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Show Thursday, March 6, 2008 Page 8 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN SCOREBOARD Results Softball fiesutt Opponent Lost 1-7 Hunter DH 304 Upcoming games Boys basketball Data Opponent Tim 311 UC all-stars fflTimpvtew 6.8 p.m. Baseball Data Opponent Time 3U6 Copper Hills 3 30 p.m. Softball Data Opponent TInw 306 West Jordan 3:30 p m. 37-8 0 St Gewge Invitational T8A Boys soccer Data Opponent Time 307 Payson 3:30 p.m. F soccer to open up year at home against Payson Dean Von Memmott SPORTS CORRESPONDENT The American Fork soccer team is opening the 2008 season against the Payson Lions at home this Friday. For the season opener, the Cavemen Cave-men are going to have six starters back from last year's team, which was the first one to represent American Ameri-can Fork at state in 15 years. "We have only three seniors on this year's team," said American Fork coach Chile Barkley. "They are Chantry Hendry, Adrian Guerrero and Francisco Garay. "We're not going to have any permanent captains until region. We want to see how our players perform out on the field before deciding which of them will be our captains for the rest of the season." Barkley said most of this year's Caveman team comprises of juniors and sophomores. "Some of our ju Baseball Continued from Page 7 Gentry Mitchell, along with shortstop Brock Duke and second baseman Tyler Hanks. But what makes this Dons team unique is their pitching , depth. Both Brock and Adam Duke were bothered by injuries last year but now appear to be healthy. The staff continues with amazing arms. Hanks and Devin Nelson have both topped 90 miles an hour with their fastball. Selby Brummett has come on strong and Tyler Duffin could be an ace on another an-other team. "I think we have more pitching pitch-ing depth, but their top two pitchers can match up with anyone," any-one," said Spanish Fork coach Jim Nelson. "I thought Gentry Croft was much improved and Nelson stepped up last year. They have two No. 1 guys and they have a lot of guys returning, return-ing, just like we do." Just because Spanish Fork and Timpanogos have been picked first, don't think American Ameri-can Fork is okay with the preseason pre-season predictions. The Cavemen have been the surprise team of the region for the last three years. Just look at last year for evidence. The Cavemen were picked fourth and finished in a three-way tie for the region title. No one is talking about Lone Peak, Pleasant Grove and Lehi as title contenders, but in what is generally believed to be the toughest baseball region in the state, just getting to the state tournament will be a major accomplishment. ac-complishment. Last year Pleasant Grove was picked to win the region. The Vikings finished last and missed out on the playoffs. With that in mind, will there be a surprise team this year or will the region go as predicted? pre-dicted? Here's a closer look at Region Re-gion 4 (in predicted order of finish): It's a great time to buy a home or refinance your current mortgage. Let us help you take advantage of these LOW rates. Call us at 222-9006. orem $ pleasant alpine grove American Fork softball falters in season opener Dean Von Memmott SPORTS CORRESPONDENT The American Fork softball team opened their 2008 season with a road loss in West Valley Val-ley City Tuesday afternoon as Hunter prevailed 7-1 in the preseason opener. Through the course of the chilly afternoon, Hunter pitcher Saphina Butler struck out 13 batters and gave up only one hit. American Fork coach Duke Sorensen said, "Our defense was mostly great. We showed first -game jitters, though, and we made a few costly errors. Our batting was our biggest They have improved a lot since last year's state tournament. They know how to play under the pressure of state tournament action. They know it's more intense than the action of a region game." AF boys soccer coach Chile Barkley ON HIS JUNIOR CLASS niors this year played as sophomores on the varsity team," the coach pointed out. "They also gained a lot of experience through playing junior varsity games. "They have improved a lot since last year's state tournament," the i ' .. t,i, a) .. ... . .. FILENorth County American Fork's Josh Mooney, who went 3-1 last year, is expected to be one of the Cavemen's top pitchers this season. 