Barben tosses Warriors past Hawks

After struggling against Taylorsville pitcher Chad Barben for most of the afternoon, the Alta Hawks finally managed to threaten the Warriors' ace in the final two innings, putting runners on base with less than two outs.

Both times Taylorsville coach Steve Cramblitt visited his pitcher to make sure he would be able to respond to the pressure. Both times, Barben shut down the Hawks, leading his team to a 4-1 victory in the second round of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.

"I never once thought I would get hooked," Barben said. "They have to hit my pitch. I can't beat myself, they have to beat me."

For the game, Barben tossed a five hitter with 11 strikeouts. Cramblitt said Barben's ability to work himself out of jams has been a luxury all season.

"Chad has been solid all year," he said. "When he has gotten into trouble, he has been able to work through it."

Offensively, Taylorsville was able to get key hits off Alta pitcher Tony Skanchy.

"The key offensively was the fact that we were able to stay patient against Skanchy," Cramblitt said. "He tries to get you to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. We did a real good job of waiting for our pitch."

Taylorsville second baseman James Lee was an important factor in the Warriors offensive success. Lee, who finished 2-for-3 on the day, drove in two runs off a triple and double in the third and fifth innings.

More than anything, Cramblitt was pleased that his team was able to stay in the winner's bracket.

"It feels really good to stay in the winner's bracket," he said. "Obviously, it's a lot easier to win the whole thing if we can stay where we are."

The Warriors will have the rest of the week off before they resume tournament play against Clearfield next week.

"Clearfield is a good club," he said. "We'll need to keep working on getting better."

Alta's only run came off a solo home run in the sixth inning by second baseman Scott Urry. Urry lifted a high fastball over the right field fence.

While Urry's home run temporarily lifted the Hawks, it wasn't nearly enough to overcome Barben's pitching.

"When you're able to throw a five-hitter, you should win," Alta coach Barry Harrington said of the Taylorsville pitcher.

Despite the loss, Harrington feels his team is capable of bouncing back.

"I like my chances of coming through the back door," he said. "When you get to this point in the season, anything can happen."

In other 5A games Wednesday:

BINGHAM 12, SKYLINE 1: The Miners used tough defense and 10 hits to top the Eagles and stay alive in the winners bracket of the 5A tournament. Casey Gale had two RBIs in the game for Bingham.

BRIGHTON 5, RIVERTON 4: Kyle Scoggin pitched a complete game and Wes Stuker went 2-for-3 to help the Bengals advance in the 5A playoffs. Brighton pulled out the narrow win with two runs in the seventh inning.

DAVIS 7, WEBER 5: Chad Woodbury turned out to be a crucial player of the game as he smashed two homers and collected four RBIs in the Darts' 5A playoff win over Weber.

NORTHRIDGE 6, HUNTER 4: Cole Robinson had three hits and Jesse Yoshimura added some key at bats to help lift Northridge to the 5A consolation win.

HILLCREST 8, KEARNS 0: The Huskies blanked the Cougars thanks to Nick Ison's six innings of one-hit baseball, including six strikeouts. Andrew Lawrence also went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

LAYTON 9, WEST JORDAN 3: Layton's Jordan Green went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and freshman Kyle Bubak added three RBIs to help lift the Lancers to the 5A playoff win.

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