Snow Canyon Warriors

Timp Sports Weekly

April 28, 2010

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's April 24 baseball game against the Snow Canyon Warriors, AKA the Flakies. The game was the last non-league contest for the Cavemen this year. Let's get to that story.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Awesome AF Cavebatters Come From Behind to Melt Snow Canyon Away 4-3

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen came from behind in an April 24 baseball game to win 4-3 at home over the Snow Canyon Warriors, AKA the Flakies.

Even though the game had no impact on the Awesome Cavemen's battle for the Region Four pennant, it still contained the kind of excitement seen in the two league games that American Fork had split with the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings earlier last week.

American Fork Coach Jarod Ingersoll said, "We were a little flat offensively today. We were come down from the high of having beat PG at our place this past Thursday. We didn't show much aggressiveness at the bat until the last inning.

"We threw Josh Zitting, Taylor Tonks, Colton Dunn, and Aaron Hill. Our defense was great while our offense struggled."

During the first two innings, neither the Awesome Cavemen nor the Flakies could make any hits as the game evolved into a deadlocked pitching duel between Zitting and Riley "Don't Call Me Bill" Gates of Snow Canyon.

Finally, the bottom of the third opened with American Fork getting a single from Taison Smith, son of the Beautiful Angie Manning Smith, a former stat girl for ex-American Fork wrestling coach Tim "The Awesome Okie" Pontious. The Caveman stole around to third. He tried scoring a run, but catcher Kaleb Hurst, a nephew of former Major Leaguer Bruce Hurst, tagged Smith. Gates then struck out Ty Flinders to end the inning.

Hitting a single into center during the start of the fourth inning, Warrior Austin Larsen came home on a Gates single. Hurst doubled in Gates, then came  home on a Ryan Powell single. American Fork put the lid on Snow Canyon scoring at that point.

For the fifth, reliever Tonks held the Flakies scoreless. Dunn and Hill also didn't let Snow Canyon pick up an additional run in the sixth and seventh, even though the Flakies got a second double from Hurst in the sixth and a single from Tyler "Spearmint" Wrigley in the seventh.

Gates didn't let American Fork go anywhere with fifth-inning singles hit by Jake Blackhurst and Taison Smith. When Ryan Hall got stranded on base after having hit a single in the bottom of the sixth, the Awesome Cavemen looked as though they were going to be handed a shutout loss.

Tonks didn't let that happen. After the seventh's top half had ended with Devin Gubler striking out, Tonks opened the inning's lower half with a solo homer he hit on the left-field fence. Movie actress Ursusla Andrus' "distant cousin" Scotty Andrus singled into center, and Ryan Pitcher doubled him in, only to get forced out at third. An error by third baseman Xavier Fely led to the Cavemen loading the bases on two outs. Ty Flinder hit a two-run single to win the game for American Fork.

This week, American Fork will play the Hillcrest Huskies, AKA the Puppies, in a two-game series.

Hungry Carbon Dinos

Timp Sports Weekly

April 20, 2010

Publisher's Message

For this week's issue, we look at a non-league softball game that the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen won at home over the Ravenous Carbon Dinos on April 15. We will also have an essay on why American Fork should have a newspaper again. Let's get to those items.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Awesome Lady Cavebatters Split Non-League Softball Doubleheader Against Ravenous Carbon Dinos

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen split a doubleheader at home against the Ravenous Carbon Dinos in non-league softball action. The Ravenous Dinos won the first game 10-0. However, in the night capper, the Awesome Cavewomen came from behind to win 4-2.

The first game lasted six innings. Doubles from Kylie Lessar and Megan Tubbs powered the Dinos to gobble up the Cavewomen in a hurry.

The second game turned out to be a more happy story for American Fork. American Fork Coach Duke Sorensen said, "We played way better defense in the second game. We made only one error during it. Our batters attacked the ball much better. We hit the ball into more holes than we did in the first game."

During the first game, singles from Kenzie Cave and Tubbs soon resulted in Carbon taking a 2-0 lead. This time, though, the American Fork defense, under the leadership of Cierra "Red Mist" Loveless, held the scoreless during the next six innings.

