ST. GEORGE — The Pine View Panthers swept the Sky View Bobcats in the 4A baseball state tournament’s opening round this weekend, posting an 11-0 victory on Friday and an 11-2 win on Saturday to advance to next week’s round of 16. There, the Panthers will be joining four other Region 9 teams, namely Dixie, Snow Canyon, Desert Hills and Crimson Cliffs, which had first-round byes and therefore didn’t see action during the opening weekend of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, both Cedar and Hurricane were eliminated on the road on Saturday. Following are short recaps of this past weekend’s action and a look ahead to next week’s playoff schedule.

Pine View 11, Sky View 0 | Pine View 11, Sky View 2

In Friday night’s game, the No. 11 seeded Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning, with Andrew Shakespeare’s three-run homer capping off a six-run rally. Shakespeare later scored the game’s final run when he came in from second on a single by Carter Stubbs in the bottom of the fourth. Pitcher Tristen Sylvester then retired the side in the top of the fifth, ending the game due to the mercy rule. Sylvester allowed just two hits over five innings of work, while walking one and striking out three.

On Saturday, No. 21 seeded Sky View scored two runs in the top of the first, capitalizing on a single and a double, followed by an a fielding error. However, Pine View answered with three runs in the bottom of the first, with Kyson Milne’s two-run double tying the game 2-2, after which Sylvester drove in the go-ahead run with a single.

The Panthers then went on to extend their lead by adding three more runs in the second, two more in the fourth and three in the sixth. Pine View finished with 15 hits as a team, with Porter Campbell and Ryan Dewitt leading the way with three hits apiece.

Saturday’s winning pitcher Daxton Chase allowed three hits in four innings of work, while striking out four batters and walking two. Reliever Stubbs picked up the save with by allowing no runs over three innings while striking out four and walking none.

Pine View advances to play at No. 6 Park City in the best-of-three Super Regionals next Thursday and Friday.

Stansbury 14, Cedar 4 | Stansbury 7, Cedar 6

The No. 14 Stansbury Stallions eliminated No. 19 Cedar in a sweep. Although Friday’s game wasn’t close, Saturday’s contest went down to the wire.

Cedar had trailed 6-2 heading into the seventh and final inning but the Reds rallied to score four runs on five hits. Capping off the rally was Colter Bunnell’s single to score Krew Giles to tie the game 6-6. Then, with two out in the bottom of the seventh, Stansbury’s Colton Bryant quashed the Reds’ upset hopes when he hit a game-winning single to center field that scored teammate Xavier Johnson, who’d walked to lead off the inning.

Cedar finished its season with an overall record of 6-21.

Cottonwood 2, Hurricane 0 | Cottonwood 9, Hurricane 8

At Cottonwood, the Hurricane Tigers bounced back from a shutout loss on Friday to score eight runs on eight hits on Saturday. Hurricane had scored six runs in the second inning to build an early 7-0 lead. However, the Colts answered with four runs in the third and two more in the fourth to narrow the deficit.

The Tigers allowed another run in the sixth but still clung to an 8-7 advantage at that point. However, in the bottom of the seventh, the Colts capitalized on three walks and two singles, with Oliver Wayman driving in the game-winning single with the bases loaded and one out.

Hurricane finishes its season with an overall record of 7-15.

Upcoming playoff schedule

Although Cedar and Hurricane were eliminated on Saturday, five Region 9 teams remain alive in the 4A state tournament, including four that had first-round byes. Following is a look at the Super Regional matchups next Thursday and Friday (May 9-10), with the best-of-three series being hosted by the better-seeded schools:

• No. 1 Dixie will host No. 16 Cottonwood.
• No. 2 Snow Canyon will host No. 18 Mountain View.
• No. 4 Desert Hills will host No. 20 Green Canyon.
• No. 7 Crimson Cliffs will host No. 10 Juan Diego Catholic.
• No. 11 Pine View will play at No. 6 Park City.

To view the full bracket, click here.

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