Top Dons: Spanish Fork wins back-to-back 5A baseball titles
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- Spanish Fork’s Nixon Warren celebrates the final out of his team’s 8-4 championship win over Maple Mountain. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork players pose for photos following their 8-4 championship win over Maple Mountain on Saturday. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork players hoist the 5A state championship trophy. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate their second-straight 5A state championship. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork’s Trigg Cloward is greeted at home plate after belting a home run during Saturday’s 5A state championship. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork’s watches his home run sail over the left centerfield fence during his team’s 8-4 win over Maple Mountain on Saturday. May 23, 2026
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- Players and coaches dog pile on to the UVU pitching mound following their 8-4 win over Maple Mountain on Saturday. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork players raucously celebrate their second-straight 5A state championship on Saturday. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork’s Matai Johnson holds the 5A state championship trophy after Saturday’s 8-4 win over Maple Mountain
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- Spanish Fork’s Nixon Warren celebrates the final out during Saturday’s 8-4 championship win over Maple Mountain. May 23, 2026
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- Spanish Fork’s Sammy Dart pitches to Maple Mountain during Saturday’s 5A state championship
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- Spanish Fork’s Nixon Warren celebrates with teammates after scoring a run during his team’s 8-4 championship win over Maple Mountain
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- Spanish Fork’s Matai Johnson hits the ball during his team’s 8-4 win over Maple Mountain on Saturday. May 23, 2026
In 2025 Spanish Fork baseball went on perhaps the most improbable run in state tournament history, winning the 5A title as a No. 20 seed. This year, Spanish Fork was No. 1 heading into the playoffs.
Different expectations, same results: The Dons recovered from a Game 2 loss to beat No. 2 Maple Mountain 8-4 in the deciding game at UCCU Ballpark on Saturday.
“Wow, I mean, I’m speechless,” said sophomore catcher Trigg Cloward, who went 3 for 3 with a double, a home run and four RBI in the final.
He wasn’t really speechless.
“This year was completely different,” he said. “I felt like we had to fight even harder, as crazy as that sounds. We had a target on our backs. Last year, we were just playing for fun. This year, I felt like everything was just pressure, but now we got rid of that pressure. Going back-to-back and holding up the trophy with the seniors again, it’s just the best.”
The Dons, who won Game 1 5-4 on Friday night, were held to just one hit in a 3-0 loss to Maple Mountain in Game 2.
“We were super pissed, every single one of us,” Cloward said. “Our coaches said no negativity in the dugout. We were all positive going forward and it turned out good.”
Cloward was 0-for-3 in Game 2 and hit into a double play in the sixth inning.
“In the first game, I struggled pretty badly,” he said. “I had a couple of people tell me to get my hands higher (at the plate) and I moved them higher when I was practice swinging and it felt good. I saw the ball well.”
Head coach Hadley Thorpe said, “With Trigg it’s just a matter of time. In the big moment, Trigg’s the guy we want up to bat.”
Spanish Fork broke out on top early. Junior Nixon Warren doubled to lead off the game and came home on Cloward’s double for a 1-0 lead. Maple Mountain responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo blast from sophomore Jeremiah Hall to tie things up at 1-1.
The Dons scored five times in the top of the third, the key hits a two-run single from junior Sammy Dart and Cloward’s RBI double. That 6-1 lead became 7-1 in the fourth on Cloward’s sacrifice fly.
The Golden Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 7-3 but could get no closer. Cloward put an exclamation point on his big day with a solo home run in the top of the seventh for an 8-3 advantage.
An error allowed Maple Mountain to score one run in the bottom of the seventh but Warren struck out the final batter to end it.
Wow, I mean, nothing beats this feeling,” Warren said. “It’s the greatest feeling ever, especially going back to back. With us 38 guys, it was most unreal. It’s surreal.”
Spanish Fork, which finished the season with a 30-5 record, won the program’s tenth state baseball title.
“It was a whole different expectation,” Thorpe said. “We got everyone’s best shot this year. Last year I felt like we could kind of fly under the radar a little bit. We got hot and just kind of rode vibes throughout the whole tournament. That was kind of our thing. This year we relied on our deep pitching staff and our deep lineup, and these guys came through. When things get tough, our guys play their best.”
Thorpe — who won a state championship as a Dons player in 2009 — couldn’t help but get a little bit emotional reflecting on the journey.
“Spanish Fork baseball means everything to me,” he said. “We pack this place every time we come here. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing on a regular Tuesday at home or we’re here on the big stage, our community shows up. I just hope to keep building on what Coach Shoe (Jim Nelson) and Coach Gub (Casey Nelson) and the guys before us built. We want to put our own spin on things, but we hope to keep adding to the great legacy that is Spanish Fork baseball.”
Game 2
Maple Mountain 3, Spanish Fork 0
Hall was brilliant on the mound in the first game on Saturday, holding the Dons to just one hit and striking out eight to force a third meeting in the series.
The Golden Eagles got all the runs they would need in the bottom of the second on RBI singles from Kye Ward and Nash Ferguson for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, Ferguson doubled and came home on Mitch Walker’s single for a 3-0 advantage.
Spanish Fork managed just a single in the fifth by Boston Duvall against Hall, who overcame three Maple Mountain errors to keep the Dons off the board.
