Salem Hills edges Maple Mountain 6-5, takes series
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- Aiden Haskell of Salem Hills (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in a Region 9 baseball game at Maple Mountain on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Former Maple Mountain coach Gary Miner (right) shakes hands with Cooper Rollins after throwing out the first pitch before a Region 9 baseball game against Salem Hills on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain’s Corbin Bailey throws a pitch against Salem Hills in a Region 9 baseball game on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Aiden Haskell of Salem Hills (9) slides on safely at home in a Region 9 baseball game against Maple Mountain on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Nolan Miller of Salem Hills delivers a pitch in a Region 9 baseball game at Maple Mountain on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Kason Averett of Salem Hills (10) celebrates with teammates after getting the final out of a 6-5 Region 9 victory against Maple Mountain on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain’s A.J. Thomas drops down a bunt in a Region 9 baseball game against Salem Hills on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain’s Chase Johnston (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in a Region 9 baseball game against Salem Hills on Friday, April 28, 2023.
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- Salem Hills coach Scott Haney (left) shakes hands with Maple Mountain coach Jeremy Thomas before the start of a Region 9 baseball game on Friday, April 28, 2023.
At a crucial moment in a tie game with Maple Mountain on Friday, Salem Hills coach Scott Haney trusted his senior pitcher.
The game was tied at 5-all in the top of the fifth and Haney went out to talk to Nolan Miller. The Golden Eagles had a runner at third with one out and Haney was considering his options.
“I was ready to take Nolan out but he said, ‘I got it, I’ll get it done.'” Haney said. “When your dude tells you that, you’ve got to let him go.”
Miller responded and struck out the next two batters to end the threat. In the top of the seventh, Kam Coburn came through with a two-out RBI single to give Salem Hills the lead and Kasen Averett pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to close out a tense 6-5 victory, giving the Skyhawks a 2-1 win in the series.
Salem Hills won the first game 2-1 on Tuesday and Maple Mountain took Game 2 by a 7-2 score on Thursday.
“Maple Mountain is damn good,” Haney said. “You saw how many pitchers they have. We have some good arms, too, but It was just a fun game and a fun series.”
The Skyhawks got out to an early 3-0 lead. Cayden Hansen’s RBI single keyed a two-run second and Averett drove in a third run in the third.
Maple Mountain pushed across five runs in the bottom of the third on six hits, including doubles from Corbin Bailey and Chase Johnston. Bailey’s hit drove in a pair of runs and gave the Golden Eagles a 5-3 lead.
Salem Hills tied the score in the top of the fourth. Zak Nelson waked with the bases loaded to bring home one run and Miller stroked an RBI double to forge a 5-5 tie, setting up the big finish for the Skyhawks.
In the top of the seventh, Garrett Holt and Cayden Hansen earned walks and Coburn came to the plate with runners at first and second and two outs. Coburn ripped a shot through the hole at shortstop to score Holt with what proved to be the winning run.
Miller, Averett and Coburn all had two hits for Salem Hills (8-1 Region 9, 16-3 overall).
“We have good senior leadership and we just preach to the guys to fight and compete,” Haney said. “We put in some mantras. Most of them didn’t know what a manta was, but they are ‘today’s game day’ and ‘it’s about the process.’ It’s about the process of how we go about becoming a better hitter, a better fielder or a better pitcher. The opponent becomes kind of nameless and faceless. It’s just about working as hard as you can to get better.”
Leadoff hitter A.J. Thomas paced the Golden Eagles (8-4, 12-6) with three hits.
Former Maple Mountain coach Gary Miner, who retired at the end of the 2021 season after 12 years at the helm of the Golden Eagles program, threw out the first pitch before the game. Miner won 196 games in his career and led Maple Mountain to three championship game appearances.
