Dixie Flyers dominant on opening day with two big wins

Dixie's Wyatt Woodland (20), Dixie vs. Judge Memorial, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Mar. 9, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE  There’s no doubt that Dixie High is going to be good this season. The Flyers, who won the 3A state title last season and have nearly the entire team back in 2018, will have to step up as Region 9 enters into its first season as a 4A region.

If Friday’s debut is any indication, Dixie will do just fine in the new classification.

The Flyers outscored two opponents 18-3 in the Donnie Pymm Classic Friday at Flyer Field. Meanwhile, Desert Hills and Snow Canyon each improved to 2-0 with the Thunder hosting the Summit Invitational and the Warriors hosting the KJ Harrison Classic. Pine View played a pair of games in the Tiger-Panther Classic, and improved to the bizarre baseball record of 2-0-1. Hurricane also played in that classic, splitting a pair of games. And finally, Canyon View won a pair of close games at the Harrison Classic and Cedar dropped two games in the Pymm Classic.

Here’s a glance at the day’s action:

Dixie 10, Carbon 0
Dixie 8, Judge Memorial 3

In the early game, state championship hero Cooper Vest threw a no hitter, striking out 10 Dinos along the way. In the later game, Hobbs Nyberg and Tyson Fisher went yard and Nyberg got the win on the mound as Dixie swept the first day of the Donnie Pymm Classic.

Vest was just one defensive error from a perfect game, though it only lasted five innings with the Dixie offense in beast mode against Carbon.

Dixie’s Kayler Yates (4), Dixie vs. Judge Memorial, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Mar. 9, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“He was around the zone as well as I’ve seen him in quite awhile,” Dixie coach Danny Ipson said about Vest’s pitching performance. “We were very pleased with how he looked.”

Dixie got a run in the second and one in the third to take a 2-0 lead on Carbon after sac flies by Chase Lundin and Fisher. The Flyers broke the game open in the fourth. Lundin had a two-run double to make it 4-0. Blake Oaks followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0. Fisher and Harrah also got RBIs in the inning as it was 7-0 after four.

Dixie scored three more in the fifth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule, including a walk-off single by Fisher.

In the later game, Fisher and Harrah had RBIs in the third to erase a 2-0 deficit and tie it at 2-2. Dixie then took the lead with two more runs in the fourth when Nyberg socked a two-run shot to left field.

It was 4-3 in the fifth when Dixie got three runs home. Kayler Yates started it with an RBI double over the center fielder’s head. Reggie Graff followed with a sac fly to make it 6-3 and Lundin followed with a sac fly to make it 7-3. Fisher then hit a towering homer over the center field “batter’s eye” fence for the final run.

“I feel like all of us banged the ball around pretty good today,” Yates said. “It felt good to be back. We have a lot of our team back from last year. Everyone will be out to get us this year. We’ll have a target on our backs. We’ve just got to go out and play and not worry about the other guys – just give it our best.”

Yates had two doubles in the game, finishing 4 for 5 in the two games. Fisher had three hits in five at bats and racked up five RBIs in the two games. Nyberg, who pitched five innings and allowed three runs against Judge, was 3 for 5 on the day and scored three times.

Dixie, 2-0, had 17 hits and committed just one error in the two contests. The Flyers play Payson at 1 p.m. Saturday and then will play in a possible Pymm Classic championship game Saturday night.

Snow Canyon 14, Melba (Idaho) 0

As good as Dixie was on Friday, the Warriors (who lost to the Flyers in the 2017 3A championship), may have been even better. SC racked up 13 hits and Jed Jensen threw a no hitter at the visitors from Idaho.

The Mustangs, who lost 10-2 earlier in the day to Lehi, were baffled by Jensen, who struck out 12 and only allowed three base runners the whole game (two walks, one hit batsman). Two of those base runners came in the top of the first when Jensen hit the leadoff man and then issued a one-out walk. But the senior hurler induced a popup and a groundout to end what would be the only scoring threat in the game for Melba.

Meanwhile, the Snow Canyon offense was humming. Stephen Gubler made it 1-0 with a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the first. Two batters later, Brock Secrist came home on a wild pitch and Braden Baker knocked home a third run with a hit to make it 3-0.

It went to 7-0 in the bottom of the second, with Austin Staheli doubling one home, then Austin Deming chasing home two more with a double to the gap. Gubler’s sac fly completed the scoring in the second.

Seven more runs came home in the third for Snow Canyon, with Deming, Baker and Travis Davenport all picking up RBIs.The lopsided game was called after 4 1/2 via the mercy rule.

