This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
OREM - It wasn't expected to be this easy. They never thought it would be this simple.
And that's because simple is something that's never associated with state championships, especially the second time around. But, for the Gunnison Bulldogs, Saturday morning's Class 2A state title baseball game brought the unexpected. And the unexpected was one of the most lopsided wins of the year in the most important game of the season.
By winning 10-0 over Richfield at Utah Valley State College, Gunnison became state champs for the second consecutive season. In doing so, it ended a game that was expected to be close until the final at-bat in the top of the fifth inning.
They obviously did it with offense, which is to say they scored nine runs in the bottom of the third inning. They also did it behind the rubber arm of Kevin Nay, the reigning Class 2A Most Valuable Player.
"Kevin's been the man for us," Bulldogs coach Jared Anderson said. "He's the MVP, he's our MVP. He makes our team go. Without him, our team doesn't function."
Nay, who threw a one-hitter on Thursday afternoon against South Sevier, was once again brilliant. Throwing on one day of rest, Nay tossed a three hitter while striking out five and walking just two in 4 2/3 innings. He was seldom challenged, and once he was afforded run support, he simply shut down the Wildcats.
"I felt great out there even though I was pitching on one day of rest," Nay said. "I felt really good, I felt really strong and I was ready to go from the start."
Gunnison threatened to score in the each of the first two innings. And even though they left two on base in the first inning and left the bases loaded in the second inning, there was an inevitable feeling around Brent Brown Ballpark that the Bulldogs were due to break through at some point.
Gunnison began the third inning with successive singles from Max Sanders and Nay. Nay was brought home by a Jace Anderson single. Once that happened, the dam officially burst. Bradley Jackson hit an RBI single. Bryant Davis was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home another run. Then Taylor Newman was hit by a pitch, allowing yet another run to score.
By the time Richfield was able to record the third out, the game was out of reach. And when the Bulldogs scored another run in the bottom of the fourth, it set up the fifth and deciding innings.
"We knew eventually that we were due to explode," Anderson said. "We definitely didn't expect this result. We thought the game was going to be close because we knew those guys were way good. But these guys have been here for three consecutive years. They've laid the foundation of this program. And they will pass that down to the younger players. These guys don't know what it is to lose."