The 1A State Baseball Championship game is one of the most anticipated games of the year. This year’s finalists were the Panguitch Bobcats, and the four-time back-to-back winners, Piute Thunderbirds.
This isn’t the first year these two schools have faced each other off in the state finals. In the previous games this season, Piute beat Bryce Valley, and Panguitch beat Wayne. The game between Panguitch and Piute was like a soda can waiting to burst.
Panguitch came into the game with the upper hand, beating Piute all season, but Piute wasn’t going let this factor stop them from giving Panguitch a run for their money.
First and Second Innings
Up to bat first for the Thunderbirds was Daxon Morrill. They were unable to score anything out of the first inning, so it became time for the Bobcats to swing. Quade Veater started the Bobcats off in their turn of batting. By the end of the first and second innings, both teams stayed at 0.
Third and Fourth Innings
The first points of the game were made in the bottom of the third inning. Shae Miller was up to bat. With bases loaded, he had the chance to bring two of them home. Panguitch was able to make two runs with Tucker Chapell and Quade Veater, gaining the lead of 2-0.
The fourth inning became a battle of the pitchers. Both pitchers, Brooks Dalton, Piute, and Shae Miller, Panguitch, dug in to help their team. Neither side scored in the fourth inning.
Tables Turn in the Fifth Inning
At the top of the fifth inning, Piute turned the tables. Jesse James started off with getting hit by the pitch, and earned a free walk to first base. Next came Jaxon Westwood. With the first pitch thrown at him, he hit up and over the 5-6 hole.
Kade Sevier was next in line to bat. Sevier made a fake bunt, allowing James to move to third base and Westwood to second. After taking the strike that came with the fake, Sevier then hit a deep fly ball off the wall, making a stand up double for the T-birds. This tied the game 2-2.
With two points and no outs, things started to look good for the T-birds after Sevier’s play. Daxon Morrill hit a grounder, which Panguitch caught, but the hit did move Sevier to third base. Brooks Dalton came up to bat, and hit the ball in center, during which Sevier ran home. Kole Westwood decided to join the run and hit another grounder just up the shortstop area, pushing Dalton to second base.
The top fifth inning ended with some great hits and runs by Piute, shifting the score to 4-2. As hard as the Bobcats tried, they were unable to score in the fifth inning.
Sixth Inning
At the top of the sixth inning, Jesse James, Piute, received a new bruise as the ball made contact with his body. As a reward, he got another free walk to first base. Jaxon Westwood hit a line drive up the middle, once again pushing James to second and putting himself in first. Daxon Morrill followed Westwood and also hit a line drive up the middle. James and Westwood both made it home off this hit. Morrill was now sitting at second base, awaiting his turn to run home.
Brooks Dalton joined in with hitting into the center field. Morrill took off and never looked back as he ran to home plate and made it. Panguitch took a minute to talk together and strategize, but was it enough to fully stop the T-birds from scoring any more.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Shae Miller hit a ball to the left side and made it to first. Despite Panguitch getting some good hits, they were unable to score anything.
Seventh Inning
Top of the seventh inning for the T-birds started out with McKray Gayler. While he hit a good ball into centerfield, it was caught by Klyn Fullmer from Panguitch. Okley Slyvester stepped up to bat and got hit by the pitch from Miller. Next up came Kel Blood from Piute. He hit the ball right over Justice Savage’s hand in the middle of the field.
Yates Gleave stepped into the game for the T-birds, he went in for Jesse James. Gleave made contact with the ball and put it into left center field. Sylvester took the opportunity and ran home. Blood shifted over to second base. Sevier went to bat but stepped outside the hitting box during an attempt at swinging. This ended the top of the seventh inning.
The score was now 7-2 with Piute in the lead. With only a short amount of time to catch the T-birds, the Panguitch Bobcats needed to make a move and do so quickly. On the other side of the spectrum, the Piute Thunderbirds worked hard at keeping Pangutich down. Dalton gave out some good pitches, but his team behind him had his back and made quick work.
The first out came as Rustin Torgerson’s hit was caught and thrown to first baseman Jaxon Westwood. The second out came from Skyler Frandsen as he struck out. Piute fans started to buzz as their team only needed one more out to win the championship.
A Win for the T-Birds
Daxon Morrill caught the last out. Piute had won the 1A State Baseball Championship!
This is their fifth consecutive year of winning, which has only been done two other times in the state records. While Piute came in as the underdogs, they were ready to play. The Panguitch-Piute 1A State baseball game was one for the books, but in the end Piute took the trophy and title home.
– by Ari Hurdsman (17) Junction
Feature image caption: The Piute baseball team is ecstatic at their 5th 1A State Baseball win. The odds were not looking good this season since Panguitch already beat them twice, but Piute was able to pull off the win in the end! Courtesy Mandy Morrill.
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.