Timp Sports Weekly
June 15, 2010
Publisher's Message
For this week's issue, we look at some games played in the Utah Baseball Academy's recent preseason tournament. Most of the games examined here involved the Awesome American Fork Cavemen. Still, we will be looking at a doubleheader that the Bountiful Braves, AKA the Lil' Injuns, won on the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings' home field. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Awesome AF Cavemen's 17-Under Team Stampede Past Tooele Buffies 16-0 June 8
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's 17-under baseball team shut out the Tooele Buffaloes, AKA the Buffies, in a Utah Baseball Academy League preseason tournament game at American Fork June 8.
The Awesome Cavemen took a 3-0 lead over the Buffies in the first two innings. In the top of the third, American Fork pitcher Kyle Wright held the Buffies scoreless. During the bottom of the third, Zach Willis doubled into left, and he soon came home on an error that set off a 12-run rally for the Cavemen. During the scoring run, Ryan Draper doubled in two runs and Zach "Robbie" Robinson tripled in another two.
In the top of the fourth, Cory McKenick singled off Wright, only to get put out by catcher Willis throw to second base. That play doomed Tooele. For the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Draper hit a two-run single to put the game away for the Awesome Cavemen.
Bountiful Li'l Injuns Sweep Ferocious PG Vikings in June 8 Doubleheader
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
AKA the Li'l Injuns, the Bountiful Braves won both ends of a UBAL preseason doubleheader on the Ferocious Pleasant Grove Vikings' home field June 8.
Pitching during most of the first game, Ferocious Viking Brock Starr held the Li'l Injuns scoreless during the first three innings. Starr also struck out seven Bountiful batters.
The first game's opening inning commenced with Brave Cam Zollinger getting on base through an error. With right fielder Shawn Jacobson snatching a Big Johnny Griffone flyball, Starr proceeded to keep the mistake from coming back to haunt the Vikings. The pitcher struck out Brayden Franksen and Taylor Byington before Zollinger could come home.
Walked by pitcher Astin Spongahle in the bottom of the inning, Ferocious Viking leadoff batter Riley Erickson soon came home on Cade Hooley's one-out single.
Bountiful kept the Viking lead stuck at 1-0 until the fourth. In the top of it, Franksen scored a tying run on a Sam Cook single. Starr struck out Spongahle and Luke "Use the Force" Larsen to keep the Li'l Injuns from charging ahead.
In the bottom of the fourth, a Drew Velez double moved Hooley to third. Starr singled in Hooley to begin a four-run rally, which saw Josh Scoresby and Davy Stevens each hit a one-run single.
When Taylor Byington hit a two-run single to clip the lead 5-3 in top of the fifth, the Vikings received a strong message that they might not emerge victorious from the first game. Pleasant Grove did receive some additional breathing room in the bottom of the sixth when Stevens singled in Starr on two outs.
However, in the seventh's top half, the Braves loaded the bases on two outs, and Larsen hit a one-run single that sparked a seven-run stampede for Bountiful. By the time the Vikings had shut down the rally, the Li'l Injuns commanded a 10-6 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Court Iorg doubled Erickson in, then came home on a Valez
two-out single. Second baseman Griffone grounded out Starr to end the game.
Despite getting a single from Iorg in the second game's the first inning, Pleasant Grove couldn't score any runs until the seventh. The Ferocious Vikings had problems with leaving runners on base every inning.
On two-outs in the first, Byington doubled in Franksen. The next inning, Jake Parry hit a one-out, solo homer, and Zollinger tripled in tripled Larsen, who had hit a double right after the home run.
Pleasant Grove kept the Li'l Injuns' lead stuck at 3-0 until the fifth when Griffone tripled in Greg Goodwin for the final Bountiful run of the night.
In the seventh, Iorg singled in Stevens and Jesse De St. Jour. However, Bountiful shut Pleasant Grove down soon after that hit.
