Defending state champion Sugar-Salem can pitch and hit, but what’s it going to take to win a play-in series?

SUGAR CITY – For the first time in program history, the Sugar-Salem baseball team has a blue state championship trophy and banner, celebrating what coach Brady Gardner described as a magical run in the 2024 season.

But, that’s all ancient history now as the Diggers prepare to add to their trophy case.

After a convincing sweep of South Fremont in last week’s district tournament, Sugar-Salem continues its postseason run beginning Friday when the Diggers host Homedale in the best-of-3 play-in series with the winner advancing to the state tournament.

“The pressure is always there,” said senior Dawson McInelly, who’s been a force at the plate with a state-leading 13 home runs and a 1.371 slugging percentage while hitting .565. He also has yet to allow an earned run in 31.2 innings on the mound.

Math check: That’s a 0.00 ERA.

But the Diggers didn’t get to the postseason behind just one player. The team has had a lineup loaded with talent for the past three seasons. This year’s team features eight seniors who have been through the ups and downs of the program’s playoff history.

History?

Two years ago Sugar-Salem lost a heart-breaker in the state semifinals but rebounded to win the third-place trophy. Last year the Diggers held off Homedale in the championship game.

Yes, Homedale, the same team Sugar-Salem will host this weekend. The same Homedale team the Diggers beat in 2023 to win the third-place trophy.

The difference this year may come down to pitching and who can handle the new playoff series format with potentially three games played in less than 24 hours.

“You typically have a really great team you’re playing against up and down every classification,” Gardner said of the new play-in series. “I would think in a three-game series you’re going to need a lot of pitching … it has been very different juggling (the pitching staff) this year.”

Juggling between letting your top pitchers do their thing while getting other players enough time on the mound to be ready for the postseason innings is likely a top priority for all the teams still alive in the playoffs.

Sugar-Salem (17-4) features three pitchers – Jack Gardner (1.30), Kace Malstrom (1.64) and McInelly (0.00) – with sub-3 ERAs. Twelve different players have pitched this season.

“We’re hoping our top-notch pitchers will be able to go deep and get wins and then we’ll see where we’re at,” Brady Gardner said.

Homedale (18-8) is no slouch on the mound with a team ERA of 3.91 and four pitchers who have at least nine appearances.

While all the pitching stats are impressive, that might not be enough to win the series, Gardner noted.

Homedale averages more than 10 runs per game. Sugar-Salem averages nearly 13 runs and has hit 35 home runs, 20 triples and 67 doubles in 21 games.

“This is the best offense we’ve ever had,” Gardner said. “There are zero holes in the lineup.”

So expect some fireworks for the series and a likely chess match on how both teams use their pitching staffs. It might not be pretty, but either team would settle for a football-like 14-10 win while salvaging pitching arms.

Sugar-Salem has won 14 straight games heading into Friday’s opener, with the last eight coming by double figures.

“It’s been one of my funnest seasons,” said Will Chappell, who has signed to play at BYU and has been another force at the plate hitting .507 with 31 RBIs and eight homers. “Just to enjoy one last ride with these guys. We won our first (state title) last year so we know what we need to do to win another one and hopefully we can do that again.”