High school baseball: Brother's inspiration key to Jordan victory

SANDY — Benny Gonzales, the older brother of Jordan baseball player Brady Gonzales, has been in a medically induced coma for the past three days.

When he wakes up, he's going to be thrilled to learn that his younger sibling came up big for his teammates the same way he always has for his kid brother.

Brady Gonzales, usually a defense-only player for the Beetdiggers, hit a walk-off single in the eighth inning of Jordan's 2-1 win over Riverton in the second round of the 5A state tournament on Saturday afternoon. It was Gonzales' second at-bat of the game, and one of just a handful he's had this season.

Gonzales' mind and priorities have been elsewhere while his brother has battled health problems the past couple of weeks. But his brother's precarious situation also gave him an extra source of motivation against the Silverwolves on Saturday.

"My head has just been spinning," Gonzales said. "It's all for my brother. When coach put me in for the last at-bat, I knew it was going to be for him. I knew I had a job to do and I fulfilled that job and did it."

Gonzales said his brother is dealing with complications from a surgery performed on his stomach ulcers. The older Gonzales had to be life-flighted to a local hospital in the last week while dealing with internal medical issues.

The younger Gonzales' ability to deal with his brother's health issues and still play baseball and go to school has been impressive to see for Jordan coach Ron Anderson.

"He's been very mature about it," said Anderson, who noted he considered replacing Gonzales in the eighth inning at-bat. "My gut feeling said he'd get a hit. More credit to him. It was a good, solid baseball hit and we couldn't be more excited."

Gonzales credits his brother for getting him in position to have such a clutch hit in the state tournament.

"He's been a big factor in me playing baseball, and being here and doing what I need to get done, and this was for him," Gonzales said. "Everybody was playing for him in this game today. They dedicated it to him."

Benny Gonzales should feel honored when he wakes up. His little brother's walk-off single capped an exceptionally played game by both teams. Riverton scored first in the nail-biter after advancing on a couple of balks by ninth-grader Morgan Gomez in the second inning.