Miners' ace delivers gem

When Bingham ace Andy Jangard takes the mound, Miners coach Joe Sato says he has complete confidence in the abilities of his pitcher. That confidence was well founded Wednesday when Jangard pitched an eight-strikeout complete-game shutout to lift Bingham to a 2-0 victory over visiting Riverton.

"Andy is the guy," Sato said. "I just turned him loose out there. We haven't scored many runs for him, but our kids play with more confidence when he's out there."

Bingham got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning when left-fielder Cole Anderson, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, stole home plate. The Miners added another run in the second inning when shortstop Mike Williams singled to bring in Jared Roberts.

From there, it was all Jangard. "I just tried to hit my spots," said Jangard, who has signed to play with Dixie State next year. "I had full confidence I would be able to shut them down."

With the victory, Bingham managed to stay atop Region 2 with a 9- 2 record.

The Miners lead Hillcrest by two games with three to play. Though Sato is pleased with his team's position, he also understands that anything can happen.

"There are no days off in this region," he said. "Our guys have to be ready to play."

After struggling during the first two innings, Riverton pitcher Brock Nordberg was able to get out of several jams and pitched well enough to give the Silverwolves a chance.

"Brock did a very good job," Riverton coach Jay Applegate said. "He battled and kept us in the game."

But in the end it was too much Jangard.

"He showed today why he is one of the best pitchers in the state," Applegate said. "Our guys competed at the plate, but we weren't able to get a clutch hit."

The loss dropped Riverton to 6-5 in league play. The Silverwolves, who find themselves in the middle of the Region 2 standings, will try to use their final three games to improve their tournament seed.

"We'll need guys to step up," Applegate said.

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