Late homer lifts Tigers to semis

MOUNT PLEASANT — Wasatch Academy's season hung in the balance when Kiyoshi Kasagawa came to the plate with two outs during the Tigers' 1A quarterfinal baseball game against St. Joseph on Monday.

Trailing 4-3, Wasatch Academy's No. 9 batter quickly fell behind 0-2 to St. Joseph's Eli Kenny, who had retired 13 of the previous 14 batters.

So how did Kasagawa respond?

He hauled the Tigers back into the game.

Kasagawa belted a long home run over the left-field fence, and Dana Montano singled in the winning score in the eighth inning as third-ranked Wasatch Academy came from behind to beat No. 4 St. Joseph 5-4 in thrilling fashion.

"This is the biggest game of my life," said Montano. " . . . It's awesome. If we would've lost, it still was a hell of a game."

Wasatch Academy now advances to the semifinals at Utah Valley State this Friday and will play No. 1 Panguitch at 11 a.m.

Kasagawa, who was showered with Gatorade after the game, said he had no intention of swinging for the fences during his seventh-inning at bat. The left-fielder was 0-for-2 up to that point and just wanted to somehow reach base.

"I didn't expect (to hit a home run) at all," said Kasagawa.

That key hit preceded Montano's clutch hitting one frame later.

After pitcher Gordon Deason held the Jayhawks in check during the top-half of the eighth, Yusuke Osakabe singled and stole second base, putting himself in scoring position when Montano strode toward the plate.

Osakabe scored when Montano stroked a single into left field.

"I said (to Osakabe), 'you get on base and I'll hit you home,' " said Montano.

He finished the game 4-for-4 with four RBI's.

Nearly lost in Wasatch's euphoria over Kasagawa's home run was Deason's performance from the mound. When starter Bubba Dalrymple struggled early, coach Harold Smith decided to replace him with Deason, and he responded by scattering just three hits over six innings.

"Gordon Deason came on the mound and shut them down," said Smith.

On the other hand, St. Joseph will be extremely disappointed it didn't advance past the quarterfinals.

Kenny was outstanding for the Jayhawks, who looked to be in control for much of the game.

St. Joseph led 3-1 in the third frame before a two-run single from Montano tied the score. Two innings later, catcher Logan Froever's RBI single put St. Joseph back in front.

Froever and Kenny each made a great defensive play to help maintain the Jayhawks narrow advantage, but in the end, it wasn't enough.

There were just two errors the entire game, and both teams made several outstanding defensive plays. That fact, combined with solid pitching, allowed for a very fast contest. The teams played eight innings in just 1 hour, 25 minutes.