By Kyle Goon

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Kearns • The entire Snow Canyon team leapt out of its dugout as Riley Gates struck out his third batter of the seventh inning. Even if it wasn’t the championship game, it sure felt like one.

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The Warriors pulled off perhaps the most unexpected victory of the Class 4A baseball playoffs, toppling defending champion Spanish Fork in a stunning 7-2 win. The Dons’ prized pitching prospect Kayden Porter started on the mound, but the Snow Canyon lineup knocked him around to take an early lead they never surrendered.

Now the Warriors are one win away from a berth in the championship, while Spanish Fork will have to battle back through the losers’ bracket to defend its title. To say the least, it’s a monumental postseason development.

"We’ve been hearing a lot of things about Spanish Fork, and they’re a dang good team, and Porter’s a dang good pitcher," rightfielder Reggie Gates said. "But we were ready for them."

Specifically, Snow Canyon was ready for Porter’s fastballs. Porter was throwing in in the 90-mph range, but his down-the-middle pitches became mincemeat for the Warriors.

Second baseman Elliot Knox hit a 3-run homer in the second inning, to get the team off to a hot start. When Reggie Gates hit another 2-run dinger off Porter, Spanish Fork replaced him with reliever Brady Corless.

"I didn’t see anything but fastballs from [Porter]," Gates said. "When I hit the home run, I just saw it coming inside and turned on it early."

Corless let up one run for the rest of the game, but his performance was overshadowed by a sterling effort from Snow Canyon starter Michael Jensen. The junior held the hard-hitting Dons to only three hits and one run in five innings, and many of the batters simply watched his change-up as Jensen claimed six strikeouts.

"I think when we were warming up, we were thinking this is just another game," Jensen said. "We proved that [Spanish Fork] is just another team."

Riley Gates came in to close out the game in the final two innings, and the Dons did manage to score one more run off him in the sixth. But on Spanish Fork’s last inning at the plate, Gates threw three straight strikeouts to clinch a momentous win.

"I still think they could come through consolation and we could see them again, so they’re still the team to beat," coach Reed Secrest said. "But I think this does say a lot about our team."

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon