Prep softball: DH, Cedar dominate; PV gets 1st win

Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Softball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Region 9 frontrunners Cedar and Desert Hills both won easily Friday night. The shocker of the night came when Pine View got its first region win in a shootout against Hurricane that took nine innings to decide. Now all teams have won at least one game. Below are game summaries of Friday night’s action:

Desert Hills 11, Dixie 0 (F/5)

Chay Chong got her first start on the mound for the Lady Flyers. Chong has been the power hitter for the Flyers, but she has been impressing lately pitching in practice. Chong’s first opponent was powerhouse Desert Hills. And the Lady Thunder gave her no reprieve.

After striking out the initial batter, Chong saw three of the next four batters reach base. Riley Stookey hit a bunt single. After a pop out, Katelyn Philips hit a single up the middle to score Stookey. Philips then advanced two bases on a steal and passed ball. She then ultimately scored on a passed ball. The Thunder lead was 2-0 after one.

Desert Hills’ Savannah Wright (9), Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Softball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

A dropped fly ball in the second inning with two outs got Desert Hills two more runs. The Thunder extended the lead to 5-0 in the third when Megan Wiscombe singled in Corinn Grantham.

Desert Hills’ big inning came in the fourth when the Thunder plated four runs. Three consecutive singles by Brianna St. Clair, Stookey and Sophie Wilcox set up Corinn Grantham, who then hit a triple, and later scored on a wild pitch to put Desert Hills up 9-0.

In the top of the fifth, the Thunder added two insurance runs. St. Clair drew a walk to begin the inning. Another walk and single loaded the bases. After the Flyers secured two outs, Grantham drew a walk with the bases loaded to score St. Clair. Wilcox would cross home for the final run of the game.

Dixie’s Chayden Chong (44), Dixie vs. Desert Hills, Softball, St. George, Utah, Apr. 21, 2017, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“We were more disciplined at the plate today,” said Desert Hills head coach Kacee McArthur. “That patience turned into some great hits and led to some runs. My seniors (Grantham, File, Wilcox and Stookey) all had multiple hits. That is the kind of leadership we look for from them. It is nice to see them step up.”

St. Clair pitched the entire game, striking out 11 and getting the win. Chong struck out five in her debut.

“I was impressed with (Chong),” said McArthur. “She is only a freshman, but she has good power and speed. With experience, she will develop more consistency and accuracy.”

Desert Hills moves to 5-1 in region play and 20-2-1 overall. The Lady Thunder will host Hurricane on Tuesday. Dixie falls to 1-5 in Region 9 and 4-19 overall. The Lady Flyers will travel to Cedar on Tuesday.

Cedar City 13, Snow Canyon 3 (F/6)

The Lady Reds broke open a scoreless tie by amassing six runs in the bottom of the third inning. Snow Canyon would get half of those back in the next half inning, but the Cedar roller coaster kept moving as the Reds would score in each succeeding inning before getting the mercy-rule win in the sixth.

In the third inning, the Lady Reds started with a walk drawn by B. Boyer. They then collectively as a team hit for cycle as the next four at-bats were single (Abby Anderson), double (Allie Meisner), triple (Dream Weaver) and home run (Sage Oldroyd). After Oldroyd’s dinger, it was 5-0, but the inning was not over. Cedar would get two more singles in the inning and Pua Johnson would score on a passed ball.

The Lady Warriors started the fourth getting their first three batters on base with a walk (Taylor Gunn), a hit-by-pitch (Megan Rodgers) and a single to center field (Geena Dolce). Kimber Condie pinch ran for Gunn. She and Rodgers would score on a throwing error. Dolce also later scored on a fielding error.

The Cedar barrage continued in the fourth as five batters hit safely and a sixth drew a base on balls. After four, the lead was 10-3, advantage Reds. Dream Weaver added a solo shot in the fifth and the Reds got two in the sixth when Japrix Weaver’s line drive double to left field scored two runners to end the game.

