Salem Hills pitching duo masterminds baseball state championship run

Orem, Utah – Colton Hill is no stranger to making big plays at just the right time. He proved as much while leading Salem Hills (Salem) to the first Class 4A baseball title in school history at Utah Valley University last week.
 
It started in the winner's bracket final when Hill belted a grand slam past the right field fence in the second inning. He gave the Skyhawks a four-run lead and propelled them to a 7-2 win over Maple Mountain.

Hill came up big again in the championship game a day later. Once again facing the Golden Eagles, he blasted a two-run homer past left field to give Salem Hills a 6-1 advantage. The Skyhawks held off a late Maple Mountain rally and won 14-10 for their 18th win in the team's final 19 games of the 2013 season.

"That's stuff you daydream in class about when you want to go play baseball," Hill said. "What baseball player doesn't want to hit a grand slam in a big game? That's the stuff you live for and having it actually happen is a surreal feeling. It was awesome."

It should come as no surprise that Hill demonstrated a knack for making game-changing plays in the Class 4A baseball tournament. Such things are routine for a player who has spent three straight seasons as the Skyhawks' No. 1 pitcher and one of their top hitters.

He notched 24 career victories on the mound and compiled a 12-1 record as a senior.

Hill credits the work he put in with the rest of the team during the off-season for making his game stronger. It helped him keep from giving into bad habits like attempting to overpower opponents rather than developing a strategy to attack their specific weaknesses.

"You got to put all you got on the line in the off-season if you want to get better," Hill said. "That's the biggest thing. It's tough if you don't work enough to see results."

With Hill as a firm No. 1 on the mound, it made developing depth behind him much easier. Garrett McEwen rose up to form a nice one-two punch with the senior. He posted a 10-0 record on the mound and came through with big games throughout the Class 4A playoffs.

McEwen was also the starting quarterback for Salem Hills last fall and this experience convinced Skyhawks coach Scott Haney that he possessed the right mental tools to become an elite pitcher.

"We knew he had good stuff," Haney said. "He's a senior. He's the quarterback, so he's got a lot of confidence. For him to come out and do what he has done has been awesome."

McEwen had no idea he would emerge to form the sort of tandem he formed with Hill before the season started. His main goal was to simply do whatever his team required him to do.

"My mindset was that I could come in and fill whatever role he needed me to fill — whether it was coming out of the bullpen like I did at the beginning of the year or whether it was starting on the mound like I have these last few games," McEwen said.

The depth on the mound made Salem Hills virtually impossible to beat as the season went on. The Skyhawks could swing the bat as well as anyone. But overpowering opponents on offense wasn't the only tool in the toolbox.

Pitching made it impossible for even strong opponents to catch up once Salem Hills got going. The Skyhawks allowed 3.8 runs per game while posting a 27-3 record in 30 games. Behind the plate, Salem Hills did equal damage — averaging 8.8 runs per contest.

It's one reason why winning a state title almost seemed like a foregone conclusion, even in the earliest stages of the playoffs.

"It's such a tough road to get here," Hill said. "But we've won in every single way possible. I feel like with this team I never have any doubt we can come out and win a game — no matter what the situation is. We have the mental toughness. We have the players that can get the job done."

John Coon has covered prep sports in Utah since 2004. He previously worked as a prep sports reporter at the Salt Lake Tribune for 2 1/2 years and then spent 3 1/2 years as a prep sports reporter with the Deseret News. He can be contacted at john_coon@hotmail.com.