ST. GEORGE – Trevor Cox hit a two-run home run and pitched a complete game as Dixie rebounded from a humbling loss to beat Canyon View 8-3.
Coming off a 10-0 shellacking at the hands of Riley Gates and the Snow Canyon Warriors, Dixie’s confidence had to be shaken, especially after giving up a pair of runs in the first inning against the Falcons.
But the Flyers picked themselves up off the mat and did what all decent teams must do. They battled.
Tyson Graff blooped a single to give Dixie its first hit in the bottom of the second inning. Cox followed with a two-run bomb to left field and the flood gates seemed to open for the Flyers, who were no-hit last Friday.
“We kind of lost our groove for awhile,” Cox said. “But coach talked to us about shortening up our swings and not trying to pull everything. After the home run, everyone seemed to loosen up a little and we started yelling and goofing around in the dugout.”
Dixie plated three more runs in the second inning off of RBI hits from Drew Batchelor, Tanner Wilde and Braxton Ipson and emerged from the second with a 5-2 lead.
Canyon View cut it to 5-3 in the third, but left a pair of runners on. That was the Falcons last best opportunity as Cox would allow just two hits the rest of the game.
“One of the things I cautioned our team about was that Trevor usually struggles in the first inning or two before he settles into a groove,” Dixie coach Danny Ipson said. “The guys didn’t panic. We had some guys with some really great at-bats who just put the ball in play.”
Dixie padded its lead with three runs in the fourth inning. Tyler Strehlow started the two-out rally with a single after a pop foul was misplayed by the CV defense. He stole second ahead of a walk by Wilde. Strehlow then scored on an RBI single by Ipson and Wilde scored moments later on a passed ball. Ipson then scored on 3-2 single by Jesse Lambert after the senior had fallen behind 0-2.
With the five-run lead, Cox went into overdrive, striking out six batters in the last three innings.
“I felt pretty good late in the game,” Cox said. “It’s always nice to pitch with the lead.”
It was a crucial win for the Flyers, who improved to 12-5 overall and 3-3 in region play. Dixie is now tied with Canyon View for fourth place, a half-game behind Cedar and a full game behind Snow Canyon. The Flyers play at home vs. last-place Hurricane Friday night.
Canyon View, 8-6 and 3-3, got a good game from lead-off man Juan Lares, who singled and drew three walks in the game. The Falcons are off Friday and resume region play next Tuesday at Snow Canyon.
Desert Hills 7, Hurricane 1
The Thunder finish an astonishing run through the first six games of region play undefeated at 6-0, including road wins at Snow Canyon, at Dixie and at Canyon View.
“I knew we’d be tough and in the hunt, but no one, not even myself, expected us to be 6-0 at this point,” DH coach Jerry Beck said. “We have a lot of work still left to do, but coming off of missing the playoffs last year, well, I like where we’re at.”
The Thunder, 11-3 overall, performed well defensively again. Desert Hills was error-free Tuesday night for the fourth time in six region games.
“I wouldn’t say we have that one dominant stud pitcher and we haven’t hit a home run all year,” Beck said. “We just have a bunch of scrappy kids who have good arms, hit a lot of line drives and work very hard.”
Zac Ivie pitched six innings and allowed just the single run off a sixth inning double by Hurricane’s Ben Parker.
Meanwhile, the Desert Hills offense got things going early. The Thunder scored one run in the first inning, two more in the second, another in the fourth and three insurance runs in the sixth.
“We played a lot of very young guys last year and it’s starting to pay off for us,” Beck said.
Sophomore whiz kid Braiden Irvin was 3-for-3 with a double and was perfect once again at shortstop. Kaleb Caplin and Carson Clement had two hits each and both guys doubled for the Thunder, who play at Cedar Friday. In the first meeting between the two teams, Cedar’s Trevor Sanders hit a 3-run homer to erase a 3-0 deficit and tie the game in the top of the seventh. The Thunder rallied in the bottom of the inning and the game ended with a walk-off hit by Bryce Gibson that scored Irvin from second.
Hurricane, 6-9-1 overall and 1-5 in region, plays at Dixie Friday.
Pine View at Cedar (postponed)
The two teams will meet at Pine View Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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