High school baseball: Riverton makes early statement, routs Taylorsville

RIVERTON – In the last few high school baseball seasons, Riverton has had the luxury of flying under the radar until late in the spring.

That isn't happening this year.

Riverton has opened the 2009 season with two statement-making victories. The Silverwolves crushed Taylorsville 12-2 in five innings on a brisk Tuesday afternoon. That win came after they whipped Viewmont 13-2 in five innings on Saturday.

"Hopefully we can keep rolling," said Riverton centerfielder Tad Carter. "We're just showing up to play, staying under the radar."

The Silverwolves, ranked No. 7 in the Deseret News Top 20, won't be staying below the radar. Riverton is coming off of a 22-win season, and looks to be building on the success of last year.

Pitching was supposed to be the Silverwolves' strength, but Riverton has come out swinging its bats. Riverton jumped on Taylorsville quickly, scoring six runs in the first inning. Davis Johnson hit a two-run single, while Jake Josie, Brandon Gust and Devin Deweerdt each had RBI singles.

The Silverwolves quickly showed that their 13-run output against Viewmont was no fluke.

"I was telling the kids offensively, this might be the two best starts that I've seen in a long time," said Riverton coach Jay Applegate. "We're swinging it pretty good, better than I thought coming out of the gate."

Carter finished off the Silverwolves' win with a three-run triple in the fifth inning. He finished with four RBIs.

"I was ahead in the count and looking for a fast ball," Carter said of his mercy rule walk-off triple. "I turned on it. It was nice to end it in five again."

Riverton got a solid pitching performance from junior lefty Tanner Banks. He was limited to a pitch count of 60, and threw four innings. He recorded six strikeouts and allowed just one hit. The one hit was a home run blast by Taylorsville's Sean Dalton.

"He did a good job for us," Applegate said.

Johnson went 3-for-4 for Riverton. Roger Weber had two hits, while Nathan Slaymaker had a single, was walked, and was twice hit by pitches.

"The pitching was awesome, defense was solid, and we're hitting the ball," Carter said. "I guess that's all you need to do in baseball."

Next up for Riverton is a game on Friday with Timpanogos, the team that defeated the Silverwolves in the 5A winners' bracket final last season. The Silverwolves aren't looking for revenge. They are just hoping to keep their early season hot streak going, and continuing to improve.

"We're just worrying about ourselves," Applegate said. "We got a few things to work on, a few kinks to get out."

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com