
David Jablonski: Wittenberg earns NCAA tournament in berth in baseball for the first time in 32 years
Wittenberg baseball earns NCAA tournament berth for the first time in 32 years!
Desert Hills and Bear River secured victories in Monday's 4A baseball bracket at Kearns High School. Bear River defeated Timpanogos 9-5, avenging an earlier loss.
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Bear River and Timpanogos compete at the 4A baseball state tournament | Carson Hilton
Monday’s 4A baseball bracket was played at Kearns High School. Desert Hills and Bear River earned wins. This story will be updated.
Early in the year, Timpanogos got a convincing 12-4 win over Bear River. But the Bears got the last laugh in Monday’s state tournament with a 9-5 win over the Timberwolves.
“They’re a very, very well-coached team,” said Bear River coach Donald Hawes. “Coach (Kim) Nelson is one of the best coaches in the state. We have a lot of respect for what they do. I think we made a few more plays today than they did, and had a couple of big hits.”
Timpanogos jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead in the second inning after a two-RBI single from Andrew Allphin. However, Bear River went on a big run in the third.
It started with some quick base hits and a sacrifice run that got Bear River two runs. A home run from Chipper Hawes brought home another two runs.
One final RBI single from Stephen Starnes brought the fifth run of the inning, and a 5-3 lead.
“We made some adjustments,” Donald Hawes said. “We faced (Timpanogos Pitcher Canyon) Clegg earlier this year, and he did really well against us.
“Our boys just said, ‘Hey, coach, we’d like one more time at him.’ We thought we did a really good job making those adjustments.”
Timpanogos started to mount a run of their own after a home run from brought home two runs.
Desert Hills and Bear River both won their games, with Bear River defeating Timpanogos 9-5.
Bear River won 9-5 against Timpanogos, reversing an earlier 12-4 loss from earlier in the season.
The 4A baseball bracket was played at Kearns High School.
Bear River's 9-5 victory over Timpanogos is significant as it avenges an earlier defeat and advances them in the state tournament.

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However, the Bear River defense tightened after that.
Starnes pitched through five innings and piled up 10 strikeouts, but Garrison Davis finished the game on the mound for Bear River, and Timpanogos struggled.
Davis only recently returned to play after recovering from a broken leg. He finished the game without giving up any hits and throwing two strikeouts.
“Really happy to have him back,” said Donald Hawes. “We just got him back here about two weeks ago, and he’s been a big part of our rotation the last two years, especially at the back end of the games.
It’s just really good to have a guy back there that you trust and can say, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you the ball. Go have some fun.’”
Bear River piled in one more run in the seventh to win the game 9-5. The Bears advance to play No. 2 Desert Hills tomorrow.
It took a few innings, but once No. 2 Desert Hills got going it was unstoppable. The Thunder fell behind early but mounted a huge comeback to beat Region 9 foe Crimson Cliffs 8-7 on day one of the 4A tournament.
The Mustangs’ defense was lethal through the first four innings. Pitcher Tyler Ransom was lethal on the mound and delivered eight strikeouts through five innings. When Desert Hills got a bat on the ball, the defense made plays.
Meanwhile, Crimson Cliffs brought home four runs for a 4-0 lead.
That all changed in the fourth inning.
Desert Hills was finally getting on base and took advantage of a Crimson Cliffs error to get two runners home. Then a triple from Isaac Swanson tied the game 4-4.
Crimson Cliffs brought home three more runners in the fifth, but Desert Hills drilled three home runs in the final two innings for the win.
The first was a single home run from Asher Williams. The second was a home run from Swanson, which tied it 7-7. Swanson led the Thunder with four RBIs in the win.
“He’s clutch, and he’s a gamer,” said Desert Hills coach Jagun Leavitt. “We trust him behind the plate as well. We trust Isaac, we love Isaac, and he loves his team.”
Then a final home run from Roah Wall gave it an 8-7 lead.
Defensively, the Thunder executed well to close out the game. Freshman pitcher Cohen Fuller replaced Wall on the mound in the third inning. Fuller delivered three strikeouts in the final two innings to hold Crimson Cliffs scoreless, which allowed Desert Hills to hold onto its slim 8-7 lead.
“We had Roah and Cohen,” Leavitt said. “They’re our big one-two punch. Having Cohen rolling as a freshman, he’s played in a lot of big baseball games, so seeing him perform today, it was something special.”