4A state championship: Crimson Cliffs wins state title with 6-0 win over Snow Canyon

Beau Sampson shut down the Snow Canyon offense, allowing just two hits over six innings, as the Crimson Cliffs Mustangs captured their first state title in program history with a 6-0 win over the Warriors Saturday afternoon at Dixie State University.

Sampson got out of a first-inning jam on a dazzling double play turned by shortstop Petey Soto.

With runners on first and second, Sampson got a ground ball up the middle, and Soto dove to his left, tagged second and fired to first to complete the play and keep the game scoreless.

A pair of walks turned out to be fruitless for Snow Canyon in the second inning.

From then on, Sampson was lights out.

“Just confidence, taking deep breaths, and seeing my teammates make plays behind me doing everything and my offense getting some runs, I knew it was the day,” Sampson said.

The junior left-hander retired nine of his next 11 batters to get into the sixth inning.

In his final inning, Sampson worked around a walk and an error to get Sam Lindsey to ground out to second and close the book.

“He’s a gamer,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Justin Abbott. “He’s an absolute gamer. He was ready for the moment and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

While Sampson quieted the loud Warrior bats, the Mustang offense continued to stay hot.

A Ty Maynard single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first got Crimson Cliffs on the board early.

Walks to Tate Maynard and Logan West scored two more in the inning.

Crimson Cliffs added runs in the second and fourth innings on a Trey Evans single and a Tate Maynard walk.

Evans finished 4A bracket play with three home runs and 16 RBIs in five games.

“Just a lot of confidence and knowing that my teammates in the dugout have my back and that we could get the job done,” said Evans.

The gem from Sampson is the second time this year he dominated Snow Canyon.

Sampson pitched 4.1 innings, striking out six and only allowing one run in a 7-1 Mustangs win over the Warriors on March 29.

“Just like I did in region,” Sampson said. “Shut them down and I felt I could do it again. I had all the confidence in the world, and it felt great.

Aaron Morris closed out the championship for Crimson Cliffs, getting two strikeouts before Crew Secrist grounded out to first for the final out.

It’s been a sharp rise for the Mustangs since their first year as a program.

In 2020, Crimson Cliffs played just seven games before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the season down.

The 2021 season ended in a first-round loss to Bear River.

In year three, the Mustangs are 4A champions.

“Those guys have been here. Jayz Estridge, Logan West, Zach (Andrus), and Canyon (Kutch) came in as a sophomore, but they set the bar really high,” said Abbott. “Those juniors who are going to be seniors next year have got to go do it again… They’re a culture-building team and they love each other. They really do.”

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: 4A baseball: Crimson Cliffs wins championship over Snow Canyon