Great pitching and defense gives the Vikings a 10-0 shutout win over Lehi
On a brisk April afternoon, Pleasant Grove junior Brandon Coombs went to the mound for the Vikings and calmly shut out the Lehi Pioneers 10-0 on 44 pitches and no errors. His teammates did their job and he did his. "I've not been helping much with my bat lately, but I can pitch," Coombs said.
The Vikings pounded out 13 hits, including three doubles, one triple and nine singles. Darrin Henry, Pleasant Grove's head coach, said, "We mixed it up a bit today on the batting lineup. We told the players to get to their spots and produce, let's see how we do."
In the bottom of the first inning, Pleasant Grove had the bases loaded with two outs when Viking sophomore Zach Peterson slammed a fast ball to the gap, rolling all the way to the fence, sending all three players home and Peterson at second with a stand-up double.
In the second inning, Pleasant Grove scored 6 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.
Viking sophomore Easton Walker scored the 10th and final run in the third inning. After having already scored twice in the first two innings, Walker opened up the third with a line drive double into left center, then moved to third on a ground-out single and went home on a shot between fielders at first and second by junior Brody Blackhurst.
Pleasant Grove again threatened in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs but failed to score on a ground-out force at second base.
Coombs threw six pitches in the fifth, Lehi's last chance for the game, as the Viking defense pulled a double play and a ground-out to finish.
Coach Henry said, "Coombs doesn't throw, he pitches. He is great on the mound. He went two for three at the plate. I'm happy with his game today."
With the win, the Vikings now have a 2-5 record in region, 10-6 overall, and Lehi stands at 1-6 in region and 4-12 overall. These teams will meet Wednesday afternoon at Lehi High School and will finish their series on Friday, returning to Pleasant Grove for game three.
Kent Allen lives in Pleasant Grove and follows Pleasant Grove High School varsity sports, reporting to Deseret Connect.