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South Jordan • An early season baseball contest between Bingham and Riverton, at least from a defensive perspective, was in dire need of a little pitching rhythm on Saturday.

And it came in the form of a 6-foot-5, 330-pound sophomore.

Bingham (3-0) survived a scoring-fest in the early innings against the visiting Silverwolves and won 10-9.

Thanks to relievers Cole Clemens and Bridger Jensen, the Miners limited the offensive productivity of Riverton over the last five innings.

Clemens was a particular key as the big soph after giving up a couple of hits when he first came into the game in the second, then shut out Riverton (1-1) in the third and fourth innings — the first scoreless frames of the game.

While that was happening, Bingham gradually came back from a 7-5 deficit to take a 10-7 lead when Clemens left with an arm injury.

"Cole Clemens was kind of cruising there. Hopefully, the injury he had isn't bad," Bingham coach Joey Sato said. "He heard something pop, so we're hoping it's not serious."

Similar to when Clemens entered the contest, Jensen also gave up a pair of hits at the start of his stint in the fifth as Riverton crept within a run.

Eventually though, the junior threw shutout innings in the sixth and seventh — retiring the side in order in the last frame — to clinch the victory.

"They [Clemens and Jensen] were hitting their spots after the first couple of guys," Bingham senior catcher Tyler Zupon said. "They were getting their pitches down, and that was helping out a ton."

Zupon was part of the hit parade for most of the rest of the game.

He drove in Kade Cloward, who tripled to start the Miners' day at the plate, for Bingham's first run. Later, to lead off the fourth, Zupon clubbed a ball over the left-centerfield fence for a home run for a 9-7 lead.

In Bingham's five-run first, Cody Kitchen and Landon Walbeck also hit singles to clear Miners off the basepaths.

Riverton was no stranger to big hits, either — at least early in the game.

The Silverwolves started a two-out, five-run rally in the second when Jeff Ahrens popped a homer to left. By the end of the rally, Skyler Davis hit a two-RBI triple for the Wolves. Teammate Stone Gibbons also delivered a run-scoring triple.

"This is only our second game and we've got kids in different spots today," said Riverton coach Jay Applegate. "I thought we swung the bat really well. We definitely have some improvement to do on our pitching, but that's what preseason is for." —

Bingham 10, Riverton 9

R Tyler Zupon homers as part of the 11-hit Bingham attack. Riverton's Jeff Ahrens also goes long for the Silverwolves.

• The teams combine for 13 runs in the first two innings.

• Bingham relievers Cole Clemens and Bridger Jensen keep the Riverton hitters in relative check, allowing two runs over the last five innings.