Manti Templar Tanner Justesen swings for a home run, which ends up connecting, making it the first official home run of the season.
RICHFIELD—It took almost no time at all for the Templars to get right back on track last week.
After starting the season with a loss, the Manti baseball team had a stellar week of superb hitting as they went 4-1 last week, beginning with an 11-3 win over Summit Academy and ending with a 7-5 victory over South Sevier after four innings, while the final three innings were cancelled by rain.
In between, the Templars posted two wins and a loss at the Frozen Rope Shootout in Richfield. First, they prevailed over one of 2A’s best squads in an 11-1 rout of Milford in five innings, then they stumbled against Emery in a 7-0 loss. Finishing off strong, Manti obliterated 4A Ogden, 19-5, in four innings.
“We feel really good about our weekend,” Coach Jim Nelson said. “We had solid play from all four classes, which was pretty exciting to see. Throughout our lineup, we hit the ball pretty well. We pitched well in all four games.”
The ability of almost every Templar to hit the ball well was prevalent all throughout the week as Manti averaged 1.77 runs per inning. Senior Tanner Justesen hit the Templars first and, so far, only home run of the season against Milford.
In Manti’s last game, the Templars took on South Sevier in the midst of a rainstorm. The Rams took the early lead in the first inning, 2-0, and the Templars put a run on the board at the top of the second, 2-1.
In the third inning, Manti pulled ahead, 5-2, thanks in part to a double from senior Jason Nelson, but the Rams weren’t going anywhere, as South Sevier scored three more runs to even up the score, 5-5.
In the fourth inning, Manti got two more, 7-5, and put up a solid defense to keep South Sevier off the board at the bottom of the fourth. At that point, the rain got increasingly worse, and the game was called for Manti.
“Not sure we have ever played through a rainstorm like we did against South Sevier, but our kids played through it for a big win to end the weekend,” Nelson said. “After missing last year, it’s sure fun to watch these kids play.”
The Templars next take on Union in a two-game series next Tuesday and Thursday with the latter being a home game. Union comes off a 4-1 win over Summit Academy and is 3-2 on the season.