SF Dons Defeat AF Cavemen's 16-Under Team in 10-Inning Thriller June 9
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
In a 16-Under division game for the Utah Baseball Academy League's preseason tournament, June 9, the Spanish Fork Dons had a gay, old time in defeating the Awesome American Fork Cavemen 7-5 in a 10-inning thriller.
Neither team could score in the first inning, even though the Awesome Cavemen did get singles from Morgan "Mo" Flinders and Danny Beddes in the bottom of the frame. After the Cavemen had socked the Dons with a double play in the top of the second, Brayden Corliss doubled in Rusty Ordin to put Spanish Fork ahead 1-0.
The Dons enjoyed their 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when Zach Haws singled in Beddes, who had hit a single himself that inning.
In the top of the seventh, Casey Reynolds singled in Zach Thurston to put the Dons ahead 2-1. American Fork tied in at two through Beddes singling in a run one out. An American Fork runner tried stealing home, but catcher Colin "Hollywood" Argyle tagged him to force the game into an extra inning.
It took until the 10th inning for either team to score. In the top of the 10th, Tyler Allen singled in Brennan Orr to begin a five-run rally.
In the bottom of the 10th, singles from B.J. Eldredge and Beddes enabled American Fork to stage its own rally. Eldredge came home on Austin Tidwell's sacrifice fly. Haws singled in Beddes and Tyson Heaps on two outs to put the Awesome Cavemen within 7-5. However, Haws got stuck on base as watched Cade Hill, a "cousin" of TV's Hank Hill, strike out to end the game.
Awesome AF Cavemen Defeat Olympus Midgets 11-1 in UBAL Preseason Tourney
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavemen's 17-under team defeated the Olympus Titans, AKA the Midgets, 11-1 in a preseason UBAL tournament game at American Fork June 9.
Singling at the start of the game, Taylor Cox scored the only Midget run when he stole home. The first's top half ended with American Fork turning up a double play that began in right field.
In the bottom of the first, Zach Robinson hit a two-run single, then came home on a Zach Willis single.
Singling into left during the start of the second's lower half, Nick Searle stole home. The next inning, Searle doubled in two runs, and Jeremy Reynolds singled in Ryan Pitcher.
With a Pitcher, 0ne-run single improving the Caveman lead at 8-1 in the fourth, American Fork was poised to end the game in five innings. Tripling in J.B. Eldredge in the fifth, Tyler Flinders opened a three-run rally that became the knockout punch American Fork needed. When Zach Willis singled in Ryan Draper, the plate umpire called the game.
Alta Tweeties Defeat Awesome Cavemen 13-6 in 17-Under Division Game
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
AKA the Tweeties, the Alta Hawks defeated the Awesome American Fork Cavemen 13-6 in
a Utah Baseball Academy League preseason game at American Fork June 10.
Even though the game opened with double from Alta's Dakota Walbeck, neither team could score until bottom of the fourth. In the bottom of that inning, Jake Miles singled into left, and Nick Searle doubled him in. On one out, B.J. Eldredge doubled Searle in, only to become ensnared in an Alta double play.
In the fifth, Tweetie Colt Nash doubled off pitcher Kyle Wright, and he then came home on a Conor Groskruetz double. Walbeck singled Groskruetz in for a tying run. One-run singles from Nash and Brayden Goddard set off a seven-run rally for the Tweeties in the sixth. After Brett Wren had hit a two-run single, left fielder Eldredge snatched a Mark Cavenass fly ball to end the rally.
In the bottom of the sixth, Searle hit a one-out double into left, and Eldredge singled him in. On two outs, Jeremy Reynolds doubled in two runs, but Alta shut American Fork down at that point.
For the seventh's top half, Groskruetz doubled in Nash to start a four-run rally. Walbeck tripled in two runs, and he then scored on Kaleb Lawson's sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the seventh, Searle singled in a run on two outs, but he got stuck on base as Eldredge struck out.
The game was Alta's only win of the tournament.
