High school baseball: Syracuse beats Bingham in 6A Super Regionals, advances to bracket play

Survive and advance.

That’s the name of the game this time of year as No. 8 Syracuse hosted No. 9 Bingham in the 6A Super Regionals Friday afternoon.

And that’s exactly what the Titans did.

After coming back in Game 1 for an 8-4 victory Thursday night — led by Tag Hamblin’s two home runs — the two powerhouse programs met again Friday afternoon as part of the three-game series.

With both teams advancing deep into the playoffs last year, Syracuse knew its one-game series lead wasn’t going to be safe and were determined to finish things off in Game 2 so that nothing was left to chance.

Despite getting down early once again, Syracuse battled back and held on for a thrilling 6-3 win in front of the home crowd in the 6A Super Regionals.

“We knew what we had to do and our guys brought that intensity,” said Syracuse head coach Derrick Thomas. “Bingham has an outstanding team, and I told our guys that it’s tough to win two games in a row. But we came in with the mindset that we don’t have another game on the back burner. We played like it was an elimination game and went all in.”

Led by junior Dom Johnatakis, the right-handed pitcher struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run on three hits. Johnatakis wanted to go back out in the seventh inning, but due to the pitch count rule, he had to sit and watch as the Miners nearly came back to tie the game.

“I wanted to go out there so bad, but I also had full confidence in my teammates,” said Johnatakis.

With a 6-1 lead heading into the final inning, Syracuse was well in control. The Titans quickly got two outs thanks to an incredible diving stop by senior shortstop Austin Burton. Some fans started packing up to leave, but the Miners weren’t finished. Dylan Frank smacked a double, Bauer Williams got on with a walk and then Abraham Atencio added a base hit to load the bases. Kam Beck then stepped up with a single into deep left field to bring in two runs and Drew Dabo got on with a walk to reload the bases.

Fans, players and coaches on both sides were on their feet as Cooper Schott stepped up to the plate. The senior took a pitch and drove it to deep center field; however, it wasn’t deep enough as the ball was caught near the warning track to end the game.

“We know Bingham wasn’t going to back down and they fought till the end,” said Johnatakis. “There was some nerves and some pressure at the end, but we are a confident team and we know that we can play with anyone.”

After giving up a run to start the game, Johnatakis got into his groove as Bingham was unable to get much of anything going the rest of the way.

“Dom is a great kind and fun to watch,” said coach Thomas. “He’s a competitor and was phenomenal again for us.”

“My coaches and teammates got me settled in and I got into my groove,” said Johnatakis. “As soon as we tied the game in the bottom of the first, I knew we were going to win the game. Everyone was hitting really well and as a pitcher that’s a huge boost knowing the guys are putting up a bunch of runs.”

Despite losing, Bingham pitcher Austin Wheeler had five strikeouts through three innings and Ian Staley added four strikeouts through three innings. Timely base hits and some wild pitches helped Syracuse make the most of their opportunities in what proved to be the difference.

For the third consecutive year, the Titans advance to bracket play and will take on top-seeded American Fork, which beat Weber by a combined score of 22-1.

The Cavemen are certainly the 6A favorites, but the Titans are ready for the challenge.