Prep baseball: Depth aplenty in both 4A, 5A tournaments – Salt Lake Tribune

“I don’t remember 4A or 5A being that deep in a long time,” said Woods Cross coach Trevor Amicone. “I think right now is a very, very good time for Utah high school baseball.”

In both tournaments, the top overall team never relinquished their stranglehold on the the No. 1 spot in The Tribune’s baseball power rankings, as Cottonwood and Salem Hills perched atop the tree the entire season. Both teams were painfully close to winning a state championship last season and returned many of the key contributors.

The old adage of “pitching wins titles” still rings true, which greatly favors the seemingly endless bullpen of the Skyhawks. Junior Kaden Stewart is 9-0, senior Tanner Hamblin is 5-0, while Riley Pierce, Colton Lundell and Sam Callister are collectively 9-1 on the mound.

“If you don’t like baseball, come and watch us because we hit the ball, we pitch the ball, we run well,” said Salem Hills coach Scott Haney. “There are some good teams out there that do that. If you want to watch some good baseball, come watch the state tournament.”

Orem, which lost to Salem Hills by one run but followed up with wins in 21 of the final 22 games of the regular season, trumpets one of the top one-two punches in the state with Paxton Schultz and Parker Wollaston. The one loss, however, occurred against last year’s runner-up Maple Mountain, which has stormed into the limelight late into the season, with wins against the Tigers and Salem Hills.

“There is a lot of great baseball right now, I mean, it’s as good that I’ve been around in a long time,” said Orem coach Carl Hermansen. “There’s a lot of teams that really get after it. It’s really fun baseball to watch.”

Timpanogos started the season 15-0 before falling victim to a sweep at the hands of Orem. The Timberwolves recuperated from the blow and finished the season on a six-game winning streak.

Murray and Woods Cross absolutely embarrassed their region counterparts. The Spartans enter the 4A postseason with the top winning percentage of any team, having only lost one game in a bizarre upset against Hillcrest. The Wildcats, who lost 7-2 against Salem Hills in the first game of the season but finished a perfect 18-0 in league play, stole the majority of the headlines at the conclusion of the season with a spew of record-setting performances. Leading the state in scoring, Woods Cross, who Hermansen said is “playing silly [good] baseball right now,” is currently tied for fifth all-time for most single-season runs with 291.

Talent is overflowing in the 5A classification, too. Lone Peak, American Fork, Lehi and defending champion and fourth-seeded Pleasant Grove are capable of making noise from Region 4. Bingham, with perhaps the best player in the state in Sean Keating, and Jordan are strong contenders in addition to Cottonwood from Region 3. The northern regions, 1-2, have been overlooked this season, but Northridge, Mountain Crest, Davis and Syracuse are looking to draw the attention in the postseason.

“I looked at the bracket, and every game is going to be tough,” said Murray coach Marce Wilson. “There’s no easy road for anybody. There’s years where you look at the bracket and you can navigate through, but this is kind of like going on a family vacation without a map. You hope you make the right turns.”

This year is special, many coaches proclaim. The standard of play is historically elevated, with multiple teams reaching the pinnacle at the correct juncture, so for fans watching in the grandstands, ignore common advice and entrap yourself in the moment because the present truly is memorable.

tphibbs@sltrib.com

Twitter: @trevorphibbs

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