High school sports: Anderson wins Mr. Baseball, Evans is Deseret News' Player of the Year

Sean Ellertson, St. George Spectrum & Daily News
·4 min read
Beau Sampson pitched six innings of scoreless baseball to clinch the state title for Crimson Cliffs, and was named Playoff MVP for his performance.
Beau Sampson pitched six innings of scoreless baseball to clinch the state title for Crimson Cliffs, and was named Playoff MVP for his performance.

Region 10 claimed all three major 4A baseball awards that were released on Wednesday morning by Deseret News.

Snow Canyon’s Luke Anderson was named Mr. Baseball, while Crimson Cliffs’ Trey Evans won Player of the Year, and Beau Sampson won Playoff MVP.

Anderson was named Utah’s Gatorade Player of the Year on June 3rd and was also named Region 10 MVP.

Luke Anderson added 4A Mr. Baseball to his collection of awards from his 2022 season.
Luke Anderson added 4A Mr. Baseball to his collection of awards from his 2022 season.

The BYU commit slashed .562/.676/1.010 with six home runs and 47 RBIs and led the Warriors to the runner-up spot in the 4A state tournament.

Evans hit .476 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs as a sophomore for the state champions.

Sampson was lights-out in the 4A title-clinching game for Crimson Cliffs.

The left hander went six innings of two-hit baseball, shutting down a red-hot Warrior offense in a 6-0 win for the Mustangs.

Sampson struck out six over five innings while allowing just one run in a 16-2 win against Pine View earlier in the state tournament.

Trey Evans was named Deseret News' 4A Player of the Year.
Trey Evans was named Deseret News' 4A Player of the Year.

Also among the state champions on the First Team was junior shortstop Petey Soto.

Soto hit .300 for Crimson Cliffs and scored 37, acting as a catalyst at the top of the order.

Jake Johnson and Logan Mendenhall joined their fellow Snow Canyon Warrior on the First Team.

Mendenhall hit .436 and had 23 RBIs and 43 runs scored moving up and down the Warrior lineup.

Logan Mendenhall earned 4A First Team honors after being a valuable piece for the 4A runner-ups.
Logan Mendenhall earned 4A First Team honors after being a valuable piece for the 4A runner-ups.

Johnson hit .417 and knocked in 28 while spending most of his time at third base and on the mound.

On the bump, Johnson had five wins in ten appearances.

GJ Erickson was the lone First Team selection for top-seeded Dixie.

Erickson was a key two-way player for Dixie, going 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA and three saves for Dixie. In 28.2 innings, Erickson punched out 39.

At the plate, Erickson hit .439 and had 28 RBIs.

Brock Roundy and Luke Iverson of Pine View also earned First Team spots.

Roundy went 7-2 on the mound with a 1.80 ERA and 80 strikeouts as one of the top arms in Region 10.

His battery-mate in Iverson hit .333 and belted four home runs and had 19 RBIs for the Panthers.

Payton Gubler and Cole DeCastro were the two Desert Hills Thunder representatives on the First Team.

Gubler recorded 99 strikeouts in 48.1 IP with a 2.16 ERA. Gubler only walked 20 on the mound. Gubler also hit seven home runs at the plate.

DeCastro set the table for Desert Hills hitting .478 and scoring 23 runs.

Payton Gubler was a two-way force for Desert Hills in 2022, striking out 90 batters and hitting seven home runs.
Payton Gubler was a two-way force for Desert Hills in 2022, striking out 90 batters and hitting seven home runs.

4A First Team

  • Zack Geertsen, Green Canyon

  • Payton Gubler, Desert Hills

  • Cole DeCastro, Desert Hills

  • Brock Roundy, Pine View

  • Beau Sampson, Crimson Cliffs

  • Hunter Harrow, Bear River

  • Logan Mendenhall, Snow Canyon

  • Marshall Hansen, Ridgeline

  • Garrison Marble, Bear River

  • Luke Iverson, Pine View

  • Jake Johnson, Snow Canyon

  • GJ Erickson, Dixie

  • Trey Purser, Ridgeline

  • Petey Soto, Crimson Cliffs

4A Second Team

  • Brex Starley, Crimson Cliffs

  • Brandon Roundy, Pine View

  • Malcolm Bartholomew, Dixie

  • Cayson Bell, Dixie

  • Hunter Smoot, Bear River

  • Isaac Lyon, Snow Canyon

  • Sam Lindsey, Snow Canyon

  • Ashton Harrow, Bear River

  • Boston Vest, Dixie

  • Nathan Rowley, Mountain Crest

  • Ryker Ericson, Green Canyon

  • Jayz Estridge, Crimson Cliffs

  • Karson Irvin, Desert Hills

4A Honorable Mention

  • Kason Crandall, Cedar

  • Cole Watterson, Sky View

  • Ridge Erickson, Dixie

  • Shea Anderson, Dixie

  • Canyon Kutch, Crimson Cliffs

  • Grant Scholzen, Hurricane

  • Logan Leavitt, Dixie

  • Jaiven Ross, Crimson Cliffs

  • Davis Fullmer, Ridgeline

  • Logan West, Crimson Cliffs

  • Braxton Torres, Cedar

  • Andrew Shakespeare

  • Colemann Bobb, Green Canyon

  • Jayger Baldwin, Crimson Cliffs

2A

Parowan’s Shaydon Benson was named Deseret News’ 2A Player of the Year.

The Utah Tech commit was a two-way force for the Rams, batting .530 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs at the plate.

On the mound, the 6’6” left hander went 6-3 on the mound, striking out 91 batters in just 43.2 IP.

Benson allowed just 13 earned runs on his way to a 2.24 ERA and held opponents to a .119 batting average.

In his final four outings, Benson struck out a combined 50 batters in 20.1 innings.

Benson pitched 4.2 innings and recorded all 14 outs by strikeout on May 7th against San Juan in a 9-7 win for the Rams.

Benson threw five innings of no-hit baseball against Enterprise in the 2A State Tournament, striking out 12 in an 11-0 win.

Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Anderson wins Mr. Baseball, Evans takes home 4A Player of the Year