All those who believe Viewmont has the worst draw in the state baseball tournament, say "Aye."

Viewmont is the Region 1 champion. The Vikings whipped Spanish Fork 14-2. They scored 22 runs against Layton, which is a tournament team. This is one of the top teams in 5A, but of all the breaks -- Viewmont will open up the 5A state tournament by hosting Timpanogos.

"We certainly have our work cut out for us," said Viewmont coach Roger Farnsworth. "They could have easily been a region champ, but all four of their teams are region-champ material."

What's so scary about Timpanogos?

After all, the Timberwolves are coming off a 12-5 loss to Spanish Fork and, hey, were swept by American Fork.

But this is no ordinary fourth seed. This team finished 17-5 overall. It beat No. 1-ranked Riverton 4-3. The Timberwolves beat Spanish Fork 10-0. They beat Northridge 4-0, a second-place team in Region 1 which finished with an 11-3 region record, and they have already beaten Viewmont 9-6.

"They (Viewmont) swing it pretty good. They've got some pretty good players. We're familiar enough with them that we shouldn't be afraid of where we're at," said Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson. "Hopefully, we can get a few more guys hot with the bats to help our pitching staff. If we can do that, I think we have as good of chance as anybody."

Timpanogos has chosen to rest senior ace Gentry Croft, but it doesn't get much easier against junior Rhett Nelson, who is 6-0 with a 2.48 ERA.

Viewmont will counter with either Kyle Bilbrey (8-0) or Max Matina (5-2).

With Nelson set to pitch today, Croft is scheduled to start on Wednesday in Round 2. Croft missed the last four games (Timpanogos went 1-3 without him) with an injured rib muscle.

"I'm more excited than anything. I think it will all be there," Croft said about his comeback. "I'm about 85 to 90 percent right now. I'm almost all there."

When healthy, Croft has been the best pitcher in the state. He didn't give up a run for 27 innings. He has a microscopic ERA of 0.94 and is 7-1 on the year.

This could have been a semifinal game, but instead highlights the opening round of the tournament.

"We figured we would have to play a team like down the road eventually," Farnsworth said. "I know they play in a pretty good region, but we feel like our region is pretty good, too."

• Prediction: Timpanogos 4, Viewmont 1

LAYTON (12-9) AT SPANISH FORK (17-5)

This is a rematch of the first game of the season, when the Dons beat Layton 12-1, but Spanish Fork coach Jim Nelson expects a much tougher game this time around.

"There are three seasons: the preseason, regular season and postseason. And now that it's the postseason, everyone is 0-0. It doesn't matter what you did now," Nelson said. "We've got pitching depth. If our pitchers will pitch and perform the way we think they can, then I think we've got to be one of the teams to be considered to be in the hunt. We haven't gone in as well as we would have like to have, but the win over Timpanogos helps us a lot."

Layton finished with a 9-5 region record and is 12-9 overall. The Lancers are coming off an 8-6 loss to Fremont and has lost three of its last five games.

Nelson said he will likely start Adam Duke against the Lancers. Duke is 6-2 with a 3.03 ERA. The other option is Brock Duke, who is 6-1 with a 3.13 ERA, but Nelson didn't want to throw Brock on Tuesday after he threw seven innings on Thursday.

The Dons are coming off a 12-5 win over Timpanogos and are led by Tyler Hanks, who finished the regular season with an amazing .580 batting average.

• Prediction: Spanish Fork 8, Layton 2

FREMONT (13-10) AT LONE PEAK (15-5)

The overachieving Lone Peak Knights have arrived ahead of schedule. Lone Peak won the Region 4 title outright, to the surprise of the rest of Region 4. With only four seniors on the team, the Knights have been doing it with underclassman.

How will the young Knights respond with the pressure of the state tournament?

Fortunately, one of the experienced players is a four-year starter. Senior pitcher Daniel Sechrest is 7-0 on the year with a 2.45 ERA.

Fremont beat Lehi and Provo by a run and lost to Provo by a run. The Silverwolves also lost to American Fork, 10-5.

Lone Peak fans remember last year it was Fremont that sent the Knights to the loser's bracket.

"To even have a shot you have to win both of those games," said Lone Peak coach Mike LaHargoue. "I think eight to 10 years ago, Taylorsville pulled it off and went all the way through (the loser's bracket), but most teams don't have the arms to pull that off."

• Prediction: Lone Peak 11, Fremont 4

AMERICAN FORK (14-8) AT NORTHRIDGE (16-6)

Junior pitcher Josh Mooney has emerged as the team's ace and a pitcher that should keep the Cavemen in the game.

Mooney is 8-2, with a 3.20 ERA, and if he can hold Northridge to three or four runs, the Cavemen could pull off the upset because this American Fork team can swing it.

The Cavemen have three players hitting over .400. Bo Fisher has been a one-man wrecking crew, hitting .522 with six triples and three home runs. Jake Murphy is hitting .416 and Mooney is batting .402.

Northridge is averaging 10.4 runs per game, second in 4A, but the Knights were swept by Viewmont to end region play and they come into the tournament on a three-game losing streak.

