WEST JORDAN, Utah (Friday, May 10, 2024)— No. 17 Salt Lake needed extra innings and an excellent performance from Taylor Ayala out of the bullpen to beat top-seeded Southern Nevada 9-7 in 11 innings.

With the win, the Bruins advance to the Region 18 championship game on Saturday, May 11. 

Recap
Starters Naun Haro for CSI and Shay Timmer for SLCC controlled the early innings. 

The Coyotes finally got to Timmer in the third inning when the 6'10 redshirt sophomore put two runners on before an RBI double scored Kaiden Smaka from second to take a 1-0 lead. 

Salt Lake responded with a two-run fourth to grab the lead back. Trey Gambill, Ty Johnson, and Easton Romero opened the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles, loading the bases for Garrett Bauer. 

Bauer grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Gambill and put runners at the corners. Kaden Hodson lifted a sac fly to right, bringing Johnson home to give SLCC a 2-1 lead. 

CSN came right back, scoring three runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2 advantage. 

Timmer got pulled after five innings and 95 pitches. The Bingham High School product gave up six hits and four earned runs while striking out four and walking three. 

The Bruins got a run back in the seventh when three walks loaded the bases for a Jake Olsen sac fly that scored Hudson Manwaring. Salt Lake trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh.

SLCC struck again in the eighth, loading the bases with back-to-back singles from Johnson and Romero and a hit-by-pitch from Bauer. Hodson cracked a two-RBI double to left, scoring two and giving the Bruins a 5-4 lead. Two batters later, Devin Garza lifted a sac fly to center that scored Bauer from third and gave his team a two-run lead. 

Southern Nevada wasted no time grabbing the lead back in the bottom half of the inning. Beau Sampson retired the first batter he faced, then issued two walks before an error at short filled the bases. Brady Balldinger then ripped a three-run double to right-center to give the Coyotes a 7-6 lead. 

CSN pitcher Dylan Venturini struggled in the ninth, walking four, including three straight free passes with two outs. The final walk came with the bases loaded, forcing Gambill home with the tying run. 

Brian Uribe replaced Venturini and got Manwaring to ground out to end the inning. Austin Taylor pitched around a single in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings.

After a scoreless tenth, Manwaring ripped a two-run single with the bases juiced to give the Bruins a 9-7 lead.

Taylor retired the first two batters he faced in the 11th, but a single and walk brought the winning run to the plate in the form of Keoni Young. Taylor struck out Young, looking to seal the victory and ticketing the Bruins for the Region 18 championship game. 

Ty Johnson went 4-6 with three runs scored, while Easton Romero and Kaden Hodson had two hits each. Hodson drove in a team-high four runs.

Up Next
The No. 17 Bruins (40-12, 24-10) advance to the Region 18 title game on Saturday, May 11. First pitch is at 1 p.m. 

You can find tickets for all Salt Lake Community College events here. 

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