Brighton 8, Orem 1

A potent Brighton offense propelled it to a second straight semifinal appearance in the 5A baseball playoffs. The Bengals have averaged nearly nine runs per game so far this postseason, and tallied eight today.

They were led on offense by seniors Riley Brown and Miles Layton, as well as junior Nacho Price. Brown was 2 for 3 with two RBI’s, he started the scoring for Brighton with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Layton went 1 for 3 with three RBI’s, including a monster two-run homer to left field in the second inning that set the tone from the get-go.

Price, the number nine hitter, poked a two-out single through the right side gap that extended the Bengal’s lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. He finished 2 for 3 at the plate.

Head coach Mark Kleven said of his team’s offense, “Just good approaches at the plate. … A little more unselfish at-bats and better approaches. I hate to say it, but I kind of challenged the offense to take over the rest of the way this year, and they’ve responded.”

That wasn’t the only impressive showing from the Bengals, as Case Beames was sensational on the mound. Beames pitched five innings and struck out nine batters. He got into a bases-loaded jam in the 5th inning, but struck out his final batter of the night to get out of it. Cooper Scott entered to get the final six outs for the Bengals.

Coach Kleven said of his star pitcher, “He’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he should. Today he was Case Beames, focused in on what Case Beames does. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Beames said about that edge, “My last outing wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, and I’ve just been hungry to get out there again.” He channeled that energy into a fantastic outing against the Tigers from Orem.

Brighton will await the winner of the consolation game between Orem and Salem Hills tomorrow night with a chance to play in the 5A championship on the line.

Spanish Fork 5, Maple Mountain 2

In the nightcap, Spanish Fork earned a thrilling come from behind victory against top-seeded rival Maple Mountain.

The Dons found themselves behind early when Hayden Hyatt hit an inside the park home run deep to left field. Little did we know, those would be the only runs of the game for the Golden Eagles.

That was thanks to sophomore pitcher Kayden Lambson, who threw six dominant innings, and struck out eight batters.

Head coach Hadley Thorpe said, “Luckily for us, we’ve relied on our young guys all season. Kayden, it was a no-brainer to go to him. He’s been one of our best all year. Our coaching staff was talking as we were walking out, we’ve seen a lot of good Spanish Fork starts and that was right up there with one of the best.”

Spanish Fork got one run back in the bottom of the third on a RBI single from Trigg Cloward and tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with another RBI single, this time from Pratt Morley.

The game flipped completely on its head in the bottom of the sixth inning when Nixon Warren came to the plate with runners on second and third. “All year long those guys have been studs,” Coach Thorpe said about the top of his lineup, “as soon as Nixon stepped into the box, we knew he was getting the job done.”

Warren said about what was going through his mind when he stepped up to the plate, “Just do a job. That’s my moment, that’s what all the hours are for.”

A team that most have viewed as underdogs don’t see themselves that way. Coach Thorpe said, “We weren’t an underdog in our dugout. We knew that with our talent, we knew that we weren’t an underdog. Maybe in the newspaper and in the seeding, but not in our dugout.”

The Dons await the winner of a consolation game between Maple Mountain and Viewmont tomorrow night.