Pitcher Briana Hurdsman held the Cavewomen scoreless in the first two innings. In the bottom of the third, however, Lexi Morris doubled in Loveless and Sorensen.

For the top of the fourth, Carbon got singles from Marissa Smith and Nicky Williams. Both Ravenous Dinos soon stole into scoring position on no outs. However, the game took a bitter turn for Carbon. After Hurdsman had grounded out, Loveless struck out Shaylee Jones and threw Angie Kiahtipas at first.

Hurdsman man kept a Katelyn Romboy single from making it possible for the Cavewomen to pul ahead in the fourth. During the top of the fifth, shortstop Jen "Munchkin" Hardman turned up a double play that stopped the Ravenous Dinos cold. Loveless retired them to the field by striking out Alexis Oliver. Hardman's double play helped to give the Awesome Cavewomen momentum in the bottom of the fifth.

After Kim Sorensen and Morris had gotten on base via a walk and single respectively during the fifth, Maegan Hansen doubled them in on two outs. As thrilling as that double was, it alone did not win the game for the Awesome Cavewomen. Other factors did. One of them involved a controversial call in the top of the sixth.

That inning opened with Lessar singling into left. After Smith had grounded out to Loveless, Lessar attempted to avoid getting pinched in a fielder's choice play at third. Though the Ravenous Carbon Dino avoided third baseman Jordy Van Wagner's effort to touch her, she still got called out for running outside the baseline. Carbon's head coach angrily protested the call, but it still stood. Van Wagner soon snatched a Hurdsman fly ball to end the sixth.

For the seventh, Carbon got singles from Jones, Cave, and Tubbs. However, the Cavewomen didn't let any Dino reach home plate, and Loveless struck out Oliver to end the game.

Publisher's Column

American Fork Still Needs a Newspaper

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

Fourteen months have passed since the demise of the American Fork Citizen, a weekly newspaper that had been an icon of the American Forkers' culture for four generations. In the time since then, a minority of American Fork households have been receiving news about their community from the Provo Daily Herald, which I still despise. (I rip up copies of that publication whenever I get my hands on them. Sorry, but a hatred for the Provo newspaper never goes away.)

Rather than whine about the Herald's shutting down the Citizen, I am going to discuss the need for American Fork, my hometown, to have a newspaper. Last fall, Lehite Chris Jones and Pleasant Grover Cal Walker didn't buy into Daily Herald Publisher Rona Raife's claim that the residents of northern Utah County can all the news about their communities from her newspaper. A real estate businessman, Mr. Jones set up the semi-monthly Lehi Pioneer-Independent, and Mr. Walker, the owner of P.G. Printers, started putting out issues of the Timpanogos Times after sharing some conversations with my longtime friend Tom Hollingsworth on how to publish a weekly. Tom, by the way, had worked as the head ad man for the Citizen for 12 years before one of Mrs. Raife's predecessors had pushed him into quitting. Both Meers. Jones and Walker are still publishing their newspapers, thank God!

Mr. Walker had told me that he had been receiving phone calls from American Forkers curious to know when he might start putting out a paper for their town. The Times publisher said, "I can't publish a paper for AF yet. I still got to work on making my newspaper business stronger before I can do that."

In an e-letter that I had received several months ago, Marc Haddock, my former editor at New Utah, informed that American Forkers had told him that they still missed the Citizen. He added that American Fork still needed a weekly newspaper.

When I was at the April 15 softball game between American Fork and Carbon, Anne Rasmussen Hardman, the mom of Cavewoman shortstop Jen "Munchkin" Hardman, "Since my house does get the Herald, I don't see much sense of subscribing to an American Fork newspaper. Why should I pay for two newspapers when I can get all my information about AF from one?"

Anne has a good point. However, she and other American Fork subscribers do need to remember something, though. Lots of American Forker families do not subscribe to the Daily Herald. In fact, when it did away with the Citizen, there were American Fork families that canceled their subscriptions to the Provo newspaper, and daily copies of it merely end up as piles of litter in front of many American Fork homes.

Because so many American Fork households subscribing to the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News are never going to ask for copies for the Herald to be delivered to their doorsteps, a new weekly newspaper must get started in my hometown, so that its residents can read about their community again.

