Prep baseball • Hard-pitching Woods Cross defeats Highland 8-2

Teams that mistakes Quentin Foutz's youth for inexperience are in for a long night against the Woods Cross pitcher. Foutz took the mound on Monday night, beating Highland 8-2.

Foutz (3-1) controlled the game from his first pitch. The hard-throwing, 6-foot-1 junior worked a combination of fastballs and curves and trusted his teammates to make plays behind him.

"My guys were in the right place to make big plays," Foutz said. "Defensively, they kept them [Highland] off the board."

Foutz kept the Rams' hitters off balance by mixing it up with different pitches, glances and pauses. The lone hitter to get on base in the second off of an error was picked off immediately on a steal attempt.

Foutz credited his teammates' bats for making his job easier on the mound. The Wildcats went on a hitting tear in the second, crushing four doubles and three runs.

"It is easier to pitch when you have the lead," Foutz said. "The guys hit the ball really well."

Foutz finished the game with four strikeouts, two walks and one hit.

It's good hitting that keeps the Wildcats in the hunt for a Region 6 title. With its first six hitters batting over .400, Woods Cross has a good balance of strong pitching and aggressive hitting.

"I'd put our one-through-six against anyone," coach Paul Ayalla said. "This is impressive considering how young of a team we have."

Woods Cross starts five juniors, three sophomores and a freshman.

Batting in the middle of the order, sophomore Shaden Fisher went to the plate in the third with runners on the corner. Finding a chest-high fastball, he drove it deep to right and sprinted the bases for a sliding triple.

"I saw the second baseman bungle it and I went for third," Fisher said. Fisher went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple with walks. "We're getting a lot of extra base hits,"Ayalla said. "It means my team is peaking at the right time to take on Bountiful."

Woods Cross (12-7) faces Bountiful (10-11) at Spring Mobile Park on Friday for the top Region 6 playoff seed.