Soaring Eagle earns split to claim region

DRAPER -- Juan Diego baseball coach Mike McNary saw two sides of No. 1-ranked ball club Friday -- a team he had never seen before and another team in which he was very familiar.

The top-ranked Soaring Eagle needed a split Friday with second- ranked Grand to wrap up its third consecutive region title and it got it, but it did take some work in the second game.

"In situations like this sometimes you almost want to come in wanting two (games)," McNary said. "There is that natural tendency that you do lay back because you have the luxury of the second game."

After falling 11-0 on a two-hit gem by Grand's Steve Hirschfeld, the Soaring Eagle beat the Devils 5-4 behind Craig Lanzarotta, who belted two solo homers and fired six innings of near perfect baseball.

"I was just feeling it," Lanzarotta said of his Game 2 performance after going 0-for-2 in the first game. "My coach and I worked on visualization of change-ups and curve balls and it really paid off."

With the victory, Juan Diego finishes the region slate 9-1 and 12- 6 overall and will host South Sevier in a Class 2A state first-round playoff game Wednesday.

"These guys have been a resilient group all year. We have had occasions where we've been down, five, six, seven and even as many as eight runs and they don't panic," McNary said. "Their demeanor never changes and they go about their business."

Hirschfeld, who was pitching with a tight arm, dominated Juan Diego with the two-hitter. He retired the side in order in four of the five innings.

Juan Diego bounced back to win the region crown with a solid 11- hit performance in Game 2.

Lanzarotta, along with Robbie Schultz and Evan Hibler -- the two, three and four hitters -- were a combined 5-for-10 in the second game with four RBIs. Schultz drilled a solo homer in the third.

Lanzarotta allowed one run on two hits in the first five innings, and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth without surrendering a run.

The Devils (17-3, 8-2) made things interesting in the seventh, however, as Trace Wells tripled in two runs and Brian Ankrum singled home another off a Juan Diego reliever to cut the lead to one, but that was as close as they would get.

In the first game it was all Grand. The Devils scored two runs in the third, five in the fourth and two more in the fifth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.

Chris Brewer was 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and Ankrum also drove in two runs.

BASEBALL

REGION 2

RIVERTON 8, HILLCREST 7: Nick Gumeson, only a sophomore pitched five solid innings in his first varsity start to get his first win of the season.

COPPER HILLS 6, WEST JORDAN 5: Chad Hind ripped out two doubles and Taylor Oakden recorded two hits, two runs and three RBIs as the Grizzlies edged the Jaguars.

ALTA 5, JORDAN 1: Tony Skanchy went the full seven innings scattering three hits and struck out nine as the Hawks avenged an earlier region loss to the Beetdiggers.

BINGHAM 9, BRIGHTON 5: Jared Roberts and Mike Williams collected three hits each and Zach Druce pitched a complete game as the Miners beat the Bengals in Region 2 play.

REGION 3

HUNTER 2, KEARNS 1: Cassey Farnsworth drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit single in the top of the seventh inning.

REGION 5

WEST 6, OLYMPUS 2: Kenny Morrison and Tucket Slade drove in three runs each in the Panthers win over the Titans.

CYPRUS 7, MURRAY 2: Reggie Fisher went 3-for-3 and teammate Tyson Pearce went 3-for-5 in the Pirates' win.

HIGHLAND 12, WOODS CROSS 6: Zac Bennett went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and struck out eight. Alex Burgess hit a three RBI homerun as the Rams doubled up the Wildcats.

BOUNTIFUL 6, EAST 5: Trent VanAlfen had an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to score Chase Christensen as the Braves topped the Leopards.

REGION 8

EMERY 11, LEHI 0: Emery beat the Pioneers to even their region record at 4-4.

DELTA 8, NORTH SANPETE 5: Robert Lovell and Jason Neilsen both doubled to spark the Rabbits past the Hawks.

REGION 9

DIXIE 15, CANYON VIEW 2: Ray Wright hit two doubles and a home run, while teammate Brady Hiatt smacked three hits and knocked in three runs in the win.

SNOW CANYON 5, CEDAR 4: Brock Sargeant picked up the victory and had two RBIs with a homerun to help Snow Canyon to the Region 9 win.

REGION 10

WASATCH 14, JUDGE MEMORIAL 2: Ben Poulock picked the complete game victory for the Wasps, while Austin Hills went 3-for-6. Judge freshman Houston Stockton went 3-for-3 in the loss.

UINTAH 10, PARK CITY 2: The Utes broke open a 2-2 game with four runs in the fourth and three more in the seventh. Jason Morgan went 2- for-3 with two RBIs to lead Park City.

REGION 11

BEAR RIVER 6, GRANTSVILLE 3: Jared Fronk preserved the Bears' lead in the sixth with two diving catches in center field as Bear River went on to beat Grantsville.

REGION 12

SAN JUAN 2, RICHFIELD 0: Henson Perkins recorded eight strikeouts in five innings as the Broncos won the first game.

RICHFIELD 5, SAN JUAN 4: Jeff Gramse belted out three doubles as Richfield won the second game of the doubleheader.

GUNNISON 20, MANTI 7: Jamie Warren had four hits, including a double and a home run.

REGION 13

PAROWAN 4, MONTICELLO 0:

PAROWAN 14, MONTICELLO 1: Trevor Smith pitched all 12 innings in the Rams' doubleheader with the Buckaroos. Smith struck out 19 batters, and Robert White and Andy Hulet had home runs for the Rams.

ENTERPRISE 11, MILLARD 2:

REGION 14

ALTAMONT 12, NORTH SUMMIT 9: The Longhorns improved to 2-7 in league play by edging the Braves.

GRAND 11, JUAN DIEGO 0:

JUAN DIEGO 5, GRAND 4:

NONREGION

TAYLORSVILLE 11, TIMPANOGOS 4: Danny Cornia belted out two doubles and also recorded the win on the mound as the Warriors dumped the T- Wolves in a nonregion game.

E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com

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