Region 4 Pennant Chase

Timp Sports Weekly

April 13, 2010

Publisher's Message

For this week's two cover stories, we look at two baseball games that created a four-way tie in the Region Four baseball pennant chase. One game pitted the Awesome American Fork Cavemen against the Jordan Beetdiggers, AKA the Plowboys. The other game saw the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, tame the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings 18-5. Other stories in this issue involve two American Fork soccer games and two Awesome American Fork Cavewoman softball games. Let's get to those stories.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

deanmemmott@hotmail.com

April 9 Win Over Jordan Plowboys Moves Awesome AF Cavebatters Into 4-Way Tie For 1st in Region 4 Baseball Standings

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Awesome American Fork Cavemen entered into a four-way tie for first in Region Four baseball standings April 9, when they posted a 9-5 victory at  home over the Jordan Beetdiggers, AKA the Plowboys.

The Cavemen's victory came a day after their arch rivals, the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, obliterated the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings 18-5 at Pleasant Grove Field. Because the Loners and the Cavemen had split their two-game series against Pleasant Grove and Jordan respectively, the four teams ended up sharing first-place in Region Four standings.

During the week before spring break, the Cavemen suffered a road loss at the Plowboys' Sandy diamond. While nursing their wounded pride during the next nine days, the American Forkers posted a non-league win at home over the Copper Hills Grizzlies, AKA the Cubbies, and dropped an April 5 game against the Skyline Eagles, AKA the Little Blue Birdies, at Salt Lake Community College's Cate Field.

For the April 9 rematch against the Plowboys, American Fork Jarod "Jason's Shiny Big Brother" Ingersoll started Ben Beddes at the mound. The Caveman hurler walked Cory Hunt and Kilton Caldwell, but Beddes didn't let the Plowboys capitalize on those walks. The pitcher caused Reggie Jones and Kyle Andersen to fly out to left fielder Taison Smith. The pitcher grounded out Parker Terry to hold Jordan scoreless in the first inning.

In the bottom of the first, the Awesome Cavemen loaded the bases on no outs. Taylor Tonks doubled Ty Flinders, and teammate Kyle Hall tried scoring on the same two-baggers, but catcher Andersen tagged him at the plate. To make his "distant cousin" Ursula Andrus proud, Scotty Andrus singled in two runs, causing pitcher Tilton Turner to be removed from the mound. By the time left fielder Terry had snatched a Hall fly ball to end the inning, the Awesome Cavemen had secured a 5-0 lead.

The Plowboys didn't let American Fork's long rally break their spirits. On two outs,  Hunt singled in Clayton "Mr. K" Kinahan to start a five-run rally during the top of the second. After Jones belted a two-run double, Andersen doubled in another two runs to tie the game, but he got thrown out at third while attempting to turn his hit into a triple.

The second inning turned out to be the only inning in which Jordan scored runs. After that round, Beddes and reliever Tonks kept the Plowboys scoreless clear from the third inning to the night's final pitcher. Still, Jordan got a third-inning double and seventh-inning single from Brayden Draper. Hunt hit a fourth-inning single, but the Cavemen pinched him in a fielder's choice play at second.

In the bottom of the second, Tonk hit a one-run double, then scored a run on an Andrus sacrifice fly. Tonks' performance at the plate and the mound helped the Cavemen to maintain the momentum they needed to stay ahead through the rest of the game. American Fork picked up a run in the third, and in the fifth, the Cavemen loaded the bases on one out, enabling a Ryan Pitcher sacrifice fly to bring a pinch runner for the night's final run. 

In the seventh, Tonks struck out Andersen and Terry, but gave up saw Caldwell get on base via an error. It didn't come back to haunt the Cavemen, for center fielder Hall intercepted a Kinahan fly ball to end the game.

LP Loners Wreck PG's Hopes of Sweeping Over Them in Region 4 Baseball Series

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The April 8 baseball rematch between the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings and the Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, can be best described as a contest between two pitching committees. The Loners had the better committee, for their pitchers held Pleasant Grove scoreless in two pivotal innings, enabling Lone Peak to win 18-7 in the five-inning game played on Viking Field.

