Layton battles past Fremont

LAYTON — Thursday's game between Layton and Fremont featured everything one would want and expect between two region rivals fighting for a playoff spot. It had good pitching, timely hitting, comebacks and ultimately a play at the plate that was the difference in Layton's dramatic 9-8 win.

"That is exactly the type of game you expect between two teams laying everything on the line," said Layton coach Robert Ferneau. "We battled. They battled, and in the end, it just came down to one play and we made it."

There was a pattern that developed during the game. Layton would pull ahead, and Fremont would come back. The Lancers took the lead on an RBI-single from Aaron Burgin in the second inning. They added three more runs in the third on Brett Collins two-run single and Nicolas Dansie's RBI double. The Silver Wolves came back with a run in the fourth from Taylor Proctor's RBI ground out, and they tied the score in the fifth as Austin Raught hit an RBI double and Proctor added an RBI single before Greydn Morin scored on a passed ball.

Layton did not take long to retake the lead as it scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Tyson Eckersley and Jeremy Hayward batted in the runs during the rally. While the Lancers were getting the timely hits, the major reason they had men in scoring position was Fremont mistakes. Of the first seven runs scored by Layton, five of them came when the player reached by either a walk or hit by a pitch.

"Throwing strikes seems to be the name of the game," said Ferneau. "You don't win a lot of games when you are constantly putting people on base."

Layton added an insurance run in the sixth on a balk. Fremont then turned the tables on the Lancers in the top of the seventh. The Silver Wolves capitalized on some free base runners of their own. Morin and Proctor both were hit by pitches to begin the inning, and Spencer Faulkner drew a walk. Jade Hadley hit a two-RBI double before Derrick Monkres and Dalton Aiken both drew walks. Aiken's gave him an RBI as the bases were loaded. Austin Raught tied the game with an RBI single before Layton's Kyle Bubak finally stopped the rally.

With all the momentum swinging Fremont's way, Layton again found a way to manufacture a run. Eckersley hustled down the line to reach first after the catcher could not handle the third strike. He advanced to second on another balk. Burgin sacrificed him to third, and he scored on a close play at the plate after a short fly ball to right field.

"I was proud of how the kids kept battling," Ferneau said. "They showed a lot of character and heart."

---

E-mail: mblack@desnews.com