Gubler, who was 4 for 4 Thursday, was safe in two official plate appearances Friday. He also has seven RBIs and four runs scored in two games. Staheli is 6 for 7 in two games and the Warriors have 27 hits in 10 offensive innings this young season.

The Warriors play Syracuse at 1 p.m. Saturday, with a later game time and opponent to be determined.

Desert Hills 6, Orem 3

The Thunder broke open a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on from there.

Sam Rhoton and Bronson Andrus had extra-base hits to stake Desert Hills to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Tigers answered in top of the fourth by touching DH starter Blake Milne for two runs. It stayed 2-2 until the sixth.

With two on and one out, Lance Kinross ripped a two-run pinch hit double to give the Thunder a 4-2 lead. A couple of batter later, Trey Allred made it 5-2 with an RBI single to center and Drew Thorpe drew a bases loaded walk with two outs to make it 6-2. Orem got a solo home run by Ben Daley to round out the scoring.

Milne struck out 10 for the 2-0 Thunder, while Bryker Hurdsman got the win in relief. Rhoton has four hits, including three doubles, in two games for Desert Hills, which continues play in the Summit Invitational on Saturday.

Pine View 5, Hunter 1
Pine View 8, Park City 3

Bridger Barney, Luke Green and Ty Milne combined to shut down the Wolverines in the early game. Milne then teamed up with Tanner Staheli to get the win in the late game as PV improved to 2-0-1.

Against Hunter, PV jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on RBIs by Tanner Staheli, Dawson Staheli and Weston Sampson. Hunter got a run back in the top of the third, but the Panthers added two more in the bottom of that inning when Dawson Staheli and Colton Staheli each singled home a run. Barney allowed only one unearned run and Green and Milne kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard. Pine View outhit Hunter 7-3.

Against Park City, Dawson Staheli opened the scoring in the first with a sac fly and Green made it 3-0 with a two-out, two-run triple to right field.

Roman Lafemina bunted home a run in the second to make it 4-0. Park City’s Payton Gross made it 4-2 with a two-run homer in the fourth, but Pine View outscored the Miners 4-1 the rest of the game. Milne pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs, while Tanner Staheli allowed just one unearned run in three innings of relief work.

Pine View drew six walks in the late game and outhit Park City 7-6. The Panthers play two more games on Saturday as part of the Tiger-Panther Classic.

Hurricane 12, Logan 1
Granger 6, Hurricane 5

The Tigers were 2-0 for a few hours on Friday before dropping the late game to the Lancers.

In that early contest, Hurricane scored five runs in the first, three in the second and four in the third to put the game away early against the visiting Grizzlies.

Logan led 1-0, but Brock Starley erased the deficit with a run-scoring triple in the bottom of the first. Kage Akipoleki followed with a double to make it 2-1 Tigers. With two outs, Cayden Street singled home two more runs to make it 4-1 and Street later scored on an error to make it 5-1.

Starley had an RBI double in the second and Street and Kyle Stevenson also had RBI hits as it was 8-0 after two innings.

The Tigers got four more in the third, highlighted by a deep shot off the center field fence by Rylee Kent. Jagger Hadley, Isaac Blair and Akipoleki combined to allow no earned runs in the game for Hurricane.

In the late game, Granger scored a run in the bottom of the fifth in the time-shortened game to capture the win.

A Brigham Hirschi two-run double helped the Tigers rally from down 3-0 to tie the game 3-3 in the third. The Lancers got two more in the bottom of the third, but Hurricane struck for two tying runs in the fourth on another Starley double.

Zack Parkin ended the contest in the bottom of the fifth for Granger with a walk-off single.

Stevenson had four hits on the day to lead HHS, while Starley and Brian Long had three each.

The Tigers, 2-1, continue tournament play with two more games on Saturday.

Canyon View 8, Cimarron-Memorial 6
Canyon View 8, Syracuse 7

The Falcons started the year 2-0 with the pair of close wins at the KJ Harrison Classic Friday.

Canyon View, which won Region 12 with a 10-2 record last season, will play Melba (Idaho) at 11 a.m. Saturday and then face a yet to be determined foe at 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. at Snow Canyon High School.

Box Elder 7, Cedar 5
Bear River 7, Cedar 6

The Redmen opened the season with a pair of hard-fought losses in the Pymm Classic. Against the Bears, CHS rallied from 6-1 down to tie the game in top of the seventh inning, only to fall in the bottom half.

Cedar will play Union at 10 a.m. Saturday and then face a yet to be determined foe later in the day.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

 

 

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