1. SPANISH FORK If pitching wins championships champion-ships then go ahead and order the rings. Brock Duke, Adam Duke, Devin Nelson. The list goes on and on. Tyler Hanks, Selby Brummett, and Tyler Duffin. If there is a better overall pitching staff than Spanish Fork in the state, it's at BYU. Adam Duke, a sophomore returns after posting a 7-2 record re-cord with a 3.21 ERA last year. He'll be joined by his older brother in Brock Duke (44, 3.40 ERA) and Devin Nelson (4-0) who all pitched well last year. There are still some question marks. How good will the offense of-fense be? Gentry Mitchell returns re-turns as the team's best hitter (.433) last year. The team does have plenty of pop back. Brock Duke (.388), Michael Haynes (.355) and Hanks (.398) make for a productive lineup, but run support still figures to be this team's biggest challenge. The hope must rest with big seasons from guys like Michael Mi-chael Ward, Kirt Daley and the combination of Taggert Lunc-eford, Lunc-eford, Dallas Smith and Cade Christensen. Coach Jim Nelson 24th year Assistant coaches whites Nelson, Calvin Voud, Brian Dudley, Alan Clark Ryan Chambers PROJECTED ROTATION J. Adam Duke; 2. Brock Duke; 3. Devin Nelson; 4. Tyler WfesterrTkla Community Bank 7 Life's needs. Lite's bank." WRSrr.NNCOMMUMITVaAMK.COM i.i-t-tiV- I rewind problem. We've got to hit the ball if we expect to win games." In the top of the first, Butler But-ler struck out one batter and caused another two to ground out before American Fork could pick up a run. Wolverine leadoff hitter Des Hoffman got on base through an error in the bottom of the first. American Fork didn't let the Wolverines capitalize on the mistake. A Butler single coach said. "They know how to play under the pressure of state tournament tourna-ment action. They know it's more intense than the action of a region game." Barkley said American Fork will play five exhibition games before Hanks; 5. Selby Brummett; 6. Tyler Duffin PROJECTED LINEUP 1B - Selby BrummetVCade ChristensenDevtn Nelson; 28 - Kirt DaleyShaun Peterson; 3B - Tyler Hanks SS Brock Duke; C- Taggert LuncefordDallas Smith Chnstensen; OF - Gentry Mitchell; OF - Damon Ward; OF - Michael Haynes 2. Timpanogos At Timpanogos, the talk is about doing it again. The team won state titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005. The T'Wolves are poised to strike again. What makes Timpanogos believe this is the year? The pitching is good and the hitting is exceptional. The combination has the team excited for the season. The T'Wolves feature last year's Valley MVP in Bret Lopez, who hit .450 with seven home runs. The hitting lineup includes, Rhett Nelson (.362), Taylor Lyons (.360) and Grant Jimenez, who is coming off a shoulder injury he suffered in football, but could lead the team in hitting. Big things are expected trom first baseman Jordan Mehlhoff along with a pair of returning starters in catcher Mitch Foster and second sec-ond baseman Jordan Cooper. Timpanogos will also look for Christian Stewart, Kellen McWhorter and Christian Turley to round out an offense that figures to be as dangerous as any in the state. The pitching staff features senior Gentry Croft (4-2 last year) along with Nelson, a junior, ju-nior, who was 4-2, with a 2.27 ERA last season. The T'Wolves can use Tanner Wolfe as a spot starter. The junior lefty gives opponents another look. Lyons could work as the team's late inning guy. He can baffle teams for a few innings with his curveball. The staff got a boost with the addition of move-in Devin Olson from Bingham that Timpanogos hopes gives it the pitching to match that of Spanish Fork. Coach Kim Nelson, 26th year At slatant coaches; John Botterofl, Vic Valdez, Mark Sperry, Scott Heaps PROJECTED ROTATION 1. Gentry Croft; 2. Rhett Nelson; 3, Taylor Lyons; 4. Tanner Wolfe; 5. Devin Olson PROJECTED LINEUP 1 B Jordan Mehlhoff; 2B Jordan Cooper; 38 Rhett NelsonChristian Stewart; SS Bret Lopez; C Mitch accidentally hit Hoffman in the foot, causing her to be called out, ending the inning. American Fork almost got onto the scoreboard first in the top of the second. On one out, Butler walked Haley Holmstead and Cydne Mason, but then got a groundout and a strikeout to retire the side. On the second pitch in the bottom of the second, Meranda Wood hit a solo homer off pitcher Kayla Sorensen. On two outs, Hoffman doubled in another an-other two runs to leave Hunter with a 3-0 lead at the end of the inning. On two outs in the third's top half, Amy Krommenhoek got Foster; Of - Taylor Lyons; OF - Christian Stewart; OF -Kellan McWhorterChnstian Turley; OH - Grant Jimenez 3. Am. Fork Armed with big bats, American Ameri-can Fork is prepared to do it again exceed expectations. The Cavemen are used to being written off before the season starts, so don't be surprised if the tri-region champs from last year meddle their way into