ST. GEORGE — It seemed inevitable that the Flyers and Warriors would meet for the 4A state baseball championship.
Dixie (26-3) is the top-seeded team in the tournament. They dispatched Ridgeline, Desert Hills and Bear River by a combined score of 37-14.
Snow Canyon (25-5) is seeded No. 2 in bracket play. They opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over two-time defending champion Crimson Cliffs, then beat Timpanogos in back-to-back contests 3-0 and 2-0.
The Warriors won Region 9 with an 11-1 record while Dixie finished second at 10-2.
The teams traded road wins in their Region 9 series split earlier this season.
The Warriors grounded the Flyers 4-2 at Dixie on April 23, while the Flyers flew across town for a 13-7 win at Snow Canyon on April 26.
Something has got to give.
“No doubt they’re a solid team. But we feel like we have a good team also,” Snow Canyon coach Reed Secrist told St. George News after the Warriors and Flyers booked their championship series for this weekend at Cate Field at Salt Lake Community College.
Secrist leads the Warriors into their fourth consecutive 4A state championship. They won it three years ago and then finished runner-up to Region 9 rival Crimson Cliffs the past two seasons.
“It’s not often that you see the best two teams get to state,” Secrist said. “Often, teams will get knocked off. That’s not going to happen this year.”
Starting pitchers Kyson Goates and Andrew Lyon have been “sensational,” Secrist said, adding that he has a number of “dudes” he can call upon to pitch at any given time.
They’ll be facing a prolific hitting team in Dixie, which pounded out a combined 30 base hits in three tournament games so far.
Against a pitching staff that has tossed shutouts in two of its last three wins.
“Totally opposite things happening in this situation,” Secrist said. “You can score a lot of runs but you’ve got to have the pitching and defense in place too, and that’s something we’ve been working hard on.”
Cate Field has challenging dimensions for both teams.
“There’s a lot of space behind home plate and there’s a lot of space down the lines,” Secrist said. “Balls that would be foul at a lot of places stay fair.”
Secrist said he is looking forward to seeing the play of the catchers in the matchup. The acres of space behind home plate make blocking pitches in the dirt a vital part of situational play.
He called Dixie backstop Ridge Erickson and Snow Canyon catcher Hayden Smith “the best catchers in the state.”
Dixie and Snow Canyon play game one of their 4A state championship series Friday at Cate Field at 7 p.m.
Follow St. George News for complete coverage and stream the game live at The Fan Sports Network with Devon Dixon on the call.
Go to the UHSAA website to see updated brackets from the 4A state tournament.
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