High school baseball: Dons turn back Knights in 2-1 pitching duel

SPANISH FORK — Good teams find ways to win close games, but the really good teams find ways to keep games from being close.

Evidently, the Spanish Fork Dons are a good baseball team on the verge of being a really good team. For the third time in four Region 4 games the Dons (4-0) came away with a one-run victory by outlasting the Lone Peak Knights 2-1 on Tuesday in a classic pitching duel.

Even though Taggert Lunceford won it for Spanish Fork with a walk-off two-out double in the bottom of the seventh, the Dons found themselves in that situation by stranding 10 runners through the first six innings. Twice they left the bases loaded and also stranded two in another inning. And their first run scored on a wild pitch.

"If we're going to be as good of a team as we're capable of being, we need to be more aggressive at the plate and hit better," Dons coach Jim "Shoe" Nelson said. "But I still have to give these guys credit. They do find ways to win. But they sure could make it a lot easier on themselves if they could get a single or two when we have the bases loaded or something like that."

But Nelson also credited Lone Peak pitchers Ryan Stephan and Justin Alworth for their clutch pitching — allowing only seven hits — and doing a good job of keeping the Dons guessing at the plate. However, Spanish Fork starter Adam Duke was a touch better, giving up four hits and striking out nine in the complete-game victory.

Neither team could get a run across in the first four innings, but Lone Peak's Brian Nielson changed that by leading off the fifth with a solid blast over the left-field fence to put the Knights up 1-0.

In the bottom half Trevor Randolph drew a lead-off walk, reached third on Greg Money's hit-and-run single to right, and then scored on a pitch that skipped to the back stop to knot the game 1-1.

With one out in the sixth, Lone Peak's Kade Andus hit a deep drive to the right-field fence but was thrown out on an extremely close play trying to stretch a double into a triple.

Spanish Fork also wasted a golden opportunity in the sixth when three walks loaded the bases, but Alworth escaped unharmed by enticing Money - who had three hits on the day — into flying softly to left field to end the inning.

The Knights threatened again in the seventh, but failed to score the go-ahead run thanks to a great defensive play by Don shortstop Brock Duke. With a runner on second and two outs, Michael Draper hit grounder into the left-side hole. But before the ball could reach left field, the Spanish Fork shortstop dove and stopped the ball, and then quickly threw from his knees behind the runner rounding third — who was tagged out to end the inning.