"We were pitching by committee," admitted Lone Peak Coach Mike LaHargoue. The Loners began with Dane Peterson and finished with Dylan Robinson. The Loners' pitching committee kept the Ferocious Vikings from making any runs in the first and third innings. Because of Pleasant Grove's failure to bring runners home in those two rounds, the game turned out to be a proverbial train wreck for the Ferocious Vikings, who had won 6-5 on the Loners' home diamond the afternoon before.

Because of the closeness the first Ferocious Viking-Loner game, the second one drew a big crowd, which included several members of the sports news media and Timpanogos baseball coach Kim Nelson. The spectators had high expectations of another close game. What they saw instead was a shocking display of Knight firepower.

After the game had opened with Jake Hannemann getting on base through an error, Robinson doubled him in, then came home while teammate Jed Goeckeritz got forced out at third. Walked by Peterson in the bottom of the first, Calder Bonnett and Colby Croft soon stole into scoring position. However, left fielder Cam LaHargoue picked off a  Stevie Rockhill fly ball to end the inning.

Petersen slugged a right-field single to open the second inning, only to get forced out at third. The forceout couldn't prevent Pleasant Grove from suffering a big blow in the second. Right after pitcher Mitch Dahl had given up a single to Matt Oakman, Mikey Draper hit a two-run home over the left-field fence. Hannemann slugged a cemter-field single in hopes of keeping the momentum, sparked by the two-run homer, going. However, second baseman Courtney Iorg grounded out Robinson, and Dahl picked off Goeckeritz at first base.

The bottom of the second opened with Iorg launching a home run over the left-field fence. Pleasant Grove fans received a huge disappointment when they discovered that Iorg's homer couldn't tip the momentum their team's way. After Keaton Secretan had hit a two-out single into left, the Loners tagged him in a fielder's choice play at second to end the inning before the Vikings could score another second-inning run.

In the third inning, Lone Peak swelled its lead to 8-1 on one-run singles hit by Petersen, Draper, Hannemann, and Robinson. When catcher Croft tagged Hannemann at home for a third out, the scoreboard made clear to the Vikings that if they let the Loners go on another long rally, Pleasant Grove would be finished in five innings.

That warning came true in the fourth. That inning, Kennedy Kincade doubled in Goeckeritz, and Brayden Mattheson hit a two-run double that fueled a seven-run rally. During it, Hannemann singled in two runs. When Robinson doubled in Hannemann, the announcer declared, "He's ripped the crap out of the ball!"

That declaration epitomized what most of the Loner starters figuratively did to baseballs that afternoon.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Vikings' morale received a brief boost when Croft homered in Caldwell and Bonnett on two outs. Croft's three-run homer occurred too late to save the Ferocious Vikings from defeat.

Doubling in the fifth, Robinson came home on a Goeckeritz sacrifice groundout, and two other Loners scored runs during a fielder's choice play at second.

In the bottom of the fifth, an Iorg single quickly resulted in the Vikings loading the bases on no outs. Spurred on by a Stevie Rickenbach double, Caldwell and Keaton Secretan each singled in a run, and a Bonnett sacrifice fly scored the last Viking run. Robinson struck Jesse St. DeJour to end the game.

Coach LaHargoue said, "We had a better approach at our batting today than we did yesterday. We weren't constantly hitting the ball straight to them. We outwalked them today. We had 10 walks and they nine. Draper came up with a big hit for us with that two-run homer in the second. I'm kinda glad that we had the split. It moves us into a tie with PG and Jordan for first in region."

Bad Old Brighton Puddy Tats Blow Past Awesome Lady Cavebatters 18-4 in Region 4 Softball

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA, the Bad Old Puddy Tats, the Brighton Bengals came into American Fork April 5 and blew past the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen 18-4.

The young Cavewomen didn't have a chance against the Bad Old Puddy Tats. When Shelby Everett hit a three-run homer off pitcher Cierra "Red Mist" Loveless in the top of the first, Brighton proceeded to show no mercy to American Fork. By the time the Cavemen finally shut the Bad Old Puddy Tats down for the inning, Brighton had accumulated a 5-0 lead.

