Spring is in the air as Virgin Valley High School hosted five teams from Utah in their annual Cactus Classic Baseball Tournament.

Prior to the games, Bulldog head coach Justin Goodsell stated, “I have high hopes for a good season this year. We have a disciplined team as we stressed fundamentals, which the kids have taken to a higher degree. Our pitching is strong, led by Degan Shaner and Tray Hughes. We hope to develop a four-man rotation, adding Uriah Pereida and Parker Litzenberger to the mix. Our offense is strong, as Koby Perry and Shaner should lead a good hitting team with the long ball. Hughes and Jordan Goodsell should reach base often during the season.”

The Dawgs began pool play in Group A alongside Duchesne and Carbon County. Group B consisted of Enterprise, San Juan and Bonneville. The Bulldogs faced off against Carbon County on Thursday morning, March 5, destroying the Dinos 16-0 behind grand slams by Koby Perry and Shaner. The Dawgs put up a run in the second inning, two in the second and blew the game wide open with seven runs in the third and six runs in the fourth inning. Hughes, Shaner and Goodsell led the Dawgs with three hits each. Perry and Goodsell had four RBIs each for their effort. Shaner got the win, pitching a shutout over four innings.

Thursday afternoon, the Bulldogs faced a good Duchesne team, coming out with an 8-0 win. Bulldog cleanup hitter Koby Perry led the Dawgs with two long balls out of the park plus 3 RBIs. The Dawgs took a one-run lead in the first inning and added one run in the third, four runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to win easily. The game featured great defense by the Dawgs as Shaner threw out a Duchesne player with a perfect strike from his centerfield position. Pitcher-third baseman Uriah Pereida threw out a Utah player attempting to score from third base to preserve the shutout. Pereida got the win with relief from Krew Perry. The win moved the Dawgs to a semifinal game on Friday against a good-hitting Bonneville High School team.

The Bulldogs had their hands full with the Lakers before rallying late to pull out a 9-5 victory to move on to the championship game on Friday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a three-run lead in the third inning. A single by Perkins, a walk-and-hit batter, loaded the bases. Goodsell brought in two runs on a single and Perry drew a walk, giving the Dawgs a 3-0 advantage after three innings of play.

The Lakers wasted little time taking a 5-3 lead in the top of the fourth inning as they shelled starter Litzenberger. Tray Hughes came on in relief, giving up a single for two runs before shutting down the Laker rally.

Trailing for the first time, the Bulldogs showed their fortitude, rallying for five runs in the bottom of the inning. Litzenberger started the rally with a walk, followed by a Perry single, a walk to Perkins loading the bases for the Dawgs. Hughes was hit by the Laker pitcher, scoring the first run of the rally. Another walk to Shaner scored Perry, tying the game at 5-5.

The Dawgs were not done yet, as Goodsell hit a shot to left field, scoring Perkins. A triple steal led by Hughes added another run before Shaner ended the scoring on a single by Krew Perry. The Dawgs added a single run in the fifth inning for the 9-5 victory.

Hughes got the win in relief. The win moved the Dawgs into the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Carbon County, who advanced through the loser’s bracket.

The Bulldogs had their hands full in the championship return match-up with Carbon County. Degan Shaner took the mound for the Dawgs and shut the Dinos down in the first inning. Bulldog catcher Jordan Goodsell got the Dawgs moving in the first with a double to left field. Courtesy runner K. Overman worked his way around base and scored on a pass ball, giving the Dawgs a 1-0 lead after one.

The Dinos struck for two runs in the top of the third on a homer from Bennett to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. The Dinos increased their lead to 3-1 in the fourth on a walk and double. Third baseman Uriah Pereida started a rally for the Dawgs with his second straight hit of the game. Parker Litzenberger singled in Pereida to cut the Dinos’ lead to 3-2. Malachi Jordan singled to centerfield, bringing the Dawgs in front, 4-3.

The Dawgs’ pitching coach brought Tray Hughes in relief to start the fifth inning. The Dawgs added a run in the bottom of the fifth on a walk single by Perieda, scoring Perry. The Bulldogs were not finished yet, adding four more runs in the sixth inning on two walks and singles by Jordan, Perry, Goodsell and Perieda, giving the Dawgs a 9-4 lead after six innings.

The Dawgs pulled Hughes for Perry to begin the seventh inning. Bennett hit his second homer of the game to make the final score 9-6 in favor of the hometown Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs’ record now stands at 4-1 for the season. The Dawgs host Stansbury High School on Tuesday, March 10. The team travels to Mater Academy the following day and then hosts Parowan on March 12.