| Somewhere in this group is Joe Via after he hits a homerun in the game against Kearns. |
Helper won their last home game by 11-1 in five innings against Kearns. “Everyone hit the ball very well and Morgan Bates pitched a very good game. Morgan struck out seven batters while walking only two. He gave up five hits and pitched the entire game. Once again Chris Hatch had a great game. He was solid on defense and went 2-3 with the bat, including a homerun. He and Joe Via both hit solo homeruns in the first inning and we took a 2-0 lead. Kearns scored their only run in the second inning on two walks and two hits. We came back in the second inning and scored three more runs on two walks and three singles. Trevor Thompson had a good game also going 2-2 and driving in 2 runs. In the third inning we scored 5 more runs on a single by Mike Smith, a double by Thompson, a single by Ricky Lopez and a homerun by Chandler Pearson. We scored one more run in the fourth inning on three singles. As it stands we are 14-3 and will probably go into the state tournament as the number two seed,” said Manager Jeff Cisneros.
A loss on Friday brought the Helper team to 14-4 in league play and overall 26-6 for the season.
Helper will head off to the state tourney which begins Saturday in Salt Lake. The team this year consists mainly of players from the Carbon High State Championship with two players traveling up from Moab to play and four players from Emery County completing the roster.
Chandler Pearson, a graduate of Emery High in 2004 has been playing all season at either shortstop or has been on the mound pitching. Chandler had won eight straight times before the team lost to Cyprus two weeks ago 7-4. Cisneros said, “Chandler has been our best pitcher this season and has been our most consistent. Chandler is also hitting the ball really well.”
Wes Baletka, also a 2004 Emery graduate has seen considerable playing time at second base this year. He shares the position with Ricky Lopez of Moab.
| Morgan Bates on the mound, with Chris Hatch on third, for Helper American Legion gets the win against Kearns. |
Trevor Thompson who will be a senior at Emery High this year has been starting at centerfield all year. According to other coaches in the region, Trevor is by far the best centerfielder in the league. He has only had one or two errors all season but over the last couple of weeks his batting has really picked up.
Blake Mortensen has been playing backup catcher taking Joe Via’s place when he needs a break. Via was an outstanding player on Carbon’s team this past season. The state tournament will consist of 16 teams, probably nine from the Salt Lake region, four from the north region, three from the south region. Helper played in the Salt Lake region with 4A and 5A schools with the exception of Tooele.
Coach Cisneros reminds players that each season he holds tryouts for interested players from southeastern Utah. He explains his rules and the time commitment involved in being a member of the team.
Helper finished second in their region for the season.
Team runs hits errors
Kearns 1 5 2
Helper 11 13 1
Wp- Bates Lp-Facrell. 2B-Facrell(K), Nelson(H),Thompson(H). 3B-Shew(K). HR-Hatch(H), Via(H), Pearson(H).