Maple Mountain wins first state baseball title
OREM, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – It was worth the wait for the Maple Mountain High School baseball team.
The Eagles survived, and actually thrived after two rain delays to defeat Brighton Saturday afternoon, 7-4, to win its first ever state title.
“It feels great,” said AJ Thomas, who had two hits and RBI. “We’ve worked so hard this season, and to win it all is awesome.”
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The Eagles started the scoring in the first on an RBI double by Logen Bringhurst. The Bengals, who lost the series opener on Friday 12-9, took a 2-1 lead on a two-run double off the wall in left by Cooper Scott.
Then after an hour-long rain delay, the Eagles scored four times in the second. Thomas drove in a pair with a single to left to give Maple Mountain a 5-2 lead.
It was 5-3 when just before another rain delay, Sawyer Leifson gave Maple Mountain some insurance with an RBI single to center.
“These kids have a way to relax,” head coach Jeremy Thomas said about how his team responded after two delays. “They just went up in the tunnel, and I heard them singing a little bit. You know, they just found ways to stay relaxed. Then as soon as they came back out on the field, the focus went right back to the game.”
After falling short in their only other championship appearance in 2021, the Eagles closed it out as Bennett Averett induced the final out on a groundout to short to seal the victory.
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“It feels amazing, honestly,” Leifson said. “Coach always said it would felt good, but it feels better than he could ever hype it up to be. It’s just that these boys deserve it. We put in a ton of work all season, waking up early at five and five in the morning for weights and stuff, and it’s well deserved.”
Maple Mountain pitchers Blake Carter and Cayden Giles combined to strike out six Bengals. Both teams had six hits in the game.
Maple Mountain ends the season with a record of 28-4, while and Brighton finishes at 27-5.
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