The month of October can mean many things, but for the high schools inside of 1A sports, it’s the prime time of baseball season. It’s time for the 1A State Baseball Championship game. All the hard work, blood, sweat, tears and laughs have led up to this moment. This year’s finalists were the Wayne Badgers and the Altamont Longhorns.
First Inning
Up to bat first for the Badgers is Ryker Peterson. He takes the first pitch as a ball, but for the second pitch swings and gets a fair ball, drops in on the line, no play for the third baseman. Ryker Grundy is next to bat and gets hit in the elbow, so he moves to first base and pushes Peterson to second.
Jake Batty is the third to bat and hits a deep left field, high fly ball and is the first out. After another out, a third is caught by the Longhorns’ third baseman, Dawson Lazenby, in a diving catch. This concludes the top of the first inning.
For the Longhorns, Octavio Diaz is first up. He hits a ground ball near third base, but the Badgers throw to first base and get Diaz out just in time. Briggs Wall is up next, and on his first pitch gets a hanging curveball but hits it and makes it to first base. Judd Taylor walks into the box ready to swing, but gets hit on his first pitch. Keaton Huff is the fifth batter for the Longhorns.
Ryker Peterson throws a wild pitch, letting the Longhorns runners advance to third and second. Huff strikes out — that is the third out for the Longhorns and ends the first inning. The score is left at 0-0.
Second Inning
To begin the second inning, Carson Lee for the Badgers hits a line drive single to right field and lands on first base safely. Krey Bradbury follows Lee and hits a line drive flyball single to left field. With Blake Peterson up to bat, a ball is thrown, but the runners make a move to third and second bases and succeed. Peterson then hits a fly ball to center field. As the ball is caught and thrown back to the catcher, Lee makes it to the home plate in time and makes the first point of the game.
The Longhorns stop the Badgers from making any further points, and transition the game to the bottom of the second inning. For the bottom of the second inning, the Longhorns are ready to even the score, but the Badgers have other plans. They quickly get the first two hitters out, and not long after that get that third and final out, keeping the score 1-0, Wayne.
Third Inning
Grundy is the first to up to bat in the third inning for the Badgers. He gets four balls and walks to first base. Next, Batty gets a strike but ultimately gets hit and moves to first base. Jake Peterson is the third batter. He hits a fly ball, deep left field, but the ball is caught. That is the first out. Ammon Peterson hits some foul balls, but shakes things off and hits right center field, and the hit falls in for a stand-up triple. This play sends Grundy and Batty home, changing the score to 3-0, Wayne.
Lee steps up to the plate hoping to bring Peterson home. He hits a ground ball. The Longhorns move quickly, but Lee is quicker. He makes it to first base and allows Peterson to come home. Bradbury wants some of this action and does so. He also hits a grounder. The Longhorns’ shortstop is able to find the ball and gets Lee out, but doesn’t make it to first before Bradbury does.
Blake Peterson hits an infield single. McClain Nelson moves to first base after four balls. Now all bases are loaded. Ryker Peterson hits a ground ball to the pitcher, who then throws it to first base, getting the final out. The score for the start of the bottom of the third inning is 4-0, Wayne.
To start out the Longhorns, Diaz hits a line drive, center field. The ball falls in front of the center fielder for a single. The Badgers manage to get an out; however, Diaz is able to make his way to second base. With a hit from Colton Beals, Diaz moves from second to third and Beals makes it to first base. Taylor steps up to bat and on the first pitch, he hits a line drive to left field. There is a bobble on the Badgers part, allowing the runner to make it to second, Beals to third, and Diaz to the home plate.
Ryker Peterson’s pitch hits the batter, Huff from Altamont. This loads all the bases. Peyton Lawton tries to bring his team home but strikes out and is the second out for the bottom of the inning. Lazenby is up to bat and hits a ground ball up the middle and through the gap, into center field. Altamont scores two more points in this play. Parker Harrison then strikes out, ending the third inning. Within this inning, the game has fired up. The score is tight: 4-3, Wayne.
Fourth Inning
Starting off for the top of the fourth inning and for the Badgers is Grundy. He hits a line drive to left center. Batty hits a ground ball to the shortstop and successfully makes it to first base. Jake Peterson hits a ground ball, center, where it bounces high off the mound. Altamont manages to get him out. Meanwhile, the runners are able to move into a scoring position.
Ammon Peterson hits a dribbler, and makes it to first, but as Grundy attempts to run home, he is tagged out. During the first pitch for Lee, Ammon Peterson steals second base. With two runners on base, Lee hopes to make a move, but strikes out. This is the final out for the Badgers.
Ryker Thacker starts off the fourth inning for the Longhorns, but ultimately strikes out. Diaz is in the same situation as Thacker. Wall hopes to change things up and hits a grounder up the middle, making it to first. Beal is up to bat and has some pressure with two outs already stacked. He gets two strikes, but manages to hit a ground ball, right to the Badgers’ shortstop, who then throws to second.
With no change in the score, the fourth inning ends.
