High school 3A baseball: Judge Memorial finds spark from Saldivar against 'Hawks

OREM — Judge Memorial senior Stallon Saldivar doesn't have the luxury of taking cuts and perfecting his swing during the winter months. He is, after all, usually tearing opponents up on the hardwood as the Bulldogs' point guard.

But once he shakes the rust off his bat, gets into a rhythm and sees pitches better, Saldivar becomes as dangerous on the diamond as he is on the basketball court. He led Judge to a 9-7 win over Salem Hills in the 3A winners' bracket semifinals at UVU on Thursday afternoon by going 4-for-4 with four RBIs.

"He's been sparking us," said Bulldogs coach Jeff Myaer. "The second half of the season he's been on fire. He's a good athlete with good hands. It's been so good to have him."

Saldivar provided some quick energy for the Bulldogs after they fell behind Salem Hills 4-0 in the first inning. In his first at-bat, Saldivar hit a shot to center that was misplayed by the Skyhawks, and he recorded his first-ever inside-the-park home run. "Too slow" is why it was his first one, he said.

"I try and do my job," Saldivar said. "I know my role — it's not a power hitter. I just try and get on base. Luckily, I got ahold of that first one and I got around the bases."

Still, it took a while before Judge was able to gain control against scrappy Salem Hills. The Bulldogs rallied for eight runs in the fifth, and Saldivar was in the middle of the production. He hit an RBI single to get Judge within 5-2 in his first at-bat of the fifth inning. His next time up — still in the fifth — he smacked a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a commanding 9-5 advantage.

Saldivar spent most of the season hitting in the No. 9 spot for Judge. He was recently switched to No. 2 in the order, where he hit on Thursday, and the move has paid huge dividends for the Bulldogs. In his first game hitting in the two spot, Saldivar blasted two home runs against Union.

"It's fun to coach just a pure athlete," Myaer said.

Myaer and the Bulldogs weren't having much fun in the early innings of their win over the Skyhawks. Salem Hills had Judge on its heels until the Bulldogs took over in the fifth. Kade Mitchell hit a two-run double, and the Skyhawks took advantage of two Judge errors to go up 4-0 in the first.

The Bulldogs seemed to press at the plate until Mason Minhando started the fifth-inning rally with a lead-off single. Court Zollinger also provided a momentum-changing play with a rocket of a double off the left-center wall that scored two runs in the fifth.