The 4A softball state tournament moved from home sites to Spanish Fork on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the championship rounds.
No. 1 Tooele took on No 4. Canyon View following victories by both schools earlier in the day. It took the Buffaloes nine innings to defeat the Falcons 4-3. Canyon View challenged the tournament’s top dog, holding the Buffaloes to a mere two runs before extra innings.
Tooele senior pitcher Attlyn Johnston matched Canyon View’s defensive effort, striking out Falcon batters 17 times throughout the day. But her biggest play of the evening came in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, a runner on second and the Buffaloes down 3-2. With the game on the line, Johnston ripped off a double, bringing in fellow senior Kate Hogan and pushing the game into the ninth.
“(Johnston) is a fighter. It’s what she’s done since her freshman year. Now she’s a senior and mentally she has improved every single year,” Tooele head coach Marissa Lowry said. “I am so proud of her and the performance that she has done all season.”
After facing three Canyon View batters and getting all three out in the top of the ninth, Johnston and crew needed just one run to secure the victory. Freshman Rose Kimball started the ninth on second base as an extra innings runner for the Buffaloes. Kimball soon found her way home on a Lizbeth Garcia bunt followed by a sacrifice fly to centerfield off the bat of senior Emma Higley. Kimball’s slide into home gave Tooele the win and a spot in the semifinals.
On the opposite side of the bracket, No. 2 Bear River and No. 6 Crimson Cliffs battled for a place in the semifinals. The Bears lumbered past the Mustangs with little resistance. Four runs in the first, one in the second, and two in both the third and fifth innings gave Bear River an easy 9-2 win.
With one crack of the bat after another, the Bears snapped the Mustangs’ five-game win streak, sending Crimson Cliffs to the one-loss ranks. Senior Bear Cami Gibbs whacked a two-run homer over the centerfield fence in the third, giving her school a 7-1 lead.
Yet despite winning two games today, Bear River head coach Calvin Bingham feels his team can play better. “Our first game we only got four runs. Generally, we have a really good hitting team, but I think nerves and state tournament, we didn’t hit the ball well in the first game. This game (with Crimson Cliffs) we hit a little bit better. The thing that impressed me as much as anything was that it wasn’t just the top of the order that hit the ball. Our eighth hitter got the home run. All of them contributed and that’s what I like to see.”
With the first day of the championship round under its belt, Bear River will look to shake off any postseason jitters and continue winning.
The Bears will face the winner of No. 3 Snow Canyon’s matchup with Crimson Cliffs. Tooele awaits the winner of Canyon View and No. 5 Ridgeline.
Both the Bears’ and the Buffaloes’ games are set for 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3ovedGd
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