As April turned to May, and a new week began, the Woods Cross baseball team was riding high on an eight-game winning streak. 

At press time, the Wildcats were atop Region 5 with an 8-1 record (14-3 overall). As the state tournament looms, Woods Cross is in a good spot at No. 5 in the RPI rankings. 

Last week was another good one for the Wildcats, as they picked up a three-game sweep over Box Elder. Things certainly didn’t come easy, with all three games being decided by four runs or fewer. Game one, on April 27, saw Woods Cross pull out an 8-4 victory on the road. Six of the team’s eight runs came in innings six and seven, including four in the final at-bat when the Wildcats were up just 4-2. Blake Stanger was the winning pitcher, and he also had a double and an RBI. Jaden Gines had a double, a triple and two RBI to help his squad. 

The next day, playing at home, Woods Cross prevailed 13-10 despite giving up 13 hits. The Wildcats scored four runs in the fifth inning and held off a late Box Elder rally in the seventh. Taylor Ayala had a monster game. The junior belted two home runs and had three RBIs. Dax Weierman added a home run and an RBI. Micah Mortensen batted in three runs of his own. 

On April 30, back at Box Elder, the Wildcats completed the perfect stretch against the Bees with an 11-7 triumph. Dylan Williams had a double and an RBI, with Ayala getting two more RBIs. 

This week’s games were against Bountiful. The first two (Tuesday and Wednesday) took place after our press time. The Wildcats and Braves hook up on Friday at Woods Cross. 

Bountiful/Viewmont

The Braves are keeping pace with Woods Cross, just one game behind in the league standings at 7-2. The Braves are also 14th in the RPI rankings, making this week a huge one for both teams. 

Bountiful had little trouble in any of its three games with Viewmont a week ago. All three contests were decided by at least seven runs. On April 28, Bountiful registered a 7-0 shutout, giving up just four hits in the process. The Braves scored five runs in the first inning alone and got a stellar outing from pitcher Truman Duryea, who got the win. Lincoln Duryea had a double and two RBI. 

From there, the games only got more lopsided between the two schools. On April 29, Bountiful erupted for an impressive 12 runs in the opening inning, sealing the game at that early point for all intents and purposes with a 14-1 win. Dallin Maxwell had a triple and two RBIs, while Truman Duryea had a triple and three RBIs. 

On April 30, the Braves had another good start against Viewmont, scoring five runs in the first inning and three more in the second enroute to a 13-3 victory. The team hit three home runs: one from Charlie Scholz, one from Maxwell, and one from Hunter Esplin. Maxwell also had three RBI. 

Bountiful can overtake Woods Cross for the league lead this week and can also improve its RPI. 

Farmington

The Phoenix shut out Bonneville 11-0 on April 27. The next day, it was Farmington beating the Lakers 13-3, then completed the sweep with an 11-2 win on April 30. Farmington was 5-4 in league play entering this week, and 11-8 overall, currently third in Region 5. 

Davis

The Darts are 8-13 entering the week. They beat Clearfield 7-6 on April 27, lost 15-5 to Fremont on April 28, and dropped a 7-3 loss to Fremont again on April 30. Davis is 4-9 in league play with three games to play this week.