Blowouts abound as DH, Dixie and SC all flex muscles

Canyon View's Mike Dailey (12) and Desert Hills' Landon Levine (5), Desert Hills vs. Canyon View, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 3, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Trying to find a close game in Region 9 Tuesday night would’ve been a frustrating experience. Starting in southern St. George wouldn’t have worked as Desert Hills blasted Canyon View. If a person drove to Hurricane looking for a tight contest, it would’ve been a wasted trip. Dixie beat the Tigers 18-0. Even a jaunt to Cedar City would have been fruitless as Snow Canyon shutout the Redmen. Even a non-region game wasn’t real close as Pine View beat Richfield 10-5.

All-totaled, the four victors Tuesday night outscored their opponents by a count of 52-6. Here’s a look at the action:

Desert Hills 17, Canyon View 1

The Thunder jumped on the Falcons from the beginning, scoring 13 runs in the first two innings en route to the rout. It was a badly needed offensive explosion as Desert Hills had managed just eight runs in the previous four games.

“The first two weeks of region didn’t go exactly how we wanted them to,” Thunder coach Chris Allred said. “It’s been a bit frustrating with how we’ve swung it and hit the ball the first two weeks of region. So we’ve taken a hard look at things and are taking a little bit different approach at the plate. I was happy with how we were more aggressive and put the ball in play.”

Desert Hills’ Sam Rhoton (21), Desert Hills vs. Canyon View, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 3, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

After gathering just seven hits in two games last week vs. Dixie, Desert Hills racked up nine base knocks in the first two innings off of Falcon pitchers Joey Lambeth and Max Raddatz. Combine those hits with five errors in the first two innings and it’s easy to see why the Thunder jumped out to a 13-0 lead after just two frames.

“We just wanted to go out there and hit the ball hard,” said DH’s Mason Creager, who had two hits and four RBIs in the game. “Last week kind of sucked. It’s a lot more fun when you play like this. I was thinking about putting the barrel of the bat on the ball and getting those runs home.”

Starter Blake Milne mowed Canyon View down in order to start the game, and Trey Allred led the bottom of the first off with a single. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Drew Thorpe single to make it 1-0. Sam Rhoton walked and stole second, then Bronson Andrus made it 2-0 with an RBI single. Rhoton then scored on a double steal to make it 3-0.

After a single by Jaxton Reber, Creager collected his first two RBIs with a rocket down the line that scored Andrus and Reber and made it 5-0. A sixth run came home on a CV error and the rout was on after just one inning.

Desert Hills’ Drew Thorpe (2), Desert Hills vs. Canyon View, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 3, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

In the second, Rhoton doubled in a run, Reber knocked one in and Creager got his second two-run hit with a single to left. Thorpe also had a two-run hit as the lead swelled to 13-0 after two innings.

Trevor Farrow got the Falcons on the board with an RBI single in the top of the third, but Desert Hills would add four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a two-run Andrus double off the center field fence, to complete the scoring.

“One of the things we felt like we did the past couple of weeks was watch a lot of strikes go by and were just a little bit hesitant,” Allred said. “You’ve got to put the ball in play and put the pressure on the defense. A lot of their errors were us squaring the ball up and hitting the ball hard, even if was at somebody.”

Desert Hills had 13 hits, including four doubles, while Milne finished with a five-inning three-hitter in which he struck out seven and walked no one. Andrus had three hits and three RBIs, while Creager and Thorpe knocked in four runs each. Allred had a single and three walks.

The Thunder improve to 9-4 overall and 2-3 in region play with the win. Canyon View, 5-9 and 0-5, managed just three singles in the game, one each by Lambeth, Farrow and Josh Macinnis. The two teams meet again on Friday at 4 p.m. up in Cedar City with likely starters Drew Thorpe of DH and Trace Harden of CV.

Dixie 18, Hurricane 0

With Tyson Fisher on the mound (ERA 0.37), the only chance the Tigers had was to keep the score low. It didn’t happen.

The Flyers posted a run in the first, four in the second and 12 in the third to blow the game wide open and clinch the road win.

Fisher allowed one hit in three innings and Boston Miller allowed just two walks in two innings of relief as Dixie romped. The Flyers socked two doubles, two triples and a home run in the game, part of a 13-hit attack. Dixie also drew nine walks and took advantage of two Tiger errors.

File photo, Dixie’s Hobbs Nyberg (9), Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Mar. 27, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Flyers led 1-0 after one inning as Fisher tripled and scored on a single by Chase Lundin. The lead grew to 5-0 in the top of the second. Wyatt Woodland brought two of those runs home with a double to left field and a Kayler Yates single scored Woodland and made it 4-0. Lundin picked up his second RBI of the game later in the inning to make it 5-0.

