Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
OREM — Timpanogos head coach Kim Nelson has been the Timberwolves' man in charge since the school opened its doors in 1996. Since then, he's seen a lot of superb baseball and had his fair share of success with the program.
As his players raised the baseball trophy high above their heads following the team's 8-1 win over Lehi in a best-of-three championship series, Nelson was asked what number of championship it was for him.
"It's the best one, that's all," Nelson said with a winning smile. "It's the best one right now, that's it."
Back-and-forth Game 2 on Saturday
The Timberwolves took care of business in the opening game of the series on Friday night, which gave them two games left to win one. But in the second game, which took place on Saturday afternoon, the Pioneers made it clear they weren't going to go away quietly.
Lehi never trailed, despite Timpanogos tying the game up on multiple occasions. The Pioneers got the scoring started with a run in the first inning before the Timberwolves answered with one of their own in the bottom of the frame.
And the chess match was on.
Lehi found success early and often against Timpanogos' starter Tate MacGillivray, and by the time the Pioneers were done batting, they led 5-1. But the Timberwolves batted around in the bottom half of the inning, which tied the game at 5-5 after they put up four runs on three hits, while taking advantage of some walks and a hit by pitch.
The teams continued to trade runs for much of the afternoon. But at the end of five innings, Lehi led 8-7 and went on to win by that score as both teams failed to get anything going in the last few frames.
Timpanogos took control and didn't let up in Game 3
While the first game on Saturday was a back-and-forth blow-for-blow dog fight, the deciding game of the 5A championship series was more easily decided.
Four batters into the game, the Timberwolves had their first lead on a run-scoring single from Billy Bird. An inning later, Timpanogos tacked on another run and led 2-0, which was all their starting pitcher, Chase Riggs, would need.
Riggs pitched a complete game in the win and allowed just one run on five hits, while also striking out three batters. With the entire season riding upon his shoulders, Riggs delivered in a big way.
"It was crazy, I just — coach told me I was starting the game, and I was like 'Yes, sir, coach,'" Riggs said. "Just trusted the defense out there. We have the best defense in the state; that made it easy."
Lehi's batters were aggressive against Riggs, with many of them not taking a lot of pitches before taking their swings. It led to a lot of highlight-reel defensive plays as Timberwolves players slid, dived and put their bodies on the line for the championship.
"You witnessed about four or five ESPN plays, I'm sure," Nelson said about the defense behind Riggs. "And that, obviously, kept them at bay."
The Timpanogos offense didn't come on the back of booming hits — the only home run in the game came from Lehi's Jackson Brousseau in the sixth inning when the outcome was all but decided — but rather, the utilization of small ball and fundamentals to keep rallies going. The Timberwolves had their leadoff hitter reach base in four out of the seven innings, and relied heavily on well-placed bunts and patient approaches at the plate to push runs across.
With the first two games of the series providing some drama, the final game was a showcase of fundamental baseball — the kind Nelson has preached throughout all his years of coaching at Timpanogos.
"Coach Nelson is the greatest coach I've ever played for, ever seen," Riggs said. "And he just, he knows what's going on; he helps us all. He gets us hyped but not too overhyped, not too low. He's just the greatest coach there is, for sure."
