'Resilient' Timberwolves rally for back-to-back 4A baseball titles


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OREM — Timpanogos’ hopes for a consecutive Class 4A baseball state title looked grim early.

Spanish Fork jumped out to a 4-0 lead midway through the third inning, and Dons starter Cy Nielson was stymying the defending champion Timberwolves, trying to force a second winner-take-all final.

But you never would’ve known it by looking at the Timpanogos dugout.

Jake Brooksby was 3-for-4 with a three RBI, and teammate Casey Hamilton blasted a two-run home run as the Timberwolves rallied past Spanish Fork 9-7 in the 4A state championship Friday at Brent Brown Ballpark.

“They battled, and I’m really proud of our kids not to hang their heads after 4-0,” said Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson as he choked back emotions. “Nothing seemed to be going right, and we come up with some key hits in the game to get us back in it.

“That was a tough, tough battle, a great high school baseball game, and we were fortunate to come out with the win.”

Spanish Fork was led by a 2-for-3 and two-run performance by Briggs Newman, who scored the opening run of the game in the top of the second as the Dons looked to put pressure on the defending champs.

But with nine-hole hitter Josh Edmonds leading off the third inning, the Timberwolves (28-1) bounced back. The senior opened the third with a triple to start a streak of five-straight runs to end the inning.

Timpanogos had not lost a game since March 17 against Shadow Ridge (Nevada). The Timberwolves proved their win-at-all-costs mentality Friday.

Photo: Nicole Boliaux, Deseret News
Photo: Nicole Boliaux, Deseret News

Tyler Cornish drove in a run with his first of two hits in the game, becoming the state of Utah’s all-time leader with 52 hits in a season, and starting pitcher Derik Eaquinto, Conner Halford and Jake Brooksby each added a run in the third.

“Everyone was confident; we knew what we could do, and that we could hit their good pitcher Cy (Nielson),” said Timpanogos’ Cal Beardsley, who earned the win on the mound. “We knew we could put a few runs on the board; we got the win, and that’s all that matters.”

Still, the Dons made a run of it by tying the game in the fourth and the fifth until Hamilton ripped a shot over the left-center-field fence in the fifth to give the Timberwolves all the scoring they would need and keep them off Nelson’s “bad side.”

“I don’t think we were going to be on his bad side,” Hamilton said with a grin. “I think he believed in us as much as we believed in ourselves. He’s just an amazing coach.

“In the state tournament, we know that every pitch, every run and every out is that much more important. If anything, our energy was up.”

Defensively, the Timberwolves made a major change by putting in Beardsley to close out the final 2⅓ innings. The senior hadn’t pitched a game since March 11, but Nelson had all the confidence in the world in his reliever.

“He just kept saying, ‘Coach, I’ll get you outs.’ And he did,” Nelson said. “He put zeroes on the board, and that game was huge.”

Beardsley allowed just three hits with one strikeout of his two-plus inning shutout. When Beardsley fanned Brenden Bradford with a slider for the final out of the game, the celebration ensued.

Back-to-back state champs? You bet.

“It’s been all I’ve been dreaming about since I was kid: striking out and ending with a state championship. I’m just glad I finally got out there,” Beardsley said.

“I’ve been waiting for three months (to pitch), and it’s been awesome. I love it.”

Newman went 3 for 4 with two runs to lead Spanish Fork, and Brook went 2 for 5 with three RBIs for the Dons.

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