By Jake Gordon

STAFF WRITER

Jumping on Timpview early with two runs in the first inning and topping off with another four runs in the fifth, the Buffs were able to hold off a late rally for an 8-5 victory.

Matt Medina and Jordan Linnell each led the team with two hits and both came around to score.

Starting quickly Derick Anderson and Matt Gochis each got on base with walks leaving a great scoring opportunity for Steven Witkowski. With a double to the opposite field by Witkowski, Tooele took an early 2-0 lead.

With the early run support Zac Clausing pitched through the first four innings with a shut-out still intact.

With a slim lead in the top of the fifth, Tooele looked to break it wide open. Linnell started off with a single followed up by three consecutive singles by Anderson, Gochis and Clausing. The top of the order really came through for the Buffs, as they tacked on four more runs for 6-0 cushion.

The Timpview bats finally woke up in the sixth inning when Dominique Moe led off with a double and was followed by a base-on-balls by Ben Daniel, who both crossed the plate to cut the Tooele lead to 6-2.

With two outs in the seventh innings it didn't look like Tooele was going to add any insurance runs, but then Stewart Christensen reached base safely with a single. Chisholm Wooley and Cody Lopez followed with two consecutive walks, as Christensen and Wooley came around to score, giving Tooele a 8-2 lead heading into the bottom half.

Timpview did manage three runs in the bottom of the seventh but their comeback bid fell short and to give Tooele the road victory.

Payson 6 - Tooele 4

A rough first inning was all the breaks the Lions would need, as five runs in the bottom of the first was enough to halt Tooele from winning back-to-back road games.

Medina was able to smack two singles in the game while Clausing earned two hits of his own with one of them being a double.

Payson managed to jump out to a five-run lead in the first inning, while only earning one hit. Fielding errors plagued Tooele in the opening frame, digging themselves a five-run deficit after one.

Tooele did start to chip away the next inning. Christensen started things with a single and then Wooley and Mitch Eyre loaded up the bases by drawing base-on-balls. Lead-off man Medina came through with a single, cutting the Payson lead 5-2.

After three consecutive scoreless innings, Tooele got back into their scoring ways. With two runners on Gochis nailed a double to bring in two more runs only leaving the Lions up by a run.

After Payson added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, they subsequently shut down Tooele in the top of the seventh to hold on the victory.

jgordon@tooeletranscript.com