High school baseball: Orem ends its nonregion schedule with a tight win over Lehi
Region 7 is only a week away from starting its in-region schedule and the Orem Tigers made sure to end their nonregion schedule strong with their sixth win in a row in a 5-4 home win over Lehi on Wednesday.
“We had three guys that got hurt in the middle of the game. We brought guys in that haven’t played a ton of varsity minutes,” said Orem head coach Carl Hermansen. “It was good to get other guys some opportunity to be that guy and get a win.”
The Tigers had no issues getting quality at-bats in the opening inning. Orem’s Owen Miller, Zach Engemann and Easton Davies each recorded RBIs to run up the score 3-0.
Orem followed up the hot start with two more runs in the second inning thanks to a two-RBI home run from BYU signee Owen Miller.
“We did a good job of swinging at the good pitches and laying off the bad pitches,” Miller said. “We were all in it at the beginning and let it ride through the end. We just have faith in all our guys that the next guy up can do their job. Over the fall we’ve been working hard together and getting closer as a team and that’s helped a ton this season.”
Miller ended the day with 3 RBIs on two hits while also throwing six strikeouts in three innings. Hermansen said it’s just something Miller does.
“Owen is a middle of (batting) order hitter,” he said. “The ball just comes off of his bat different. That was a big home run and he’s been so valuable to us for three years. It’ll be hard when he graduates to see him go. He’s been great for us on the mound and on first base. He’s a great kid too, he is just the type of guy you want on your team.”
After the third inning, Lehi switched from left-handed pitcher Caleb Crutchfield to right-handed pitcher Carson Colledge.
The Tigers didn’t score for the rest of the game, while the Pioneers answered with a four-run fifth inning of their own to cut the lead to 5-4.
“We looked like we had great approaches early against (Crutchfield),” said Hermansen. “We’ve seen a lot of lefties and so it was familiar, and it felt good.”
“But, when they brought in (Colledge) he just changed tempo. He was hitting his spots, and we looked away too many good pitches. It was frustrating because we didn’t stay aggressive with them.”
With only two innings left, there was plenty of time for Lehi to take the lead.
However, Orem made sure to kill Lehi’s momentum and kept the Pioneers scoreless in the final two innings to take the home win.
The win improved Orem’s season record to 9-2, and it will start its Region 7 schedule with a road game at Timpview on Monday.
