High school baseball: Hannemann delivers for Lone Peak

AMERICAN FORK — Lone Peak center fielder Jacob Hannemann patiently waited for his chance to bat in the seventh inning of a tied ballgame with American Fork on Friday.

And then he made the Cavemen pay.

Hannemann, after standing in the on-deck circle for nearly 20 minutes, hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to give the Knights a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a 5-4 Region 4 victory.

Hannemann's clutch hit to right field came at the close of a drama-filled 20 minutes. Lone Peak was beginning to put together a rally with the game tied 3-3. Dillon Robinson led off with a double, and power hitter Kade Andrus was intentionally walked with no outs.

Adam Kelsch, a lefty, then attempted a bunt, and he slapped one foul. The ball appeared to touch him as he ran up the first-base line, but the home-plate umpire ruled it a dead ball. That brought an outcry from American Fork coach Jared Ingersoll, who threatened to protest.

After several minutes of arguing and threats, the umpire eventually changed his ruling and called Kelsch out. The Cavemen then made a pitching change, forcing Hannemann to wait even longer.

"I was getting my cuts, and then they argued that for about 20 minutes," Hannemann said. "Coaches told me to relax and come through. It was good."

Lone Peak coach Mike LaHargoue said he didn't necessarily disagree with the umpire's ruling on Kelsch. He just wished it didn't take so long.

"Once they figured out what they called, it probably was the right call," LaHargoue said. "It just took 15 minutes to get the right call."

After Hannemann gave the Knights the lead, Brian Nielson added a difference-making an insurance run with a fielder's choice RBI.

"We talk about having good outs and bad outs and Brian had a good out," LaHargoue said. "We scored a run on it."

The Cavemen nearly made up the difference. Josh Mooney led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and was driven in on a single by Ben Beddes. Robinson, who relieved starter Justin Alworth in the seventh, closed out the game when he got Stu Duersch to fly out, and a base-running mistake by the Cavemen resulted in a double play.

Alworth threw six solid innings before being relieved by Robinson. He threw three innings in a loss to Spanish Fork earlier in the week.

"He battled," LaHargoue said. "He did a really nice job for us."