackie" Blackhurst and Chase Merrell whacking singles deep into the outfield. Soon a Chanzt Cook sacrifice groundout scored Blackhurst. Brailsford grounded out Matt "Bub" Wilde, and Green caught a Brandon Coombs fly ball, preserving American Fork's 4-3 lead.
Smoot frustrated the Awesome Cavemen's attempts to widen their lead during the third and fourth innings. In the third, for example, Pitcher singled off Smoot, but the chucker put him out at second a few minutes later, ruining American Fork's best chance for getting a run that inning. In the fourth, Smoot retired two batters while third baseman Wilde grounded out Bartholomew to keep the score at 4-3.
Finally in the fifth's top half, Green doubled into left to spur American Fork into loading the bases on one out. Green scored a run, but Pleasant Grove socked the Awesome Cavemen with a double play. Third baseman Flinders turned up a double play himself to end the fifth with American Fork still leading 5-3.
In the sixth, Bartholomew singled into center one out, giving American Fork hopes of scoring more insurance runs. Pleasant Grove kept him chain on base, however.
Doubles from Walker and Smoot gave the Awesome Cavemen big worries in the bottom of the sixth. Those worries came true, for a Payton Henry sacrifice groundout scored Walker while a Merrill single brought Smoot for a tying run.
In the top of the seventh, Smoot posted two strikeouts, and shortstop Walker snared a Hall fly to keep American Fork scoreless. With Cook getting beaned by a Hall pitch in the bottom of the seventh, the Awesome Cavemen seemed done for. Suddenly, reliever Hall got Cook out in a fielder's choice play at second. Soon, Coombs hit into a double play that forced the game into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Pitcher hit an infield single, but he got stuck at second, costing American Fork another golden opportunity. Reliever Hagan "Speedster" Holmstead held the Ferocious Vikings scoreless in the bottom of the eighth while posting two strikeouts.
On two outs in the top of the ninth, Green hit an infield single. He then tried stealing second, but a throw from catching Henry to second baseman Ben Eldredge put the Awesome Caveman out.
The ninth's lower half opened with Smoot singling into center, and a Henry, left-field double moved him to third. Blackhurst singled him in for the winning run.
"The game with AF was a baseball classic," said Ferocious Viking Coach Darren "That's Bush League" Henry.
Ferocious PG Vikings Defeat Bingham Pickers 11-1 for UBAL State Pennant
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Publisher
Although still the defending state 5-A baseball champs, the Bingham Miners, AKA the Pickers, got served a reminder July 30 how easily they could come out losing in a championship game. In the Utah Baseball Academy League's 17-under age state championship game at Pleasant Grove that day, they got hammered 11-1 by the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings.
During the game's five innings, Picker fans looked on with horror as Ferocious Viking pitcher Brandon Coombs held Bingham to four hits and one run throughout the entire contest. Who would have thought that Coombs would have pulled off such a feat with a team known for having produced baseball legends like George Sluga and Brian "Axel" Hardy, who had wisely rejected a pro baseball contract in favor of a BYU baseball scholarship? Coombs' incredible feat earned Pleasant Grove its first state baseball championship title in a generation.
During the top of the first, Picker Cody "Frying Pan" Kitchen tripled off Coombs, and Kyle "Sunflower" Fleischman singled him. After catcher Payton Henry lobbed a throw to second baseman Zach Peterson to put Fleischman, Coombs struck out Ty Zupon and then grounded out Sean "Senator" Keating.
In the bottom of the first, pitcher Kitchen beaned Ferocious Viking leadoff batter Ben Eldredge. Suddenly Peterson flew out to first baseman Keating, who then tagged Eldredge to complete an unassisted double play. Pleasant Grove quickly recovered from it. Also beaned by a Kitchen pitch, Easton Walker got moved to third on a Jaden Smoot double. Henry doubled in Walker and Smoot. Kitchen struck out Brody "Blackie" Blackhurst.
The next inning opened with Kitchen striking out Colin "Gordy" Gordon. The pitcher then grounded out Connor Goff and Nick Plaga, a grandson of prep baseball legend Gene Plaga, who had coached the West High Panthers, AKA the Black Kittens, a generation ago. The second inning pretty much summed up how the rest of the game went for Picker hitters. The Ferocious Vikings practically plugged up all possible holes for Bingham batters to hit into. Zupon did single off Coombs at the start of the fourth, but that Picker got stuck on base. In the fifth's top half, Brayden "Fiddle" Diddle singled on one out, but got put out at second. Diddle's single turned out to be the last Bingham hit for the game. Meanwhile, Coombs posted five strikeouts in the game.
Despite Coombs slugging a second-inning single, Pleasant Grove's lead stayed at 2-1 until the bottom of the fourth. With it opening on a Blackhurst single hit into center, one-run doubles from Chase Merrell and Chantz Cook unleashed a three-run rally for Pleasant Grove. After Matt "Bub" Wilde singled in Coombs, Bingham shut down the rally, but the Ferocious Vikings stayed aggressive.
In the fifth's lower half, Henry singled off reliever Plaga to score Walker, setting off another scoring rally. During it, Blackhust doubled in Smoot to give Pleasant Grove more momentum. One-run singles from Chase Merrell and Chantz Cook drove Bingham into a corner that it could not escape from. With bases loaded, Logan Bullock hit a two-run double that ended the game.
Ferocious Viking Coach Darren "That's Bush League" Henry said, "That was the best Coombs has thrown for us this year. We were going to have a guy relieve him in the top of the sixth, but the game got over before we could send in our reliever. Coombs pretty much kept Bingham in check after the first inning. We hit the ball very well. We had 11 hits in today's game. Though Bingham is the defending state champion, today's game shows that for them to win region and state next year, they're going to have to get through us."
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