Fifth Inning
Two batters into this inning’s lineup, the Longhorns manage to get both out. Nelson is the third up to bat and breaks the streak, he gets four balls and walks to first base. There is a wild pitch, which advances the runner to second. Ryker Peterson hits a nice line drive, single, left field. Nelson almost runs home, but is shut down by Coach Peterson.
Grundy is next up to bat. He’s down to a full count, with two outs. After the eighth pitch, Grundy swings a line drive single to left field. He scores both runners home, upping the run scores to 6-3, Wayne. Grundy advances to second in the next bat, but then the ball is caught for the third out.
Taylor is the first to bat for the Longhorns. He hits a fly ball to left field. Bradbury misses the ball, and Taylor uses that to his advantage. Taylor makes it all the way to third. The hit was a double, but because of an error cut off on Wayne’s part, Taylor advanced to third base.
Huff is next to bat. He hits a line drive up the middle to center field. Huff gets a single, and Taylor comes to home base. Following two strike-outs, Harrison hits a ground ball, but after good communication by the Badger’s first and second baseman, they get Harrison out to end the fifth inning.
Sixth Inning
As the game gets closer to an end, the whole stadium becomes tense with suspense.
The score is 6-4, with Wayne on top. Ammon Peterson starts off for the Badgers. He hits a fly ball deep into left field, but the ball is caught. Lee wants a good hit, but ends up walking to first base after four balls. Bradbury hits a ground ball to the second baseman, moving Lee to second, but Bradbury gets out. Blake Peterson is up to bat and hits a line drive, caught by Lazenby to get the out. This is the third and final out for the top of the sixth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, Thacker is up to bat first for the Longhorns. After a 3-0 count, he ultimately strikes out. Diaz is up to bat. He hits a ground ball to third base, allowing Diaz to be safe on first. Wall is next to bat and he also hits a ground ball, but to second. The Badgers get Diaz out at second but are just a hair too late to get Wall. Beal hits to the left, over to Ammon Peterson, but makes his way safely to first.
Taylor is now at the plate with two outs and two runners on bases. After a quick timeout by the umpire, Taylor is given three balls with one strike. Taylor then hits a fly ball to right field, but the ball is caught by the Badgers. The tough inning ends with two hits, no errors, and two runners left on base, but a catch in right field saves the run score and leaves it at 6-4.
Seventh Inning
Nelson starts off the top of the seventh inning. There is a two run lead, both teams have nine hits and two errors. Nelson hits a ground ball, the diving third baseman cannot get there in time and allows an infield single for the Badgers. Ryker Peterson pops a foul, catchable hit on the first pitch. The ball is caught by the Longhorns’ first baseman, Teagan Jensen. Grundy steps up to the plate and hits a fly ball, but the center fielder comes in shallow and catches the ball. This is the third pitch, third batter and second out within minutes of the final inning. Batty hits a belted, sky high fly ball to right field. The catch is made. The Longhorns keep the Badgers at bay and give themselves a chance at a comeback and chance to make some runs to win the game.
At the bottom of the seventh inning, the fans go wild. On the Longhorns side, yells of encouragement can be heard. Meanwhile on the Badgers side, yells of hope and staying tough are heard.
Huff is the first to bat for the Longhorns. He first hits a ground ball foul, and then seems to get hit in the foot, but the umpire doesn’t see it so Huff keeps batting. With three balls, and after many foul hits, Huff strikes out. Lawton steps up to base. He hits a line drive single to right field. He safely makes it to first base. The Badgers take a second to have a team pep talk with Coach Brave. Lazenby comes up to bat. He hits a ground ball to the third baseman. Lawton safely makes it to second and Lazenby to first. Harrison is up next. He has two balls, but strikes out. This leaves just one out left and Wayne would take the game.
There are two runners on base. The air is thick with tension. The Badgers have to change pitchers because Ryker Peterson has exceeded his pitch count. Jake Peterson steps in pitcher position, Batty takes the catcher’s spot and Ryker Peterson steps into the third baseman position. Ryker Thacker steps into the box, hoping to make a play that will score a run. He gets three balls.
Strike one.
Lawton makes a desperate move to run to third, but then turns on his heels back to second and gets stuck in a pickle. Jake Peterson throws the ball to second base, but the throw is a little off so Lawton turns and heads towards third base. The ball is thrown back to Ryker Peterson, who starts chasing Lawton as he runs back to second. Both run with speed and determination. Ryker Peterson moves fast, quickly catching up to Lawton. In an effort to save himself, Lawton dives for second, but it’s too late. Ryker Peterson tags Lawton, and gets the final out of the inning and the game.
The Wayne Badgers win on a pick off to second base.
Wayne High School becomes the 2023 1A State Baseball Champions. For the Badgers, it has been years since they took the 1A State Baseball Championship trophy home. With an end score of 6-4, the Badgers fought hard all throughout the tournament. They beat the consecutive five-time state champs — the Piute T-Birds — in the Quarterfinals, and the American Heritage Patriots in the Semifinals. Wayne High School played some good baseball that will be remembered and earned the title of 2023 1A State Baseball Champions.
– by Ari Hurdsman
Feature image caption: Wayne’s team embrace each other with hugs and excitement after winning the game. Courtesy of Jessica Grundy.
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.