Photos by Jeff Barrett
After completing a stellar season, the Helper Merchants headed to the playoffs. They began the playoffs with a close match-up against Taylorsville on Friday.
Cody Lowe started on the hill for the Merchants and gave up two runs on four hits through four innings. Rylan Hart came in and also gave up two runs on four hits all in one inning. Cayden Steele pitched three innings of relief and gave up four runs on three hits. Ty Anderson and Lowe both went 2-4 with a double while Nathan Richens drove in two and also had a double in the contest.
With the game all tied up after seven innings, the teams went into extras. It was all Taylorsville in the eighth as it went on to win 9-5 and stun Helper.
The Merchants returned to the diamond on Saturday but were not able to bounce back after the extra inning loss from the day before. Herriman shutout Helper and won 6-0. The Merchants only managed two hits in the match.
“We struggled to find a rhythm offensively. It wasn’t our day and our effort and focus wasn’t there,” said head coach Dakota Cisneros. “I think the loss to Taylorsville stunned my guys a little. I didn’t expect us to go two and out in the tourney.”
Although the Merchants were knocked out from the tournament earlier than expected after their terrific season, they should hold their heads up high. Their coach wants them to continue progressing and build on the experiences they had this summer.
Cisneros concluded, “We had a great summer and accomplished a lot. I hope my guys learned enough to make themselves successful in the future and also going into next summer.”
