The Layton High baseball team had seemingly done it on Tuesday afternoon, when it took a lead over Northridge into the bottom of the seventh inning.
But the Lancers couldn't hold it, as the Knights rallied by scoring three runs for a win that kept them unbeaten in Region 1 and frustrated the Lancers to no end at the same time.
Losing in that fashion would be hard for most teams to recover from. But, on Thursday, Layton put the demons behind it, defeating Northridge 6-2 to become the first team to hand the Knights a league loss after 11 consecutive wins.
"That's a very good team over there," Lancers coach Robert Ferneau said. "We came out and played well. Defensively, we came out and didn't make mistakes. That was huge."
With the win, Layton only needs a win in its final two games of the regular season to lock up the region's third seed for the upcoming playoffs. The Lancers have already clinched a berth in the postseason, but they obviously want to improve their position in any way possible.
"That's the spot that we want," Ferneau said.
Gavin Green made that happen with a bat that started hot and stayed that way throughout. Green, who has signed to play baseball at Utah, hit a two-run homer in the first inning. He followed that up with two more base hits, one of which scored a run. All told, Green was 3-for-4 with three a performance that Layton had to have.
It was also a welcome game for Green, who was roughed up on Tuesday when he pitched.
"I wanted to get them back," Green said. "They hit two home runs off me, so I wanted to get one back. I just played well today. It was just one of those days."
Green's offense helped pitcher Bo Jensen settle down. And when he did, he calmly went on to throw a complete game in which he allowed one of the best offenses in the state to score just two runs.
Jensen's ability to control the game with his arm was vital. He also worked himself out of a bases loaded one out jam in the top of the sixth inning.
"That was a big-time performance by Bo," Ferneau said. "He was given a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and he delivered when we needed it."
* Gavin Green goes 3-for4 with a home run and three RBIs.
* Layton becomes the first Region 1 team to defeat Northridge, which had won 11 consecutive league games.
* With the loss, Northridge drops back into a first-place tie with Viewmont. The two teams face each other next week
