1 / 12

Skyridge players celebrate a 3-1 Region 4 victory against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

2 / 12

Skyridge first baseman Chase Youngberg stretches for a throw during a Region 4 baseball game against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

3 / 12

Lone Peak catcher Ty Evans (right) sits in the dugout between innings of a Region 4 baseball game against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

4 / 12

Skyridge players, including catcher Ty Evans (center), pose for photos with their mothers before the start of a Region 4 baseball game with Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

5 / 12

Ty Evans of Skyridge tags out Lone Peak's Brandon Cathey at second base during a Region 4 baseball game on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

6 / 12

Lone Peak's Kaden Hodson fouls off a pitch during a Region 4 baseball game against Skyridge on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

7 / 12

Lone Peak pitcher Camden Clark (left) shakes hands with catcher Maddox Carter during a Region 4 baseball game against Skyridge on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

8 / 12

Lone Peak's Max Bateman (right) slaps hands with coach Matt Bezzant after hitting a solo home run in a Region 4 baseball game against Skyridge on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

9 / 12

Skyridge first baseman Chase Youngberg takes a throw from catcher Ty Evans after a strikeout in a Region 4 baseball game against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

10 / 12

Skyridge third baseman Tyler Ball looks up for a foul ball during a Region 4 baseball game against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

11 / 12

Skyridge pitcher Mason Thompson delivers a pitch during a Region 4 baseball game against Lone Peak on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

12 / 12

Lone Peak's Crew McChesney calls time during an at bat against Skyridge in a Region 4 baseball game on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Darnell Dickson/Daily Herald

❮ ❯

Skyridge got all the offense it would need in one inning.

Its defense? That showed up all game long.

The Falcons scored all three of their runs in the third inning and made key defensive plays to stay on top, earning a 3-1 Region 4 victory against Lone Peak on Friday to take the three-game series 2-1.

Skyridge, which entered the week as the No. 1 RPI team in Class 6A, won on Tuesday 7-4, only to see the Knights come back with a 9-1 win on Thursday.

“We defended,” Falcons coach Ryan Roberts said. “That was the difference between yesterday and today.”

A pair of Lone Peak errors allowed Skyridge to put up three runs in the third inning, which included an RBI single by Gavin Bauer, for a 3-0 lead.

The rest of the game was a battle between Falcons starter Mason Thompson and Knights starter Camden Clark. Thompson pitched five innings, allowing five hits and striking out five. Isaac Johansen pitched the final two innings in relief to pick up a save. Clark allowed just one earned run and six hits in six innings of work.

Lone Peak (5-7 Region 4, 9-11 overall) scored its only run in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Max Bateman, trimming the deficit to 3-1.

Skyridge first baseman Chase Youngberg was part of two big defensive sequences when Lone Peak threatened.

Lone Peak’s Crew McChesney hit a screamer down the first base line in the top of the fifth that Youngberg knocked down and tossed Johansen to get a key out.

In the top of the seventh, Jethro Johnson singled for Lone Peak to bring the tying run to the plate with no one out. Johansen got Josh Heaton to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, which ended with Youngberg nearly doing the splits to stretch for the throw for the second out.

“Chase was our third baseman and played some shortstop for us going up through the program,” Roberts said. “I love an athletic first baseman and he makes some amazing plays. The play he had on McChesney’s ground ball, that was hit hard. It was a huge play that nobody sees but he knocked the ball down. We got an out at first base on one of the better players in the state and that was a huge play.”

Bateman, the next batter for the Knights, flew out to center field to end the game.

“We’re good at turning it around and forgetting about what we did yesterday,” Youngberg said. “Whenever we do bad, we bounce back, just trying to keep the energy going and doing what we do best. This is just how I thought we’d end up. We’re pretty good. We were flying under the radar earlier in the season and people are starting to realize how good we are.”

Skyridge (10-3 Region 4, 14-5 overall) finishes the regular season with a three-game series against American Fork beginning next Tuesday. The Cavemen (7-5, 13-7) were the No. 3 RPI team in 6A to start the week but surprisingly lost three times to Corner Canyon, forcing a three-way tie for second place in Region 4 with the Chargers and Pleasant Grove.

“American Fork has been the team the last few years and so I know they are going to be ready to play us,” Roberts said. “Some of our players go to church with their players so it’s always fun to play them. They’re always good and they’re coached so well. They play hard. It’s always a crazy week when we play them.”

The Falcons are determined to be playing well heading into the state tournament.

“What’s amazing about this group is we have a lot of older guys that have played a lot,” Roberts said. “They took some lumps last year but they stayed together. They want to win and they have fun together. They compete like crazy.

“Our goal going into the season was to try and get a first round bye and if we can stay in the top eight in RPI we can do that. It would be a huge advantage because it gives us a chance to host games here and we play a lot better on our field.”

Newsletter