Wade Stilson delivered one of his best pitching performances of the season, helping the Emery Spartans to an 8-0 victory over American Leadership Academy in Game 1 of their best-of-three series Thursday afternoon in Castle Dale.

Stilson pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 10 of the 18 batters he faced. The outing marked the fourth time this season that Stilson has shutout the opposition when tossing at least five innings in a game.

While Stilson was dominant on the mound the Spartans offense struggled to produce run support until the final two innings. Scoring one run in the bottom of the first, the Spartans were held scoreless over the next three frames. Emery put the game out of reach by scoring four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.

Kade Larsen produced in each of his four at bats, finishing 3-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Peyton Alton ended 1-4 with two RBIs, while Hayden Abrams went hitless but did bring in two RBIs in the win.

Emery entered the sixth inning holding a 5-0 lead. At that point, Stilson’s afternoon ended and Treven Gilbert finished the final six outs, not allowing a single hit in the process.

The Spartans will have a chance to sweep the best-of-three series when the two teams meet Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. A win for American Leadership Academy would force the decisive Game 3 immediately after. The winner of the series will advance to the 3A state tournament next week at Kearns High School.