Lehi Sports
Lehi baseball poised for playoffs
The Lehi High School baseball team won five of their final six games to capture second place in the Region 3 battles with a 10-5 record. The Pioneers are 16-9 overall and earned the No. 5 spot in the RPI index in their inaugural season in Class 6A.
Lehi is matched against No. 12 Layton (13-11) in the Super Regionals best-of-3 series on May 16 and 17. The Pioneers will be the host and the first game is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. The next one is set for 1 p.m. on Friday, with a tiebreaker to follow if necessary. Lehi did not play the Lancers this year.
The series winner will take on whoever advances from No. 4 Riverton (18-7) versus No. 13 Copper Hills (12-13) at 7 p.m. when the tournament moves to BYU on May 20.
This game was ultimately decided in the second inning of a very tight contest. The Falcons scored two runs in the top of the inning and Lehi got three in the bottom half, enough to get the victory though they added one more in the fourth.
Sophomore Taygen Stephensen got the win on the bump with six innings of work, yielding six hits, two runs and a walk against three strikeouts. Junior Mays Madsen entered from the shortstop spot to retire the side in order in the top of the seventh to secure the outcome.
Senior first baseman Tanner Heaps had one hit, registered an RBI and scored once. Junior outfielder Gavin Yates also drove a run across. Junior third baseman Cooper Williams made two runs and junior Kade Bailey provided the other one. Junior Boston Drakulich had two hits.
May 1: Skyridge 11, Lehi 5
On the road, the Pioneers kept things close in this contest through the first three innings, after which the teams were tied at 5-all. However, the Falcons plated six runs in the bottom of the fourth and held Lehi scoreless the rest of the way to get the win.
Senior pitcher Caleb Crutchfield took the loss with senior Carson Colledge and junior Kowen Walker also making appearances on the mound. Three fielding errors did not help the cause.
Cooper Williams singled and tripled, drove in a run and scored two. Ozzie Williams also had a triple and sent two across. Heaps doubled and scored once while sophomore Dawson Brown had the other RBI. Madsen and Drakulich each made a run.
May 3: Lehi 10, Skyridge 3
Both teams hit freely in the tiebreaker contest at Lehi, but the Pioneers were able to push their runners across with greater efficiency to get the victory. Junior pitcher TJ Peterson threw six innings and got the win with senior Trey Hawkins finishing the game out in relief.
Heaps had the hot bat of the day, going 4-for-4 including a pair of doubles, five RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Dawson tripled, drove in two runs and came across three times.
Cooper Williams had a triple, an RBI and scored two runs, while Yates singled and doubled with one RBI. Junior catcher Brandon Manookin added two hits and Bailey made the other run.
The Pioneers built a 4-1 lead at home in the first three innings. They were unable to score again but limited the Thunder to two more runs in the top of the fifth to hang on for the win. It was pitch-by-committee day but Stephensen got the victory with four others contributing.
At the plate, Lehi managed to squeeze in four runs with just four hits. Yates singled twice, drove in two and scored once himself. Drakulich got a double and an RBI while Madsen hit the other one across. Cooper Williams and Brown each tallied a run.
May 8: Lehi 7, Westlake 4
A four-run fourth inning was the difference as the Pioneers topped the Thunder on their field. Walker got the win on the bump with Crutchfield, Madsen and Bailey also contributing.
Madsen blasted a three-run homer to lead the attack. Yates singled twice, drove in two runs and scored one. Cooper Williams had two hits including a double and scored twice.
Brown also had a single and double with an RBI and a run scored. Sophomore third baseman Cole Ybarra singled and doubled and crossed once. Manookin added an RBI and Ozie Williams the other run.
May 9: Lehi 12, Westlake 3
The Pioneers secured second place in the league standings by getting this big victory on the road. They scored runs in five innings to build the total. Peterson fanned eight against one walk in five innings and earned the win. Sophomore Brayden Hansen gave up just one hit in two innings of relief.
Madsen went 3-for-3 with a double and also walked twice, driving in three runs and scoring three himself as well. Drakulich hit three singles for an RBI and scored twice. Manookin hit a double and a home run for four RBI.
Yates added two hits and two runs and Cooper Williams scored twice. Heaps had two hits plus a run and Ozzie Williams also scored. Brown provided an RBI.
