OREM — Orem High baseball coach Carl Hermansen tried really hard to stay in coach mode as the Tigers entered the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-run deficit to Corner Canyon in the Class 4A state tournament.

By the end of the seventh inning, the veteran coach beamed with another emotion: proud parent.

Hermansen’s son Fisher drove in the game-winner with a walk-off single on two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally the Tigers to a 7-6 win over Corner Canyon in the 4A winner’s bracket final Thursday at Brent Brown Ballpark.

“I’m trying to stay in coach mode, but I’m a dad right now,” coach Hermansen said. “Nothing could get better than that. To be able to coach your boy and then to have him come up with a big hit right there, it’s good stuff.”

The Tigers (27-3) advanced to face the winner of Corner Canyon and Timpanogos in Friday’s 4A state championship at 11 a.m. Friday at Brent Brown Ballpark.

Jake Stayner scored two runs for Orem, and drove in a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull the Tigers within one. Tyler Brander tied the game with a pinch-hit walk with the bases loaded to set up Hermansen’s heroics.

But before that, the Chargers (19-9-1) — who scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-4 advantage — solicited two outs and appeared headed to Friday’s state championship for the first time in school history.

Then, Hermansen stepped up to the plate.

“I was confident the whole time,” said Hermansen, a senior. “We’re used to grinding out wins, and we just had to keep playing our game to win the game. We made the plays that needed to be made, and came out on top.”

After being deadlocked at 3-3 through the first three innings, James Kimmel drove in Stayner for his second run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead before Corner Canyon’s bats erupted to score three runs on six-straight singles.

Still, Orem refused to be discouraged.

“We don’t really get down on ourselves,” Hermansen said. “We make errors, can’t play a clean game, and we’re used to being in situations like that.”

Much of that confidence comes from the team’s nine seniors.

“They’ve been working their butts off for a long time, and they love each other," coach Hermansen said. "They pick each other up, and they just keep playing. They aren’t going to quit on each other; no way.”

Brayden Erickson drove in two runs with a double in the top of the third inning to give Corner Canyon a 3-1 lead, but it would be the last time the Chargers led until the final frame.

“They really don’t know how to quit,” coach Hermansen said. “They are never out of the fight, and just did it. They found a way, even with pressure on them at the end.”

TIMPANOGOS 4, CORNER CANYON 3 — At Brent Brown Ballpark, DJ Martinez’s walk-off single helped help the Timberwolves rally for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.

Tyler Cornish and Connor Halford each had two hits and a run for Timpanogos (26-4), which advanced to face Orem in Friday’s 4A championship.

Caden Lawson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead Corner Canyon, which scored twice in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-2 advantage into the final frame.

5A BASEBALL

LONE PEAK 4, AMERICAN FORK 3 — At Brent Brown Ballpark, the Knights (21-7) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to hold off the rival Cavemen.

Lone Peak scattered four runs on just five hits, but did enough to get the win and move into Friday's state championship match.

Hagen Holmstead went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead American Fork (22-8), which will face Lone Peak again in Friday's championship after narrowly outlasting Cottonwood 6-4 in the subsequent game. If the Cavemen play, a second game will be played immediately following the first.

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