Emery Baseball picks up two wins to start season

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports Writer

The 2012 Emery High baseball season kicked off last week with a pair of ball games where Emery came out on top. Emery traveled to Uintah and came home with a 7-5 decision and then Emery hosted Manti and came away with a 6-4 victory.
Emery used three pitchers in each ball game in securing the wins. Against Uintah, Geren Payne opened on the mound and allowed two runs. Hunter Huntington pitched four innings and allowed three runs and Brandon Oliver closed out the game. Against Manti, Jordan Cox started the game on the mound and gave up one run through the first five innings. Both Colton Collard and Oliver pitched in the sixth inning where the Templars scored three times and left the bases loaded. Four walks plus an error plus a single base hit caused the mayhem in the inning.
Against Uintah, Emery had a single base hit by Payne in the first inning; a pair of hits in the second inning off the bats of Kaden Feichko and Ridge Nielson and another pair of hits in the third inning by Huntington and Tappan Draper but the Spartans could not score a run.
Emery scored their first run of the season in the fourth inning as they manufactured a run. Curtis Mason got on base due to a Uintah error, was wild pitched to second and got to third base on another error. Mason then stole home.
In the fifth inning, Emery scored five runs on three hits and four walks. Collard led off the inning with a walk followed by a Huntington walk. Draper then bunted his way on base to load the bases. After an out, Payne singled to center field and scored two runs. Feichko walked to reload the bases.
After another Emery out, Nielson walked to force in a run and then Dominic Rondinelli singled to center to score two more runs. Emery left a pair of runners on base.
Emery added a single run in the seventh inning. Payne singled and scored on a Rondinelli hit that was fumbled by the right fielder.
At home against Manti, Payne singled and scored in the first inning after Feichko also singled. In the third inning, Collard doubled followed by Huntington walking. After Draper scored Collard on a sacrifice bunt, Payne walked and two more runs then scored on a double by Feichko.
Emery scored single runs in both the fourth and sixth innings after Nielson and Payne each picked up a walk. Nielson scored on a hit by Huntington that the Manti shortstop mishandled and Payne scored on a single by Nielson.
Emery’s season continues this week with a single game at Cedar on Tuesday and then the Spartans travel to Montrose, Colorado to play three varsity games this weekend.