Holmstead blanks Spanish Fork

AMERICAN FORK— The Spanish Fork Dons' quest for a perfect baseball season is over, and the American Fork Cavemen's quest for one of Region 4's four tough-to-get playoff spots is now looking pretty secure.

Behind the three-hit pitching from starter Hap Holmstead and two home runs off the bat of slugger Steve Parker, the Cavemen shut out the top-ranked and previously unbeaten Dons 11-0 in six innings Tuesday.

The loss was Spanish Fork's first in 18 games this season, but the Dons still have a two-game lead in region play with a 6-1 mark. The Cavemen upped their league record to 4-3 and remain in a tie for second place with Lone Peak. Pleasant Grove drops to fourth place at 3-4 with a loss Tuesday to Timpanogos.

"When we come to play with enthusiasm, and we're all together, we're a pretty good team," American Fork coach Jarod Ingersoll said.

There were no flaws in the Cavemen's game in this critical contest. Holmstead, having only thrown two innings last week, looked stronger than he's look all season. The senior right-hander handcuffed the Dons all game by painting the corners with his fastball and keeping his breaking pitches low. Spanish Fork, one of the top hitting teams in the state, managed only three singles and six base runners all game.

"Whenever he's had proper rest, he just flat out pitches for us," Ingersoll said. "He was hitting his spots, and he mixed it up real well. To shut out a team like Spanish Fork is really getting the job done."

Parker, T. J. Spencer and Josh Jones — all seniors — provided more than enough run support for the Cavemen. Spencer's two-out single over first base in the second inning gave American Fork a 3-0 lead. The score stayed that way until Parker, after Spencer had walked, crushed a pitch from Dons' starter Nelson Castleberry over the scoreboard in right-center field with one out in the fifth to increase American Fork's margin to 5-0.

With Spanish Fork's explosive bats, the lead wasn't comfortable for the Cavemen, so they decided to finish the game an inning later with an outburst of hits. After the Cavemen loaded the bases with no outs on two singles and a walk, Jones smashed one to the right-field fence to clear the sacks — putting American Fork ahead 8-0. Then, after Spencer was hit by a pitch to reach base for the third time, Parker made the outcome decisive when he roped a three-run walk-off shot to straight-away center. Parker finished the game with five RBIs.

"He's a great hitter, and he's got that kind of pop in his bat," Ingersoll said.

The two teams meet again on Thursday in Spanish Fork.

"One game in this region could be the matter of going to the state tournament or sitting home and watching it, so this was a big win for us," Ingersoll said.

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E-mail: jimr@desnews.com