Published: May 21, 2025, 11:06 p.m. MDT
Spanish Fork 6, Maple Mountain 5
Spanish Fork punched its ticket to the championship series in much more dramatic fashion, a thrilling extra-innings game against rival Maple Mountain.
The Dons found themselves down early, but just like they did plenty during the last half of the season, they fought back.
They took the lead in the second inning thanks to singles from Pratt Morley, Sammy Dart, Boston Duvall and Nixon Warren. Duvall’s hit scored two runs, and Warren’s scored another.
“It’s just a testament to the fight of our guys. We’re ‘Til the End’ mentality. That’s kind of been our motto all year,” Spanish Fork head coach Hadley Thorpe said.
On the mound, Matai Johnson entered in relief in the first inning and pitched five innings, striking out seven batters.
“We’ve been able to develop our pitching staff and be a lot deeper. Matai has been a stud for us all year long,” Thorpe said. “He’s been a starter all year long, so we knew that we had him in the arsenal. We knew he was going to give us a chance.”
Jason Pintar, just a freshman, hit what would ultimately be the game winning RBI in the top of the eighth inning on a bloop single that was dropped by the Maple Mountain second baseman.
It was Pintar’s second RBI of the game.
Spanish Fork is officially the lowest-seeded team to reach the finals in any classification. While the Dons may be viewed as underdogs, they’ve never seen themselves that way.
Fighting back tears, Coach Thorpe said, “It’s always the goal at Spanish Fork to get into the state championship. I’m just so proud of these guys. Nobody thought we were going to be here besides the 30 guys in that dugout.”
