ST. GEORGE — The top two teams in the 4A state baseball tournament have separated from the pack.
No. 1 Dixie rained hits down on Desert Hills and No. 2 Snow Canyon got a gem from pitcher Andrew Lyon in a shutout over Timpanogos on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
The Region 9 juggernauts are marching through bracket play, and if they both win in games Wednesday night, they’ll get Thursday off and then face each other in the best-of-three championship series beginning Friday night.
But there’s still more baseball to be played, and in the playoffs, anything can happen.
No. 4 Desert Hills’ roller coaster ride through bracket play continued Tuesday. The Thunder lost to crosstown rival Dixie 17-6 Tuesday afternoon at Cate Field.
Dixie coach Danny Ipson (middle left) and Snow Canyon coach Reed Secrist (middle right), here in a file photo, have their teams on the verge of a 4A state championship matchup, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 15, 2024 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
That was after the Thunder beat Bear River 9-7 Monday night in a game that featured a 90-minute rain delay in the sixth inning.
The stage is set for an elimination game between the Thunder and those same Bears, who knocked out Region 11 rival Ridgeline 15-8 to force the rematch with Desert Hills.
That game is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The winner goes on to play Dixie later that night at 7 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket, Snow Canyon awaits the winner of the elimination game between No. 3 Timpanogos and No. 6 Park City.
The Warriors will take on the winner at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
All of the games from the state tournament are streamed live at The Fan Sports Network.
Go to the UHSAA website to see the complete 4A state baseball bracket.
Dixie 17, Desert Hills 6
The Flyers jumped all over Thunder starting pitcher Hoyt Atkin, exploding for nine runs in the first inning and then taking an 11-0 lead after the second.
Dixie’s batters put up some football numbers in the blowout. The Flyers plated 17 runs off of 13 hits, including 16 RBIs. Cooper Bartholomew and Ridge Erickson each homered.
Logan Leavitt smacked two doubles for four RBIs. Boston Vest doubled, tripled and scored four times.
The run support was more than enough for Dixie starter Jake Andreas, who scattered eight hits and allowed five runs in his four innings of work. The big righthander walked two Thunder batters and struck out four.
Snow Canyon 3, Timpanogos 0
Junior Andrew Lyon for the Warriors worked 6.1 innings in the win. He allowed only four hits by the Timberwolves, all singles. He walked three and fanned eight.
Ryder Harrison finished with two hits and scored twice for the winners. Hayden Smith collected two RBIs with his single, giving Lyon all the runs he needed to secure the shutout.
Tank Kelly pitched the final two outs for the Warriors, striking out one.
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