4A state baseball playoffs: Snow Canyon keeps cooking, one win away from finals

Snow Canyon baseball's Isaac Lyon makes a throw to first base in the team's win over Ridgeline, 4A state baseball playoffs, Cate Field. Salt Lake Community College, West Jordan, Utah, May 18, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

WEST JORDAN The Snow Canyon Warriors survived an early pitching duel to remain undefeated in the 4A state baseball championship tournament Tuesday.

No. 6 Ridgeline vs. No. 2 Snow Canyon, 4A state baseball playoffs, Cate Field. Salt Lake Community College, West Jordan, Utah, May 18, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

Isaac Lyon twirled a two-hitter against No. 6 Ridgeline as the Warriors won 6-0. He outlasted Riverhawks starter Cam Bott, who reached back for 94 mph on his fastball at points. Bott kept Ridgeline in the game over his four innings of work before Snow Canyon pounced on the relievers for a padded lead. The win put Snow Canyon within one of the state champion series.

“I thought we made a pretty good adjustment,” Snow Canyon head coach Reed Secrist said. “If you can make adjustments from a guy throwing 90 to 74, we could’ve scored a few more runs.”

Bott contained the Warriors to three runs on two hits over his outing despite issuing seven walks. They stranded eight runners on base over those four innings. Easton Rigby broke the scoreboard open in the second, scoring on a wild pitch. Three innings later, back-to-back walks to Landon Frei and Mason Strong chased Bott from the game. Both would score following singles by Mayze Mosher and Sam Lindsey in the first two plate appearances against new Ridgeline pitcher Bxx Jones.

In the sixth, they piled three more on as four of the first five hitters reached base. Luke Anderson led off with a single, Frei walked and Strong and Mosher hit back-to-back doubles before Lindsey drove in Jake Hill, Strong’s courtesy runner, with a sacrifice fly.

No. 6 Ridgeline vs. No. 2 Snow Canyon, 4A state baseball playoffs, Cate Field. Salt Lake Community College, West Jordan, Utah, May 18, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

It all backed a standout performance from Lyon. He punched out nine while walking only one over a complete game shutout. Ridgeline did not record a hit until Dxx Fullmer tripled in the fourth with two outs. Lyon’s only other blemish came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh as Kole Jenson lined a single into center. Lyon threw 64 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

“We’ve talked about it all year: Throw strikes and let your defense play behind you,” Secrist said.

A diving play by Lindsey in right preserved the early no-hit bid, and the Warriors committed only one error behind Lyon in the game.

Anderson and Mosher each had two hits for Snow Canyon. Frei went 0-for-1 but scored three times after reaching on three walks. Lindsey and Strong both went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Snow Canyon will play again on Wednesday at 7 p.m., facing the winner of Dixie and Ridgeline in the 1:30 p.m. game. The winner of that game with have to defeat Snow Canyon twice if it wants to advance to the finals starting on Friday.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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