Brighton pitcher Sierra "Orange Mist" Nielson held the Awesome Cavewomen scoreless during the first two innings, allowing the Bad Old Puddy Tats to secure a 9-0 lead by the third inning. In the third's top half, Lori Mendenhall tripled in Sarah Konery, then came home on Brynn Wilde's sacrifice groundout.

A walk by Jen "Munchkin" Hardman allowed the Cavewomen to load the bases on one out in the bottom of the third. Abby Pace singled in Hardman to spark a three-run rally, which saw one-run singles from Jordy Van Wagner and Auri Wiseman.

In the fourth, those Bad Old Puddy Tats went on a four-run rally that pretty much doomed the Cavewomen. They did get a one-run single from Lexi Morris in the bottom of the fourth to prolong the game for another two innings.

In the sixth, one-run singles from Everett and Marissa Egbert sent the Bengals on a five-run rally. Cavewoman Jaela Moony answered it with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning. The home run ended the afternoon's scoring. The game ended with Morris getting picked off at first.

Ferocious Vikes win 18-2 on AF Softball Field April 6

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings defied chilly weather April 6 to win 18-2 on the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen's softball field.

No scoring occurred during the game's firs two innings, because of a pitching duel between Awesome Cavewoman Jaela Moony and Ferocious Viking Angie Miklauski. On one out in the top of the third, though, Makenzie Larsen doubled in Katie Briggs, and Lisa Castleberry came home on an error. On two outs in the bottom of the third, Abby Pace singled into center, and Katelyn Romboy doubled her in.

When a Maegan Hansen single resulted in American Fork loading the bases on one out in the fourth, Whitney Thompson hit a one-run single to tie the game at two.

Singling at the start of the fifth, Larsen came home on a Megan Weber single to spark a six-run single for the Ferocious Vikings. That inning became the pivotal moment for Pleasant Grove. Viking Coach Jimmy Clark, "When we got that rally going, it opened the floodgates for us.

Miklauski held the Awesome Cavewomen scoreless in both the fifth and sixth. Clark said, "She had a low pitch and threw a lot of drop balls that let her defense work for her."

In the sixth, Sammi Dodson belted a one-run single that launched a 10-run rally for the Vikings, causing the game to be called later on that inning.

AF Cavekickers Win 3-0 at Home Over Hillcrest Puppies

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

After having won 1-0 over the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings in an April 1 game, the Awesome American Cavemen's soccer team won 3-0 at home against the Hillcrest Huskies, AKA the Puppies, April 7.

Brandon Gallegos and Jeff Brown guided frequent Puppy attacks on the Cavemen's goal. However, Jared Hall didn't let a single Hillcrest shot tear past  him during both halves of the game.

Twenty minutes into the game, Awesome Caveman Caleb Lundahl scored the game's first goal on a breakaway play. Teammate Caleb Garlick scored the next goal several minutes later. 

The Awesome Cavemen didn't sit on their 2-0 lead. Early in the second, American Fork's Jordan  Jacklin scored his team's third goal on a shot from inside the Puppy penalty box.

American Fork Coach Chile Barkley said, "We focused on playing our game. They tried playing outside traps to get our guys to go offsides. We got wise to them, though."

Loners End Awesome Cavekickers' 2-Game Winning Streak

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

The Lone Peak Knights, AKA the Loners, ended the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's two-game winning streak by shutting them out 3-0 at American Fork April 9.

American Fork and Lone Peak battled to a 0-0 tie in the first half. However, in the second half, Ben Wyman scored the game's first goal on a penalty kick. Cam McLaughlin booted in the second goal from 18 yards out, and Alex Anderson scored on a free ball.

Chris Fullmer and Austin Mansfield led a valiant effort to turn American Fork's fortunes around. However, the Loners kept the Cavemen in check.

Lone Peak Eric Stephens said, "After we had won 4-0 against Jordan, we came down here with a too-relaxed attitude. Our guys were allowing American Fork to get a lot of 50-50 balls. I had a talk with our guys at halftime, and they went into the second half with a more serious attitude."