BASEBALL: Basic plays with fire but tops California opponent

Escape rooms have become a popular activity in recent years.

Basic’s baseball team participated in its own version Saturday afternoon.

The host Wolves wriggled out of trouble on a handful of occasions and came away with a 4-3 victory over Santa Margarita (California).

“Good teams find ways to win. Good teams find ways to make plays,” Basic coach Scott Baker said. “We made a lot of plays today in big spots.”

Basic led 4-1 in the top of the sixth when Derek Park’s fielder’s choice with the bases loaded scored Nic Defazio for Santa Margarita, and Josh Nicoloff lined a run-scoring single that cut the Wolves’ lead to 4-3.

Park made it halfway down the third-base line on the play, but he stumbled putting on the brakes after a strong throw from Basic right fielder C.J. Dornak and was tagged out after a brief rundown to end the threat.

Jack Wold went 3-for-3 with two doubles and drove in two runs for the Wolves (6-1), who were outhit by Santa Margarita 14-7.

“When it comes down to it, execution is key. You have to execute,” Wold said. “You’ve got to do a job, and that’s what we did today. We executed more than they did. They outhit us, but we executed.”

Conner Longrie went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored for the Eagles (4-5). Santa Margarita stranded 12 runners in all and left the bases loaded in the second and fourth innings.

Wold had a run-scoring single in the first after a walk and sacrifice bunt, and two batters later, Trace Evans added a two-out, RBI single to put Basic on top 2-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Christian Rivero led off with a double down the left-field line, and after being sacrificed to third, scored on Kyle Turner’s perfectly placed squeeze bunt.

Wold followed with a run-scoring double to left that gave the Wolves a 4-1 advantage.

Evans went 2-for-2 and got the victory with four innings of relief.

“We’re young right now, so defensively and on the mound, it’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve for us,” Baker said. “We’re going to make some mistakes early on, but I know this group is going to be pretty strong in the end.”

Pleasant Grove (Utah) 9, Shadow Ridge 3 — At St. George, Utah, the Mustangs allowed two early runs and could not complete a comeback as they fell to the Vikings in the Red Rock Classic.

Justin Lee, Dylan Baker and Winnie Springer scored the Mustangs’ runs.

Spanish Fork (Utah) 6, Shadow Ridge 3 — At St. George, Utah, the Mustangs allowed three runs in the fifth inning to give up the lead in a loss to the Dons in the Red Rock Classic.

Trent McGregor went 2-for-2 with two runs scored for the Mustangs, and Dylan Baker went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Laughlin 14, Calvary Chapel 0 — At Mountain View, Diego Trujillo threw a four-inning no-hitter as the Cougars beat the Lions in the Spring Slam.

Trujillo struck out eight and walked three.

Tyrell Gonzalez added a three-run homer for Laughlin.

Bishop’s School 12, The Meadows 4 — At Mountain View, the Knights scored 10 runs in the fourth inning to top the Mustangs in the Spring Slam.

Sam Kaplan doubled for The Meadows.

Lake Mead 11, Pahrump Valley JV 5 — At Mountain View, T.J. Yurek and Logan Sullivan each hit a double to power the Eagles past the Trojans junior varsity in the Spring Slam.

Pahrump Valley JV 8, Laughlin 6 — At Mountain View, the Trojans junior varsity scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to edge the Cougars in the Spring Slam.

Pahranagat Valley 21, Tonopah 7 — At Pahranagat Valley, Asher Haworth went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs and four RBIs as the Panthers topped the Muckers in five innings at the Pahranagat Valley Invitational.

Tabor Maxwell was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, and Duston Stewart went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run for Pahranagat Valley.

Pahranagat Valley 10, Tonopah 0 — At Pahranagat Valley, Tabor Maxwell fired a no-hitter as the Panthers beat the Muckers in five innings in the final game of the Pahranagat Valley Invitational.

Maxwell struck out 12 and walked one.

Ike Taylor went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, and Christian Higbee was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs for Pahranagat Valley.