The boys took care of business with a dominant 12-0 win at home against the visiting Pinnacle Panthers. Ivan Spencer was tremendous again on the mound, throwing all five innings and recording 10 strikeouts, while only allowing two hits. The game was never in question as the Buffalos scored runs in each of the four innings they were at the plate. Excellent baserunning led to a number of additional runs and the game was shortened due to the 10-run rule. Next up for the Buffalos is a tough week with the Bryce Valley Mustangs visiting on Wednesday and the defending champion Piute Thunderbirds coming to town on Friday.
Left to right, photos by Julie Heaton:
Ivan Spencer preparing to hit the ball.
Boede Cox makes it to safety ... for now.
The Valley High Cheerleaders post the flag at the Valley vs Pinnacle baseball game: Sheridyn Hoyt, Brianna Lee, Athalie Nielsen, Kaylee Brinkerhoff, Keira Burrows, Zoe Burrows, Kimber Cluff, Paislee Ireland, Krysta Nelson, Desi Sorensen, Bella Barrick, Brianna Martinez, Keilani Garcia, Kenzee Brinkerhoff.
Hogan Harris swinging his bat moments before connecting with the ball.
Over the weekend the freshmen and sophomore players were also able to compete in a four-team sophomore tournament which included Panguitch, Piute, Bryce Valley and Valley. The first game pitted the Buffalos against the Panguitch Bobcats. In a back-and-forth pitchers’ battle, the game went into the bottom of the fifth knotted 0-0. Some excellent defensive plays by the Buffalos led to the Bobcats stranding runners on second and third and sent the game to extra innings. Weston Baird led off the sixth with a triple, but the Buffalos weren’t able to capitalize and the Bobcats had another chance to win in the bottom of the sixth.
A tremendous defensive play from Payson Harris led to a put-out at the plate and kept the Buffalo’s hopes alive heading into the seventh, but the Buffalos were again held scoreless. In the bottom of the seventh, the Bobcats again had runners on second and third with two outs, when a controversial balk call on Hogan Harris pushed the winning Bobcat run across the plate. Although deflated about the loss, the young Buffalos played a great defensive game and Hogan Harris did excellent on the mound, throwing only 66 pitches in the seven-inning game.
Next, the Buffalos faced the Bryce Valley Mustangs in the consolation game. Bryce Valley jumped on the Buffalos early but the Buffalos were able to battle back and tie the game 3-3 going into the fourth inning. The Mustangs’ bats came alive in and some timely hits by the Mustangs gave them a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Buffalos were able to chip away and cut it to 6-4, but ultimately their rally wasn’t quite enough.
