High school baseball: Kanab, South Sevier punch their ticket to the 2A championship game
Though No. 7 seed Duchesne got out to a hot start, it was top seeded Kanab who got the last laugh Friday, coming from behind and getting a 9-3 victory to punch their ticket to the 2A state championship game.
Kash Kabonic stood out for Kanab in the win, going 1-3 with three RBI. After Kanab starting pitcher Logan Veater was unable to pitch his way out of the 2nd inning, Walker Baird came in and pitched six very strong innings in relief, getting eight strikeouts while only walking two.
Duchesne had just about as perfect as a start as they could have asked for. Just like they did in their game prior, Duchesne’s offense got off to a hot start and scored three runs in the first two innings to take the early lead over Kanab. A single in the top of the 1st inning by Cade Norman with two outs scored the runner from 3rd base, scoring the first run of the ballgame.
The following inning, Duchesne’s Connor Karren scored on a bases loaded walk with no outs. Duchesne scored another run the following batter on a hit by pitch. Kanab scored two runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning to cut into the deficit.
Kanab didn’t panic after giving up three runs in the first two innings and Kanab head coach Craig Brinkerhoff knew that his team was capable of playing from behind, a situation they are quite familiar with.
“Our team just hung in there. Going down 3-0 nobody panickedm” Brinkerhoff said. “We knew that it was going to be a long ballgame and we just had to start driving the baseball. We’ve been in that same position many times throughout the season. We know what our guys are capable of and we trust each other. We knew that if we would just stay composed things would work out for and they did.”
Kanab tied the game up in the bottom of the 4th inning when Griffen Bone hit hard ground ball to the Duchesne third baseman, who couldn’t get his glove down in time and the ball rolled into left field, scoring the runner from 3rd and knotting the game up at three runs apiece.
Kanab was finally able to get the breakthrough they were looking for, a single by Maddix Baird up into centerfield scored Kanon Blomquist for what would end up being the winning run. Kanab would end up blowing the game wide up later in the inning by scoring five additional runs to help put the game out of reach.
“Going into the inning we knew that if we could just get 1 guy on base than things were start working in our favor. After getting a couple guys on base we had the top of the order coming up to bat and we knew that good things were in store for us. Everybody just did their part, they know their role and they’re just incredibly unselfish,” added Brinkerhoff.
With the championship game now on the horizon, Kanab is going to try to treat the game just like any other game.
“This is just going to be another game for us. We don’t want the moment to big too big for them. The bases are still the same distance apart and the pitchers mound hasn’t moved. We just have to keep playing our game and playing the game the right way,” said Brinkerhoff.
In the consolation game, it was South Sevier earning the right to face Kanab in the title game, defeating Grand 12-11. South Sevier had a big lead for the majority of the game, as they got four and five runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, respectively. Grand fought to the very end and try to take advantage of some South Sevier miscues in the 7th and scored six runs in the inning to make it a one run ballgame. In the end however, they dug themselves into too deep of a hole and it’s South Sevier moving on. Big Northrup got the job done at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and a home run in the win.
