Co-host Cedar sweeps 5-team American Legion baseball tournament

Written by Jeff Richards
July 12, 2020
Cedar players celebrate after defeating Evanston, 10-6, in invitational tournament championship game, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Cedar High’s American Legion baseball team went undefeated over the weekend, sweeping five games during a round-robin invitational tournament it hosted along with Canyon View High.

Cedar vs. Evanston, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The five-team tournament featured local teams Cedar, Canyon View, Crimson Cliffs and Parowan, plus one from Evanston, Wyoming. Each team played the other four once over the two-day event, with 4-0 Cedar and 2-2 Evanston advancing to face each other again in the finals.

Both Parowan and Crimson Cliffs also went 2-2 in round-robin play, but Evanston won the tiebreaker due to fewer total runs being scored against them.

In the tournament final Saturday evening, Cedar jumped out to an early 7-0 run over Evanston in the first inning, sparked by Teague Speakman’s home run. The Outlaws mounted a late rally but couldn’t quite close the gap, as Cedar prevailed 10-6 in seven innings. 

“How’s that for a good moment for him in his last game, to be able to put us on top?” Cedar head coach Eric Fieldsted said of Speakman after the game.

Starter Kolby White was the winning pitcher for Cedar, with reliever Calvin Slack pitching the last couple innings.

“Evanston’s a good team,” Fieldsted said. “They swing the bats but we did a good job defensively, and pitching, too. We just swung the bat really well.”

The coach spoke fondly of recently graduated seniors Speakman, Brayden Torres and Gavin Imlay as they walked off the field for the last time wearing a Cedar High uniform.

L-R: Cedar seniors Teague Speakman, Braydan Torres and Gavin Imlay pose with coach Eric Fieldsted, Cedar City, Utah, July 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“It’s hard. They’re part of our family,” an emotional Fieldsted said.

“We had three other seniors play at times, just not this weekend: Tanner Esplin, Josh Meisner and Andre Castaneda,” added Fieldsted, who is also moving on from coaching this year to assume his new duties as Cedar High School’s assistant principal.

Although Cedar’s older players are now finished playing, the younger ones still have the upcoming American Legion 17U state tournament: a 16-team double-elimination tournament that runs throughout this week (July 13-18) in Southern Utah. Click here to see the 17U bracket (updated).

Meanwhile, the American Legion’s 19U state tournament also gets underway this week with play-in games at selected higher-seeded home sites on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a double-elimination bracket to be played next week at Pleasant Grove and other nearby sites to be determined. Click here for the 19U bracket.

The weekend round-robin in Cedar City was a special occasion for Parowan’s team, as it marked the first return to action by Beau Millett since he was critically injured in a rollover crash, a little more than a year ago, on the morning of June 4, 2019. The teenager continues to make milestones in his recovery from a traumatic brain injury, which has been marked by numerous surgeries and setbacks, in addition to months of intensive rehabilitation therapy.

Beau Millett saw limited action over the two-day tournament, but he did get to bat three times. Although he didn’t get a hit, he put the ball in play each time, resulting in two fly outs and a ground out. His at-bat against Evanston is shown in the video clip above. Millett also saw action in the field at second base.

“I’m just glad to be back out on the field again,” the 6-foot-4 Millett said as he stood next to his younger brother Luke, the Rams’ 6-foot-3 starting left fielder. Beau will soon start his junior year at Parowan High, while Luke will be a sophomore.

“What a great weekend! Beau didn’t play a lot, understandably, but he was so excited to be back on the field for any of it!” the boys’ mother Tami Millett wrote in a post on her BEauStrong Facebook page. “He had so much love and support from so many people and we appreciate it so much.”

Cedar City Invitational results

Friday’s games
Cedar 10, Canyon View 0
Parowan 9, Canyon View 7
Cedar 11, Crimson Cliffs 4
Evanston 15, Crimson Cliffs 5
Parowan 10, Evanston 7

Saturday’s games
Cedar 7, Parowan 6
Evanston 9, Canyon View 2
Crimson Cliffs 11, Canyon View 4
Cedar 6, Evanston 4
Crimson Cliffs 10, Parowan 9

Championship game Saturday
Cedar 10, Evanston 6

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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