Utah: Dixie Little League (St. George, UT)

The first of our state champion previews starts with Utah which finished up this week. Based on the chatter out there, Dixie Little League may have a shot to be the first Utah team to reach Williamsport. It's a tall task, however.

Thirty-Year History: State champions – 1997, 1990, and 1989.

Number of Majors Teams: 8

Roster

Mason Creager
Boston Miller
Chandler Welch
Bronson Andrus
Wyatt Woodland
Blake Milne

Jayden Peterson
Brenden Blanchard
Collin Garrett
Bo Barben
Austin Hepworth
Landon Levine

Preview: Dixie last won the Utah state championship back in 1997 when the West included the Northwest. That year, Dixie made a great run through the tournament all the way to the winners’ bracket final. Utah is a single-district state which doubles as the state tournament. Dixie went 4-0 through the tournament while shutting out its first three opponents. Dixie averaged nearly 17 runs per game.

Dixie has home run power throughout the lineup and obviously a strong pitching staff. Wyatt Woodland hits three home runs in the last two games and Mason Creager added a pair of homers in the state final.

Dixie coach Nate Andrus won a state title for Dixie on the 1989 team… he was coached by his father, much like the current team with his son Bronson.

The Utah state champions will open up the West region with the first game of the tournament against Nevada on Friday August 2 at 11:45am.

You can find articles about Dixie from their local newspaper: The Spectrum

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Cream Rising to the Top? You Never Know.

With 14 teams currently undefeated within pool play across the country, it would be a good assumption that eight of them should make it to Williamsport. In the day and age of pitch counts however, everything is a strategy and you never know if a loss was earned or not. When do you throw your ace? How long do you throw him for? Do you keep him eligible for the semifinals or burn him for a regional final? These are all questions that every manager is still asking himself.

In the West region, Arizona saved its ace against Utah and took an important loss. In the next game, Arizona beat perennial power Hawaii by burning its ace for the remainder of pool play. Other teams around the country are using their ace sporadically to maximize the amount of games their ace can affect. With two-third of the teams advancing to the semifinals of their regions, it's really hard to get yourself eliminated. That reason may keep teams otherwise left for dead within perfect range of an upset and a spot in Williamsport.

New England

Goffstown, NH put a target on its back after beating Fairfield American, CT 9-7 in a great game. Connecticut is in a hole currently in a must-win game with Maine today. New Hampshire is sitting pretty with its ace available in the semifinals. Today, Massachusetts gets to take on Vermont, and New Hampshire gets another test with Rhode Island.

Mid-Atlantic

Paramus, NJ took care of business with a random selection of arms against Northwest Washington, DC setting themselves up for a semifinals berth because its ace Hiro Mizutani can pitch on Tuesday against currently undefeated Delaware. Keystone, PA survived against Great Kills American, NY to stay undefeated as well.

Southwest

Colorado took control of its pool in the Southwest with a victory over Mississippi, but I don't think anyone is expecting a finals appearance over Lafayette, LA or Pearland, TX.

West

Ocean View, CA and Central East Maui, HI had a dual no-hitter through 4 innings, but Ocean View scratched a run across in the first inning, and added two more late in the game to remain one of the favorites in the whole country.

Northwest

North Bothell, WA continues to give up a handful of runs, but pour on even more as the favorites in the Northwest. There's a crapshoot of 1-1 teams behind them. It's still a fairly wide open regional.

Great Lakes

Golfmoor, IN pounded out 23 hits and 22 runs against Michigan to remain the favorite in the Great Lakes. Elijah Dunham is batting 1.000 in three games with four homeruns. That is somebody who should get a free pass to first base every time up.

Midwest

Grandview, IA and Harney, SD remain on a collision course in the midwest with matching 2-0 records. Iowa continues to do it with pitching and defense. South Dakota does it any way it can.