The Lady Reds had 14 hits as a team.

Cedar maintains its grip on first place in Region 9 at 6-0. The Reds are 12-7-1 overall and will host Dixie on Tuesday. The Lady Warriors fall to 2-4 in Region 9 and 9-11 overall. They will travel to Pine View on Tuesday.

Pine View 20, Hurricane 17 (F/9)

The game see-sawed back and forth with both teams getting hits and both teams committing errors.

Britt Nielson got Pine View on the board by doubling in Hannah James in the first inning.

Hurricane’s Ashley Farrar batted in Jaycee Barney for the equalizer in the bottom of the second. The Lady Tigers then took the lead on Hayley Teta’s double.

Pine View scored twice in the next half inning to retake the lead. Both runs came after Hurricane had secured two outs. Hannah James scored on a passed ball and then Kylie Donavon doubled in Cameron Miner. After three innings, it was Pine View up 3-2.

Pine View added two more in the fourth, again both on errors. The Lady Tigers got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a fielder’s choice.

Entering the fifth inning, the Lady Panthers doubled their score to take a formidable 10-3 advantage. Brit Nielson began the inning with a line-drive home run that just tipped off the top of the center fielder’s glove. Miner would later hit a bases-clearing double to break the double-digit barrier.

Hurricane clawed back, however. In the bottom of the inning, three consecutive singles and a walk got runners on base. Those culminated in three scores on passed balls and a fourth run was batted in by Farrar.

After a scoreless sixth by Pine View, the Lady Tigers not only caught up in the bottom of the sixth, but took an 11-10 lead. Jaiden Smith batted in the first run. Then Barney tied the game with a two-RBI single. Barney would later score on a throwing error for the Tiger lead.

Marquee Jennings reached on a fielding error to start the seventh. She advanced to third before scoring later on a fielder’s choice to send the game into extra innings.

Both teams continued their aggressive offenses in the extra innings. The teams started with a base runner on second base. A Tiger fielding error put runners at the corners. E. Stone stole second to put two runners in scoring position. Kaitlyn Roundy then hit a two-RBI single to center field and the Panther lead was 13-11.

The Lady Tigers started with Heather Stout on second base. Elison hit safely to put runners at first and second. They both advanced on a passed ball. Then both scored on sacrifices. Stout came in on a Barney sacrifice fly to left field. Elison scored on a squeeze-play sacrifice bunt by Farrar.

In the ninth, the Lady Panthers again exploded. They had four hits and a walk and had two other runners reach on errors. There were no extra-base hits. The Panthers just plated one run at a time as the rally continued to snowball.

The Tigers opened the bottom of the ninth with two consecutive singles to load the bases. The next two batters went down with a ground out and strike out. But two more singles scored three more runs. But Panther pitcher Kyierra Grinnell was able to get the last out on a called third strike.

As a team, Pine View had 20 hits. James, Britt Nielson, Donavon, Roundy, Sydnee McArthur, Jennings and Cameron Miner all had multiple hits. Grinnell pitched the entire nine innings, striking out eight, to get the win from the circle.

Hurricane had 19 total hits. “We did well offensively,” said Hurricane head coach Ryan Smith. “But you can’t win when you commit 12 errors.”

Both teams had numerous errors. “It was not the prettiest game we have played defensively,” said Pine View assistant coach Russ Nielson.

Pine View gets its first win in region and stands at 1-5. The Lady Panthers will host Snow Canyon on Tuesday. Hurricane falls to 3-3 and 5-6-2 overall. They will travel to Desert Hills on Tuesday.

REGION 9 SOFTBALL STANDINGS
Cedar 6-0 (12-7-1)
Desert Hills 5-1 (20-2-1)
Hurricane 3-3 (5-6-2)
Snow Canyon 2-4 (9-11)
Pine View 1-5 (7-12)
Dixie 1-5 (4-19)

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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