the region title mix. The offense should be one of the most feared in the state. This team could have six of its nine batters hit .350 or higher. Second baseman Andy Lewis Lew-is had a breakout season last year by hitting .454. Shortstop Jake Murphy returns after hitting hit-ting .402. The returning starters start-ers who hit over .350 include Josh Mooney (.390) and Gentry Haws (.372). The offense should continue to produce with outfielder Tanner Tan-ner Christensen and Hillcrest transfer Bo Fisher behind the dish. Nate Pitcher and Stewart Stew-art Deursch could be the wild cards in the lineup. If they get " hot, this team could bat around more than once. The big question in American Ameri-can Fork is pitching. The Cavemen are out to prove their pitching is better than people think. Are Mooney, Haws and Randy Searle good enough to help this team win a region title? Mooney, a junior, was 3-1 last year. Haws pitched mostly in relief and Searle spent most of last season pitching on the JV level. Another arm to watch out for is sophomore Taylor Tonks. Murphy believes the staff will be good enough to keep the Cavemen in contention. "Everyone says pitching is going to be our big question mark, but I think our pitching will surprise some people and with our offense we'll be pretty good," Murphy said. "I think we go in every year looking to win it. Last year everyone was picking us fourth or fifth and we came out and beat PG. With our mindset, we should come out and do everything we can do take region." Coach: Jarod Ingersoll, 6th season Assistant conchas: Jay Holmstead, Rick Lyman, Eric Olsen, Dale Murphy, Jake Fisher. Glen Taylor PROJECTED ROTATION 1 Josh Mooney; 2. Gentry Haws; 3. Randy Searle; 4. Taylor Tonks PROJECTED LINEUP IB Jake PerryJosh Mooney; 28 Andy Lewis; 38 Nale PitcherStewart Deursch; SS Jake Murphy; C- o Fischer; OF Gentry HawsScott LaFrandl; OF Tanner Christensen; OF Josh MooneyRandy Searle 4. Lone Peak New coach Mike La Har-goue Har-goue takes over for former coach Danny Schoonover in what looks to be a year of transition. The Knights return three starters in shortstop Brennan Holmstead, pitcherIB Daniel Sechrest, and outfielder Kade on base through a center-field error, only to see Butler retire the next hitter. Pitcher Sorensen kept the Wolverines from capitalizing on a twoout single Wood hit in the bottom of the third. The pitcher caused Shelby Almond to ground out to shortstop Shelby Swapp. The next inning, Butler again walked Holmstead and Mason on one out. After Mason Ma-son got picked off at first, second sec-ond baseman Catalin Elesen got a groundout to end the inning. During the fourth's bottom half, the Wolverines picked up two runs on an error and a Da-ranna Da-ranna Jenkins single. they go into region play a few weeks from now. Just because longtime powerhouse Mountain View got moved from Region 4 into Region 7 doesn't mean the Cavemen's league is going to be any easier for them to play in. Region 4 still has strong teams like the Lone Peak Knights, Timpanogos Timberwolves, Pleasant Grove Vikings, Vi-kings, Lehi Pioneers and Spanish Fork Dons. Through the closing days of this February, Barkley staged a few afternoons after-noons of tryouts. The coach said, "We had 62 guys try out. We kept 32 of them. Fourteen of them will be playing play-ing varsity and the other 18 junior varsity." RLENorth County American Fork's Chantry Hendry, left, is one of three seniors on this year's Caveman team. Andrus from last year's team that made the playoffs as the fourth seed. This year there are a lot of questions marks surrounding this team as La Hargoue tries to figure out who will play and where. For starters, Lone Peak needs Sechrest, who was 3-2 last year, to emerge as the ace. Behind Sechrest, the hope is Jared Christensen, Brian Nielson and Ryan Stephan " are good enough to keep the Knights competitive. There are as many questions on offense as there are on the pitching staff. La Hargoue isn't sure who is going to catch. Third base could go to sophomore sopho-more Dillon Robinson, who has the potential to be one of the surprise players of the region. The team needs a big year from Holmstead and second baseman Matt Williams. Adam Kelsch, who has been battling bat-tling a back injury, could play first. The outfield is unsettled around Andrus, who slugged t six home runs last year. Likely early candidates include Chase Cook, Nielson, and Jacob Hannemann. It may take Lone Peak some time to figure things out, but watch for the Knights to come on strong near the end of the year. Coach Mike La Hargoue. 