With Hurricane still hitless, the game took a turn into blowout-land in the top of the third. Woodland struck again with his second two-run double to make it 7-0 and Hobbs Nyberg followed moments later with a triple down the right field line that scored two more and made it 9-0.

Later in that same inning, Nyberg came up with the bases loaded and two outs and socked a grand slam to straightaway right field. It is his second home run of the year. Reggie Graff had a pinch-hit RBI single in the fourth for the Flyers’ final tally.

Nyberg finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and six RBIs. Woodland was 2 for 3 with four RBIs, and Yates and Payden Harrah had two hits each. Every Dixie starter scored at least once in the game.

The Flyers improve to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in region play with the win. Hurricane, which got its lone hit in the bottom of the fourth (a single by Brigham Hirschi), drops to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in region play. The two teams meet again Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in St. George.

Snow Canyon 7, Cedar 0

In a marquee matchup between ace hurlers Warrior Breck Eichelberger and Redman Bridger Bunnell, it was all Snow Canyon.

Eichelberger allowed just three hits and never let a Cedar base runner past second base in the seven-inning masterpiece. He struck out 10 and issued just one lone walk in the game as the Redmen never threatened to score in the home contest.

File photo, Snow Canyon’s Breck Eichelberger (19), Snow Canyon vs. Canyon View, Baseball, St. George, Utah, Mar. 20, 2018, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Bunnell matched him pitch-for-pitch until the fourth inning. He had retired nine straight SC batters when Austin Deming roped a double to left field. Deming went to third on a wild pitch and came home on a fielder’s choice by Tim Shakespeare.

With two outs and two on in the fourth, Jed Jensen stepped up and laced a liner to left that plated Zack Nowatzke and Stephen Gubler and made it 3-0.

The Warriors added three more in the fifth. Shakespeare hit a bases-loaded single to left to score two runs and make it 5-0 and Gubler singled in a run with two outs to make it 6-0. Snow Canyon added an insurance run in the sixth when Seth Smith singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

The Warriors, 15-1 overall and 5-0 in region play, finished with nine hits and played error-free defense. Shakespeare had three RBIs and Austin Staheli had two hits to lead the attack. Deming had the only extra-base hit of the game with his double.

Eichelberger threw just 82 pitches, 63 of them for strikes. He has yet to allow an earned run this season in 27 innings pitched (five appearances).

For Cedar (8-6 and 3-2), Bunnell took the loss, allowing nine hits and seven earned runs. Markus Johnson pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Bunnell, Luke Maggio and Jake Jenkins had the three Cedar hits.

The two teams rematch Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Warrior Field with likely starters Deming (SC) and Tanner Eyre (Cedar).

Pine View 10, Richfield 5

Porter Dombrowski had a home run and the Panthers jumped out to an 8-0 lead before holding on for the five-run win.

Pine View took advantage of wildness by the Wildcat pitchers, scoring four runs in the top of the first with just one hit. The Panthers drew four walks and had a hit batsman in the inning. Luke Green had the lone hit in the first, while Cody Riddle and Jaiger Crosby had RBI bases loaded walks and Bridger Barney had a sacrifice fly for an RBI.

Pine View scored three more in the second on just one hit, with a walk, two more hit batters and a single by Roman Lafemina. Dombrowski’s solo homer came in the third, and Pine View added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Panthers, who are 9-3 overall, had nine hits and five walks in the game. Lafemina had two of the nine hits. Pine View used five different pitchers in the contest, with Riddle getting the win. The Panthers committed five defensive errors, but the five pitchers allowed just three walks.

Pine View is off until next week’s series against Cedar, starting with an Apr. 10 home game against the Redmen.

Tuesday’s Region 9 results
Desert Hills 17, Canyon View 1
Dixie 18, Hurricane 0
Snow Canyon 7, Cedar 0
Pine View 10, Richfield 5

Region 9 standings (region, overall)
Snow Canyon  5-0, 16-1
Dixie  3-0, 14-2
Cedar  3-2, 8-6
Pine View  2-2, 9-3
Desert Hills  2-3, 9-4
Hurricane  0-3, 7-7
Canyon View  0-5, 5-9

Upcoming games
Thursday
Cedar at Snow Canyon, 7:30 p.m.

Friday
Desert Hills at Canyon View, 4 p.m.
Hurricane at Dixie, 7:30 p.m.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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