Knights sit atop Region 4
But with only three Region 4 baseball games remaining, the Knights are alone atop the league standings — a game ahead of both the Dons and T-Wolves.
Lone Peak's convincing 9-1 win at Spanish Fork on Tuesday, combined with American Fork's 9-6 win over Timpanogos, means the 6-1 Knights can be no worse than tied for first when the week ends. And if Lone Peak can repeat Tuesday's performance on Thursday when the two teams meet again, the Knights might just have a two-game margin at the top.
"We're just playing with a lot of confidence right now," Lone Peak coach Mike LaHargoue said.
In dominating the Dons on Thursday, the Knights proved the old baseball saying "hit it where they ain't" true. Lone Peak touched three Spanish Fork pitchers for 15 hits, by far the most given up by the Dons this season.
But the Knights didn't exactly drive the ball hard. They just made good contact and, on a day when the wind was blowing about 30 mph directly in the batters' faces, they hit the ball on the ground a lot and mostly where Spanish Fork wasn't playing.
The top of Lone Peak's order devastated Spanish Fork's pitching, chasing starter Adam Duke after three and a third innings by going 9-for-12.
For the game, the Knights' top five of Jacob Hanneman, Matt Williams, Adam Kelsch, Kade Andrus and Dillion Robinson were 12 for 21. Hanneman and Williams each had three hits, and Williams drove in four runs. Kelsch, Andrus and Robinson each had a two-hit game.
"I thought our kids had great approaches at the plate for the most part and didn't waste any at bats and hit their good pitches," LaHargoue said.
On the other side, Spanish Fork's top five went 0-for-15; the Dons managed only three hits the entire way. The Dons' first hit was an infield single up the middle with two outs in the fourth, and the other two came in the seventh when Lone Peak was ahead 9-0.
Knights starter Daniel Sechrest went the distance by consistently getting ahead of Spanish Fork's hitters and keeping his pitches down.
He was also aided by two huge double plays behind him and the fact that the Dons couldn't seem to find a hole with their ground balls. Spanish Fork's lone run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.
"I think that's the best (Sechrest) has pitched this year," LaHargoue said. "I'm sure he would have liked to have had that shutout, but that's baseball."
If there was a bright spot for Spanish Fork, it was the relief pitching of Tyler Hanks, who struck out five in two and one-third innings. Kade Christensen also had two of Spanish Fork's hits with a single and a double.
E-mail: jimr@desnews.com
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