High school baseball: Panguitch advances to semis with 9-4 win over Green River

SPANISH FORK — The Panguitch Bobcats didn't throw any massive celebrations after they defeated Green River 9-4 in the 1A quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

The Bobcats have a winning tradition in baseball, and they don't hope to be victorious in elimination games like Tuesday's. They expect to win them.

"We're from Region 15, and we kind of like to brag about ourselves," said Panguitch coach Clint Barney. "Maybe we do it in an egotistical way. This is a big deal to us. We expect to go win on Friday. We're not just happy to be there. We expect to be there."

Panguitch advances to play Valley in the semifinals on Friday.

The Bobcats' confidence was evident in Tuesday's win, as they took control of the game early in the contest and didn't get rattled by their mistakes. Shortstop Trevor Peterson was an example of that. After he committed an error that led to a Green River run in the top of the second, he ripped a two-run triple in the bottom of the second to give the Bobcats a 4-2 lead.

Peterson also played well in the field following his error.

"He made some big plays," Barney said. "I think Trevor played a great game."

The Pirates rallied for two runs in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. But Panguitch answered in the bottom of the fifth, as Bryce Taylor, Cameron Fawson and Eric Frandsen each drove in runs to put the Bobcats up 7-4.

Panguitch pitcher Brooks Leach was solid, allowing just four hits in the contest. Three of the runs he gave up were unearned.

"He's not the type of guy who will overpower teams and have a lot of strikeouts," Barney said. "He keeps the ball down and makes teams beat it into the ground. He was huge for us."

The loss ended an impressive season for the Pirates, who finished as co-champions in Region 18 despite having just nine players on their roster.

"It was a tough loss, but I'm still proud of them," said Green River coach Greg Parsons.

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