After splitting games at Kanab High on the first weekend of Utah 2-A playoffs, the Emery High Spartans have survived to play another day and that other day is this Thursday at 11 a.m. at Taylorsville High School against Providence Hall. The winner of that 11 a.m. game will go on to play another game on Thursday at 4:40 p.m. at Kearns High School against another winner. Losers are done and go home.
In the first game, last Saturday morning the Emery High Spartans took on Summit Academy and lost that game 6-3 even though the Spartans had one more base hit in the game. In the afternoon game, Emery played South Summit and the Spartans prevailed in this game by the score of 17-6 as they scored 11 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game.
Against Summit Academy, Emery scored first in the top of the second inning to take the early lead at 1-0 but the Bears came back in the bottom of the inning to tie the score. Emery scored again in the top of the third inning only to see the Bears score three times in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, a lead that they never relinquished. Emery added their final run in the top of the fifth inning but Summit Academy added two in the bottom of that inning and that was the final scoring of the game.
Emery had 10 hits in the game with Race Nielsen having three of those, all singles. Logan Labrum had two hits, one single and one double. Tel Gardner and Kyson Stilson each had a double and Jordan Baletka, Zach Jorgensen and Koda Alton each had a single. Labrum had to RBI’s and Jorgensen had the other. Gardner started on the mound and pitched the first four innings and Nielsen closed out the game by pitching the final two innings.
Emery then faced South Summit. The Spartans scored twice in the bottom of the first inning and twice in the bottom of the second inning to lead 4-0 after two innings. South Summit then scored three times in the top of the third inning and three more times in the top of the fourth inning to lead 6-4 but the Spartans immediately answered and scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the score after four innings of play. After holding South Summit scoreless in the top of the fifth inning, Emery scored 11 times to win the game and advance in the 2-A tournament.
In this game four different Spartans ended the game with three base hits apiece. Baletka, Gardner, Labrum and Jorgensen all had three hits with all being singles except Jorgensen had a triple and Gardner and Labrum each had two doubles. Nielsen finished with two base hits, both doubles.
Keaton McDermott hit a homerun for the Spartans and had four RBI’s. Also hitting singles in the game were Easton Gordon and Alton. Jorgensen pitched all five innings in getting the win.
Emery baseball loses one and wins one in first round of state
Tel Gardner. Patsy Stoddard, Editor