St. George Sentinels win American Legion’s southern division, head to playoffs as No. 1 seed

File photo shows Alec Flemetakis of the St. George Sentinels batting during game vs. East Idaho, St. George, Utah, June 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The St. George Sentinels American Legion baseball team won its final two regular season games this week to finish in first place in the Utah Southern division standings.

Head coach Shane Johanson said the Sentinels, who finished the season with a 13-3 record in league play, 19-4 overall, will head to the first round of the state playoffs this week as the South’s No. 1 seed.

File photo shows St. George Sentinels pitcher Nate Horseley during a win over East Idaho, St. George, Utah, June 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

St. George’s first-round opponent at state will be Roosevelt, a team the Sentinels defeated Monday night at Dixie High School by a score of 15-1. St. George pounded 14 hits during the five-inning contest, including a home run and a double by Dawson Staheli. Cooper Madison pitched the first four innings and picked up the win on the mound.

Then, at Pine View High on Tuesday, the Sentinels wrapped up their regular season with a 9-0 win over division rival Dixie High. St. George had nine total hits to provide ace pitcher Cannon Secrist with plenty of backup offense. Secrist allowed one hit and struck out five to earn the five-inning shutout victory.

Dixie dropped to 8-8 in league play with the season-ending loss, giving them a fourth-place finish in the Southern division standings. However, Dixie opted not to participate in the playoffs, so fifth-place Westlake (6-11) will take over the No. 4 spot at state.

The first round of the American Legion state playoffs begins Thursday and continues through Saturday to determine the four teams that will advance to the state championship tournament to be held July 27-Aug. 1 in Kearns.

St. George will face Roosevelt, the No. 4 seed from the Central division, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Pleasant Grove High School. Thursday’s games, also at Pleasant Grove, will pit the second- and third-seeded teams against each other, with Salem Hills facing Springville at 4:30 p.m. and Helper taking on Taylorsville at 7:30 p.m.. The Central division’s No. 1 seed, Pleasant Grove, will play Westlake at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Pleasant Grove.

The four teams in the winner’s bracket will play up to two games Saturday at Pleasant Grove to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for the following week’s state tournament in Kearns. Teams that drop into the one-loss bracket will play Saturday at Springville High School for the No. 3 and No. 4 slots at state. Click here for a copy of the full bracket.

For the first-round games, tournament admission is $5 per person per day, with children 12 and under and military veterans admitted free. At the state tournament in Kearns, the $5 price jumps to $8 per day.

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

 

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