High school baseball: Fremont takes 1-0 series lead with comeback victory over Pleasant Grove

It was another thrilling contest between No. 6 Fremont and No. 11 Pleasant Grove as the Silverwolves hosted the Vikings in a game that was very reminiscent of the regular season contest they played in late March.

This time, the stakes were even higher as the two programs went toe-to-toe in the first game of the first round series of the 6A state baseball playoffs Thursday afternoon.

Once again, Fremont came away victorious as the Silverwolves battled back to take a 3-2 victory in front of the home crowd. The game was very similar to the regular season contest in March as the Silverwolves also had to come from behind in a 3-1 win over the Vikings.

“I started having flashbacks of that game,” Fremont head coach Garrett Clark said afterward. “I was like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ But the guys battled and fought, and I couldn’t be prouder. We knew coming in that it was going to be a battle and that we needed to play our best to have a chance to win.”

Pleasant Grove started the game off by scoring its only runs of the night as R.J. Wilson got on base with a single over the shortstop’s head. C.J. Anderson then followed up with a double into the gap to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Still faced with two outs, Mason Henry followed it up with a single up the middle, which allowed Anderson to race home and give the Vikings a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

Fremont cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first as Brigg Grange got on with a walk and then Garet Jones followed up with a double down the left field line to bring in Grange.

Pleasant Grove had a great opportunity to extend the lead in the top of the second as they had runners on first and second after Kale Dunn got on with a single and Drew Smith was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Wilson then stepped up and on a 2-2 count drove the ball deep into the outfield, but it wasn’t far enough as the center fielder made the grab and helped Fremont escape without allowing any runs in the inning.

While Fremont got out of the jam, the Vikings quickly returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a sweet double play off a bunt and then a strikeout by pitcher Hudson Banks, who had six strikeouts on the day. The Silverwolves had runners on first and second with nobody out, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.

But Fremont kept on battling.

In the next inning, the Silverwolves finally got over the hump as they managed to take their first lead of the game, which turned out to be the final score of the night.

With a full count, Karsten Jamison got a double down the right field line and Grange brought him in with a single up the middle. Anthony Marziale added a single and then Jones added a sacrifice fly to deep center to bring in Grange.

While Clark joked that he would have liked to see more offense, that’s all Fremont pitcher Brant Koford needed as the junior shut down the Vikings the rest of the way. The right-handed pitcher went all seven innings and had a game-high nine strikeouts, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.

“I got off to a rocky start, but I settled in, and I knew my teammates had my back,” said Koford. “Everyone battled and played their hearts out and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

“Brant is a competitor. He went out and gave us everything,” added Clark. “To have a shutout the rest of the way against a very good Pleasant Grove team is impressive. It shows you what kind of kid he is.”

Pleasant Grove star pitcher Hudson Banks gave the Vikings plenty of opportunities as the left-handed senior pitcher allowed just six hits to go with his six strikeouts.

Both teams will meet Friday afternoon for Game 2 of the three-game series. Whoever takes the series will play the winner of the series between No. 3 Mountain Ridge and No. 14 Lone Peak.