Orem • The celebration was at a minimum.

Jordan's baseball team bounced off the field at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, giddy after its 12-11 win over Region 4 rival Lone Peak. In the consolation bracket, the Beetdiggers survived, and Lone Peak went home.

They stood still beyond the pitcher's mound, absorbing the news that Benny Gonzalez, the 22-year-old brother of second baseman Brady Gonzales, had taken a turn for the worse. The man has had complications from surgery for stomach ulcers. His liver and lungs are failing, and no level of joy from Jordan's victory can heal the actual hole in his heart.

"It's just going to give us more strength to play harder," center fielder Alex Fife said. Fife hit the game-winning single for the Beetdiggers in the top of the eighth inning, giving Jordan a result it spent most of the extra-innings game watching slip away.

The Beetdiggers trailed 7-2 in the fifth inning, and 11-7 going into the seventh. Then, Lone Peak, the defending 5A champions, began to fall apart. There were walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch. The latter gave Jordan its fourth run — the tying run — after it could muster just two hits.

With rarely used relief pitcher Tilton Turner mowing down the Knights and keeping the defending state champs off the board for three innings, all it took was Fife's looping hit.

Fife was as unlikely a hero as Turner. He is relegated to the No. 9 hole in Jordan's lineup.

"I like to think of it as the second leadoff," he said proudly.

Then, Fife ran to join his team in the center of the infield. But instead of jumping and whooping and hugging and crying, there was only hugging and crying.

Brady Gonzales emerged last from the team's huddle, hat pulled low, jersey untucked, with sunglasses on. Jordan coach Ron Anderson hugged him, patted him three hard times on the cheek.

The Beetdiggers promised in earlier rounds that they were dedicating the rest of the tournament to Benny Gonzales. Anderson reiterated that Thursday night.

The Beetdiggers have tried in recent day to learn from Benny Gonzales and, perhaps, be more like him. Thursday night, in one very real way, they were.

"He's a fighter," Anderson said.

boram@sltrib.com

Twitter: @oramb

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