HIGHLAND — With only three Region 4 baseball teams advancing to the state tournament, it was critical for the Lone Peak Knights to get a league win after dropping their first two games two weeks ago to Timpanogos.

But for five and a half innings on Monday it looked like the Knights were going to fall into an 0-3 region hole as they trailed the American Fork Cavemen and were struggling to gain ground. With a six-run sixth inning, however, Lone Peak edged past American Fork for an 11-8 victory to notch its first region win.

"It's tough," Lone Peak coach Mike LaHargoue said. "We definitely need to start taking care of business."

Now, the Cavemen (0-2) are the ones behind the 8-ball and in desperate need of a league win after seeing their four-run lead disappear late. American Fork gets another shot at Lone Peak on Wednesday at home (weather permitting) and still has a game left against Spanish Fork next Friday and two games the week after against Timpanogos.

On Monday, the Cavemen took a 4-1 lead with a four-run second inning on an RBI double by Ryan Pitcher, an RBI single by Stewart Devenish, a wild pitch and a Lone Peak error.

Lone Peak cut the score to 4-2 in the bottom half with a run off an American Fork error. But the Knights were feeling a bit frustrated considering Cavemen starter Josh Mooney walked five and hit a batter in the first two innings, but escaped with little damage thanks to two sharply turned double plays behind him.

"Those were real momentum killers right there," LaHargoue said.

Another RBI single in the fourth by Devenish, combined with a run-scoring single by Ben Beddes extended American Fork's lead to 6-2. But Lone Peak's bats came alive in the fifth when Dillon Robinson blasted a two-run homer over the left-field fence and the Knights added one more run on a bases-loaded balk.

"Dillon's home run really seemed to get us going," LaHargoue said.

After RBI singles by Pitcher and Kyle Hall in the top of the sixth pushed American Fork's lead back to 8-5, the Knights erupted in the bottom half with six runs on seven hits. Robinson started things with a sacrifice fly to score one run, after which Kade Andrus delivered a two-run bomb over the center field fence to knot the score 8-8.

"We were getting some pretty good swings early, but just hitting the ball right at people. But we knew it was a matter of time before those balls started dropping," LaHargoue said.

While the meat of Lone Peak's order got the Knights even, the end of the order finished the Cavemen off. With runners on second and third and two out in the sixth, No. 8 hitter Jed Goeckeritz slapped a single to left to score both runners and put the Knights up 10-8. Michael Draper, batting ninth, then added a run-scoring double for a little more insurance.

With the Knights up 11-8, Robinson came in to relief starter Ryan Stephan and retired the Cavemen in order in the seventh.

e-mail: jimr@desnews.com