The Spanish Fork Dons, the top seed in the Class 5A tournament, secured their championship with an 8‑5 victory over Springville in the opening game of a best‑of‑three Super Regional.
The win caps a remarkable turnaround for a squad that entered the tournament as the No. 20 seed a year ago, a run that was built around the simple mantra “Stay where your feet are.”
Key moments that defined the game
Junior Pratt Morley ignited the offense with a two‑run triple that put the Dons ahead early, while Sammy Dart followed with an RBI single that stretched the lead to 4‑0 after two innings.
Springville answered in the third, trimming the deficit to 4‑3, but the Dons responded instantly, adding three more runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to Dart’s clutch hitting that pushed the score to 8‑3.
Dart finished the game 2‑for‑4 with three RBIs, and Nixon Warren contributed two hits and two runs, underscoring the depth of the lineup.
On the mound, Kayden Lambson was dominant, striking out five of the first six batters and finishing with 12 strikeouts, four hits allowed and six innings of solid work.
The community’s passion for the sport was on full display as three Little League games unfolded on adjacent fields while the varsity contest progressed, a testament to the town’s deep baseball culture.
Senior Matai Johnson, who has been a vocal leader throughout the season, said the team feels ready for anyone and is not scared of anybody, a sentiment echoed by teammates Hadley Thorpe, Jackie Sorensen, Kyler Hughes and Preston Hansen.
With a final record of 23‑3, the Dons now turn their attention to the next game of the Super Regional, confident that their best baseball is arriving at just the right moment.