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The bases were juiced, and the count was 3-0 in the top half of the fourth inning. Skyline pitcher Sam Chapman was in trouble.

"This is not a good situation," Chapman said succinctly when asked what occupied his mind at that juncture.

Sticky situations were abundant for Chapman on Thursday afternoon. After missing a year and a half of baseball with an overuse injury on his throwing shoulder, the junior ace navigated numerous logjams in the Eagles' 4-1 win against Timpanogos.

"He's pitched phenomenal this year," said Skyline coach Erik Hansen. "He really has."

Chapman scattered seven hits in a complete-game effort, registering three strikeouts — but none more important than the three straight strikes he motored past Austin Favila in the fourth inning in the bases-loaded pickle.

"That was awesome. That's all guts right there. It's a mentality," Hansen said of Chapman, who improved to 3-0 this season. "A lot of pitchers will worry about what happened before — the base hit, the double, the hit batter — he just stayed focused."

The Eagles (9-5, 4-0) maintain sole control of Region 7 with the victory, and now have won five straight, including the two-game sweep against the Timberwolves (9-5, 2-2).

"I still think we're not hitting the way we can. This lineup can be very, very dangerous if we get everybody on board," Hansen said. "We have pieces coming together; we haven't been on the same page all year long. There is another step or two that we can go, and if we do that, we'll be a dangerous team."

With an uncomfortable 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, Skyline's Abe Yagi amended his 0 for 2 start from the plate with a two-run homer to left field. The Eagles jumped out 2-0 in the third behind excellent work on the bases and a RBI single from Anj Bourgeois.

Ethan Ritchie singled before Bourgeois' RBI, bringing the leading runner to third, but Timpanogos' catcher was fooled into a bait-and-switch when he attempted to gun down Ritchie pushing for second, allowing the run to score from third.

Timpanogos had its chances. It stranded runners on second and third in the first inning, foiled its bases-loaded advantage in the fourth, and failed to capitalize further on Blake Lakike's RBI triple with zero outs in the sixth.

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Storylines

• Sam Chapman pitched the distance to improve to 3-0 on the season after missing more than a year of baseball with a shoulder injury.

• Abe Yagi amended his 0 for 2 start from the plate with a two-run homer in the sixth inning

• Blake Lakike recorded a double and a RBI triple in the loss for Timpanogos.