By Josh McFadden | [email protected]

Ranked No. 1 much of the year by some local publications, the Bingham High School baseball team got off to a good start at the Class 6A state tournament.

In the double-elimination playoffs, Bingham, the top-seeded team from Region 4, opened up with a pair of victories. The good start to the postseason shouldn’t be surprising considering Bingham lost just four games to Utah foes all season long.

The Miners opened the state tournament on May 15 with a dominant 11-1 victory over Weber, the fourth seed from Region 1. Bingham accumulated 12 hits and allowed just five in the win. The Miners used a big fifth inning to pull away from Weber, turning a slim 2-1 advantage into a comfortable 7-1 lead. The Miners scored three runs in the sixth inning to go up by 10 runs, ending the game. Noah Wallick hit a double and a triple, while teammate Nick Stevens also hit a triple. Nick Daynes and Nick Burdette hit doubles as well. Senior Ethan Fowlks was the winning pitcher. It was his third victory of the season.

The following day, Bingham stayed in the winner’s bracket with another convincing win. This one came over former region rival Copper Hills by the count of 15-1. This one was extra special because Copper Hills defeated Bingham 8-6 back on March 20.

It was also over in a hurry.

The Miners wasted little time jumping all over the Grizzlies. Bingham was hot from the start, amassing an eye-popping 11 runs in the first inning. The Miners added four more in the second inning, which was far more than they’d need the rest of the way. Because of the mercy rule, the game was in the books by the end of the fifth inning. Bingham had 13 hits to Copper Hills’ three. Senior Derek Soffe was big from the plate and the mound. He hit a double and also got credit for the victory as pitcher. Camden Snarr and Brandon Thomas also hit doubles.

With the second-round win, Bingham moved on to face Region 1 champion Davis in the quarterfinals on May 21. Results were unavailable at press time.

The Miners didn’t go up against slouches in Region 4, but they still went an impressive 10-2 in league play, good enough for first place. They were a game ahead of second-place American Fork, which gave Bingham one of its two league losses (Lone Peak was the other).

Bingham had success in the field and at the plate in region games. The Miners allowed just 42 runs in 12 region contests and tallied 73. Meanwhile, they gave up more than four runs just twice in region games.

This was Bingham’s second consecutive region title, having won the Region 3 championship a year ago.