1st year Assistant coaches: Gary Daniels. Brandon Deveraux, Deon Bezzant, Ben Savior. Sean Stephan, Clint Green PROJECTED ROTATION 1 . Daniel Sechrest; 2. Jared Christensen; 3. Brian Nielson; 4. Ryan Stephan PROJECTED LINEUP 1B Adam Kelsch; 28 - Matt Williams; 38 - Dillon Robinson; SS Biennan Holmstead; C - Kolton Palmer Brayden MalhesonZane Mendenhall: OF - Brian Nielson; OF Kade Andrus, OF - Chase CookJacob Hannemann 5. Fl. Grove No team has more question marks heading into this season sea-son than Pleasant Grove. The Vikings return just one starter from last year in pitcher IB Riley White. With all expectations off, can the Vikings be the surprise team of the region? The pitching may be un-proven, un-proven, but there are a lot of options behind White, who anchors an-chors the rotation as the No. 1 starter. White was 5-2 last year with a 3.35 ERA and was the team's best pitcher. Adam Nielson pitched a , handful of innings out of the bullpen last year and could become be-come the team's second starter, start-er, but he is a basketball player and it could take him time to get his arm into shape. Aaron Neuenswander looks to be in line for the bulk of the innings. Other options for coach Ryan Hall include Calder Bonnett, Quade Frampton and Nate Hardman. How well those pitchers throw could determine if the Vikings can sneak into the playoffs. The offense is as big of a mystery as the pitching staff An American Fork error in the fifth allowed the Wolverines to score their final two runs. In the top of the sixth, Butler But-ler finally lost her chance for throwing a no-hitter. On one out, Mallory Davis got on base through an error at first. After Butler had struck out one batter, bat-ter, Mason singled Davis in, only to get tossed out at second sec-ond while trying to turn the hit into a double. American Fork kept the Wolverines from capitalizing on singles hit by Hoffman and Jenkins in the bottom of the sixth. Hunter retaliated by keeping American Fork in check in the seventh. ... ll " is. White hit .417 last year, but no one else had more than six at-bats. Last year Pleasant Grove was picked to win the region, but didn't make the playoffs. This year no one is expecting a playoff berth, which just might help these young Vikings become the surprise team in Region 4. Coach: Ryan Hall, 5th season Assistant coaehar Damn Henry, Nate Duvall, Brian Belliston, Scotty Halls PROJECTED ROTATION 1 . Riley White; 2. Adam Nielson; 3. Aaron Neuenswander; 4. Calder Bonnett; 5. Quade Frampton; 6. Nate Hardman PROJECTED LINEUP IB Brian Schonbeck; 2B - Reagan WalkerCJ. Cardon; 38 - Calder BonnettColby Croft; SS - Riley WhiteAaron Neuenswander: C - Sean StevensorvColby Croft; OF - Chandler MaxtieldJordan Edwards; OF - Ouade Frampton; OF - Adam Nielson 6. Lehi People may argue about who the team to beat is in the region, but there seems to be a consensus about who is last. Lehi. Lehi's football team finished last in Region 4. The basketball team finished last. Now the baseball team is projected to be last. Growing pains. It's been tough enough for Lehi to make the leap to 5A, but the Pioneers have had the bad luck of joining the toughest tough-est region in 5A. The hope for Lehi is the Pioneers can sneak in the playoffs. That may not seem so far fetched. Lehi opened up the season with a 13-3 win over Timpview where Josh Swen-son Swen-son picked up his first win of the year. Last year Swenson was 5-2, with a 3. 19 ERA. He should keep this team in games when he throws, but that means Derek Der-ek Hermansen, Zac Petersen, CynJon Longman and Trevor Anderson must kept opposing teams from putting together big innings. The offense will also be on the spot as they are tested against better pitching. Swenson Sw-enson drove in 20 runs last year. Brandon Healey will also be counted on to drive in runs and keep opposing teams from running. His pop time of 1.8 should keep runners close to the bag. The outfield that includes Ed Day, Zac Petersen, Tanner Martin and Derek Golightly is capable of doing its part to help the Pioneers put together big innings. A few wins in this region would be a success. A playoff berth would qualify coach Patrick Pat-rick Cleaves as a Coach of the Year candidate. Coach: Patrick Cleaves, 3rd season Assistant coaches Pal Day, Jason Flinders, Brady Rowley, Christian Smith. Justin Harrison PROJECTED ROTATION 1Josh Swenson, 2. Derek Hermansen; 3. Zac Petersen; 4. CynJon Longman; 5 Trevor Anderson PROJECTED LINEUP 18 Trevor Anderson; 28 CynJon LogmanDerek Hermansen; SS Josh Swenson: 38 - Brandon Anderson; C- Brandon Healey; OF Ed Day OF Zac Peteisen; OF - Tanner MartinDerek Gollghily |