The No. 12-seeded Emery Spartans completed the upset and series sweep of No. 5 Manti with a 9-7 road win Friday afternoon, clinching a spot in the final eight of the 3A State Championship Tournament.

A day after stunning Manti 8-0, the Spartans continued to hit the ball with ferocity, avoiding the decisive game three by scoring runs in the final four innings to earn the win.

Trailing 4-0 heading to the bottom of the third inning, the Emery bats awoke. The biggest frame came in the sixth as the Spartans plated five runs to put the game on ice.

Hayden Sitterud dazzled at the plate, finishing 3-4 with an RBI and a double. Treven Gilbert, Tyce Larsen, Bronx Olsen, Peyton Nielson, and Trygg Jensen finished with two hits.

The explosive Emery offense forced Manti to dig deep into pitching early. The Templars relied on Kellen Lund, Tazj Hill, and Russell Squire to save the season. Regardless of the pitcher, the Spartans were seeing beach balls. Emery gathered 16 hits, six RBI, and five extra-base hits as a team.

Garrett Conover received most of the work on the mound, tossing 5.2 innings and allowing only three runs. Conover managed to keep the Templars off balance as he fanned five batters of the 24 faced to earn the win.

The win on Friday sets the stage for the final week of the season. The Spartans will join seven other teams for a week-long double-elimination tournament at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Emery will now face No. 4 Morgan, who advanced following a sweep of No. 13 South Summit, on Monday evening at 7:00. A win will keep the Spartans in the 7:00 p.m. slot on Tuesday, while a loss would put them in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m.

All Emery High School state tournament baseball games will air live on KOAL 107.3 FM and 750 AM. The radio feed will also be available on the Castle Country Radio Emery YouTube channel.