High school baseball: Mason Marshall takes charge on mound for Miners in 5A tournament

OREM — Mason Marshall's final high school start was a masterpiece.

The Bingham ace completely shut down the American Fork Cavemen in a 7-0 Miner victory in the 5A winners' bracket final on Thursday. Marshall tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks, putting Bingham just one victory away from its first state championship since 2003.

"Crazy," Bingham outfielder Connor Williams said of Marshall's performance. "He just keeps gunning it and throws strikes a lot. He just keeps pounding everybody. He's tough to hit."

Marshall, who could throw an inning or two if needed in an emergency today, is a perfect 10-0 as a starting pitcher this season. His power is a big reason why, as he threw consistently between 86 and 88 miles per hour against the Cavemen.

"My fastball was biting a lot and (I was) getting on top of my curveball and it was getting them off balance," Marshall said. "That just worked a lot."

It's worked all season for Marshall, who has allowed four or fewer hits in seven of his wins. Marshall, whose 10 victories are tops in 5A, had one of his best outings of the season against American Fork. He didn't allow more than one baserunner in a single inning.

"It's a good win," Marshall said. "It's one of my better ones. I've been throwing good all season. It's good to get a win against A.F. They're a really good team."

The Miners are a confident team — and even more so when Marshall is pitching.

"He's always throwing good," Williams said. "He's a stud out there."

With Marshall putting the Cavemen on lockdown, the Miners didn't need much offense but they still got it. Matt Cluff got Bingham on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the third, and then some big hits came from first baseman Josh Sandquist and Williams. Sandquist had a two-run double in the fourth to make it 3-0.

In the fifth, Williams blasted a towering home run over the right-field fence to make it 6-0. American Fork pitcher Danny Beddes hung a curve against Williams, and the Bingham junior made him pay. "He kept working me with the curveball," Williams said. "That's all I really saw today. He just hung one and I hit it."

Kobin Courtney added an RBI single for Bingham in the sixth.