• Prediction: American Fork 5, Northridge 3

4A tournament

BONNEVILLE (10-12) AT MOUNTAIN VIEW (15-7)

The Region 7 champs are out to prove they should be considered a 4A title contender. This team has four players above or near .400.

Mark Garrett leads the team in hitting at .460. Kyle Kendall (.397), Tanner Young (.394) and Caleb Loveland (.393) have all proven they can produce.

The big question is pitching depth and the Bruins have gotten a boost from the resurgence of Cameron Schmidt, who has figured out how to be effective while pitching with a torn ACL.

If Loveland and Sam Roden are on, Mountain View could piece together a staff that keeps them in the title hunt.

But Bonneville could be a difficult matchup. The Lakers have won four in a row and six of the last seven games. Bonneville has lost 12 games, but four of those were by one run.

• Prediction: Mountain View 8, Bonneville 5

BOUNTIFUL (8-14) AT OREM (14-8)

Orem coach Gary Miner is leaning towards saving his ace -- Nate Adamson -- for Wednesday in a likely trip to play at Dixie.

If that's the case, look for Marc Morgan and Josh Hamblin to team up in an effort to beat Bountiful.

Morgan is fourth in Utah Valley in strikeouts with 53 and Hamblin has turned in impressive outings both as a starter (against Spanish Fork) and in relief (Springville).

For the Tigers to win twice this week, the offense must be clicking. Goose Kallunki leads the team in hitting at .431 and is swinging for the Utah Valley home run title. He currently has five. He may have to hold off teammate Colton Baird, who found his power stroke against Springville. Jeff Mella (.382) is the only other Tiger hitting over .350.

Bountiful comes to Orem with an 8-14 record. The Braves are averaging eight runs per game in their final three games.

If Orem gets past Bountiful, it will likely have Adamson looking for his 10th win over the season. Adamson is 9-1 with a 2.47 ERA.

"No question, the first two rounds are big," Miner said. "To have any chance we've got to get past Tuesday and Wednesday."

• Prediction: Orem 7, Bountiful 5

SPRINGVILLE (13-9) AT CYPRUS (15-6)

This figures to be one of the better first-round matchups. The Red Devils haven't forgot that it was Cyprus that beat them in the seventh inning in last year's state tournament.

This year Cyprus has been a top-five team for most of the season and comes into the game riding a five-game winning streak, but the Pirates play in a suspect region.

"We faced them last year and know they're a good team. They have a couple of good pitchers. We know we have our work cut out for us," said Springville coach Willy Child. "We need to be solid in all three aspects of the game. If we pitch well, play good defense and hit the ball. The last part of season we struggled in one of those areas and it usually cost us."

Child says he will throw Brian Whatcott (4-2, 1.60 ERA), and figures Cyprus will throw its ace, Taylor Jones.

With Kurt Averett (5-1, 1.12 ERA) and T.J. Whiting (3.00 ERA) ready to throw, Springville figures to have the pitching to make a run in the tournament and the offense, which is fourth in 4A in scoring (8.1 runs per game) is led by Ben Doxey, who is hitting .515 with a Utah Valley-best 39 RBI.

• Prediction: Springville 5, Cyrpus 4

PAYSON AT SKY VIEW

Payson is poised to strike the biggest upset in the first round. The Lions have won four straight games, including a 7-2 win over Provo in a play-in game to grab the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 7. Payson finished 12-11 overall and 6-6 in region play.

Sky View finished second in Region 5 and has an 11-9 overall record. Junior lefty Tyson Memmott is set to pitch. Memmott is 5-3 with a 2.56 ERA and leads all Utah Valley pitchers in strikeouts with 64.

Dalton Smith, Spensor Smith, Harry Davis and Cody Ferguson give the Lions the offense potent enough to pull off the upset.

• Prediction: Payson 6, Sky View 4

4A State Tournament

Granger (10-12) at Box Elder (13-9)

Olympus (15-6) at Dixie (17-5)

Mtn. Crest (11-11) at Orem (14-8)

Murray (13-9) at Pine View (18-4)

Bonneville (8-14) at Mtn. View (15-7)

Bountiful (8-10) at Cottonwood (15-7)

Payson (12-11) at Sky View (11-9)

5A State Tournament

Brighton (9-13) at Bingham (14-8)

Fremont (13-10) at Lone Peak (15-5)

Timpanogos (17-5) at Viewmont (16-6)

West Jordan (9-13) at Alta (15-6)

American Fork (14-8) at Northridge (11-3)

Copper Hills (10-13) at Taylorsville (15-7)

Weber (14-8) at Riverton (19-3)

Zuke's odds to win the tournament

5A

Spanish Fork 3-1

Timpanogos 4-1

Riverton 5-1

Lone Peak 8-1

American Fork 8-1

Viewmont 9-1

Taylorsville 12-1

Northridge 14-1

Bingham 15-1

4A

Cottonwood 2-1

Mountain View 4-1

Pine View 6-1

Springville 5-1

Dixie 4-1

Cyprus 8-1

Orem 10-1

Box Elder 12-1

Payson 15-1

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