5A baseball: Copper Hills ousts Taylorsville from playoffs
Orem • Tanner Anderson's performance in Monday afternoon's 5A state baseball elimination game at Utah Valley University posed one puzzling question.
How did this guy lose three games this year?
Anderson pitched a four-hit shutout to help Copper Hills to a 5-0 win over Taylorsville.
"He's been doing that all year. He's been throwing really well. The trouble we've had is getting him to finish. He's been going four, five or six innings but he finished today," said Copper Hills coach John Morgan. "I hope to use Tanner again later in the week."
Anderson used the combination of a fastball, curveball and changeup to strike out 10 and keep Taylorsville guessing for much of the game.
"Everything was working; I got all my pitches going today so it was good," Anderson said. "I just wanted to go out and have fun and have my team to back me up."
Copper Hills scored the first run of the game in the top of the sixth when Zach Hoffman singled with two outs and scored when Tanner Johnson hit a shot to deep center field. Johnson was thrown out at third to end the inning but not before the Grizzlies were on top.
Copper Hills gave Anderson some room for error when it scored four runs in the seventh. With one out, Brad Ogden hit a three-run double down the right-field line. He then scored on a squeeze bunt from Jordan Keefer.
It was more than enough for Anderson, who didn't allow Taylorsville to get anything going. The Warriors did mount a scoring threat in the fourth when Kyle Hoffman led off the inning with a double but Anderson wouldn't budge. Zach Hoffman made a nice running catch in center field and after a wild pitch allowed Hoffman to reach third, Anderson got a groundout and a pop-out to end the inning.
Copper Hills will play again on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at UVU. For Taylorsville, the Region 2 champs, the season is over. —
Tuesday's games
Class 5A state baseball tournament
at Utah Valley University
Winners bracket
4:30 p.m. • Syracuse vs. Bingham
7 p.m. • Riverton vs. Layton
Losers bracket
11 a.m. • Copper Hills vs. American Fork
1:30 p.m. • Alta vs. Cottonwood
Class 4A state baseball tournament
at Kearns High School
Winners bracket
4:30 p.m. • Salem Hills vs. Mountain View
7 p.m. • Timpanogos vs. Maple Mountain
Losers bracket
9 a.m. • Sky View vs. Westlake
11 a.m. • Cyprus vs. Sky View/Westlake winner
1:30 p.m. • Murray vs. Logan
Class 4A boys' soccer state tournament
at Woods Cross High School
Semifinals
4:15 p.m. • Orem vs. East
6 p.m. • Murray vs. Bountiful
Class 5A boys' soccer state tournament
at Woods Cross High School
Semifinals
11:30 a.m. • Bingham vs. Copper Hills
1:45 p.m. • Brighton vs. Lehi
Class 4A state softball tournament
at Valley Softball Complex
Winners bracket
4:30 p.m. • Salem Hills vs. Box Elder
6:45 p.m. • Mountain Crest vs. Provo
Losers bracket
Noon • Roy vs. Herriman
Noon • Bountiful vs. Springville
2:15 p.m. • Olympus vs. Maple Mountain
2:15 p.m. • Murray vs. Bonneville
Class 5A state softball tournament
at Valley Softball Complex
Winners bracket
4:30 p.m. • Copper Hills vs. Riverton
6:45 p.m. • Bingham vs. Weber
Losers bracket
Noon • Alta vs. Lehi
Noon • Fremont vs. Brighton
2:15 p.m. • Syracuse vs. Taylorsville
2:15 p.m. • Davis vs. Hunter