Snow Canyon Little League all-stars to play in California with World Series berth on the line

Written by E. George Goold
July 29, 2022

ST. GEORGE — It’s not hard to find where the Snow Canyon Little League all-stars play.

The Snow Canyon Little League all-stars at practice, St. George, Utah, July 28, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

After all, their field in Santa Clara is on Little League Drive.

Snow Canyon has a tradition of fielding strong Little League teams, both in baseball and softball.

“I don’t know for sure when Little League started in Snow Canyon, but it’s been going at least the last 30 years,” Coach Mark Ence. “The city put the fields in and we’ve hosted a lot of tournaments and a lot of Little League games over the years.”

Snow Canyon’s  U12 Little League all-stars are undefeated and headed to San Bernardino, California, next week to play for a berth at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“When we formed our all-star team they started a yell, ‘SC Williamsport!'” Ence said. “That’s been the goal from the beginning to get there. We feel like we have a legit chance to make it.”

Ence said that a realignment of regional competition could benefit Snow Canyon this year. For the first time, Utah is in the Mountain Region and will play teams from Nevada, Wyoming and Montana when they get to San Bernardino.

“We’ve put in the time hitting and working in our practices together,” Ence said. “We feel like we can compete and we have a chance to get there (Williamsport).”

At the state tournament, Snow Canyon defeated Enterprise and then beat the two teams from Cedar City in the next two games. They won the championship after defeating Dixie 8-4.

The Snow Canyon Little League all-stars at practice, St. George, Utah, July 28, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“We started hot and scored eight runs in the first inning,” Ence said. “We had everybody available to pitch and Dixie had used a lot of their pitching.”

As previously reported in St. George News, all-boy Little League rosters are not as pervasive as they used to be, and 20 girls have played in Williamsport over the years at the Little League World Series.

Falynn Randall plays second base for Snow Canyon. She gained Little League experience on the softball team and said she likes the baseball version of the game better.

“I feel like there’s more competition in it,” Randall said after practice Thursday morning. “We practice and we get better every  time. Our coaches are all really good, I like them all. They work us hard.”

Snow Canyon’s first game in San Bernardino is Aug. 7 against Wyoming. The regional tournament runs through Aug. 12.

Snow Canyon’s roster includes Falynn Randall, Dash Avery, Brogan Coop, Reggie Ence, Colton Gainey, Linc Hafen, Chaz Hickman, Kolby Lamoreaux, Easton Oliverson, Cody Ruffell, Preston Threlfall, Jake Tomlinson and Brex Whitney.

The team is coached by Mark Ence, Kyle Hafen and Jace Oliverson.

The team is seeking sponsorships and interested fans can contribute to their venmo, @SnowCanyon-LittleLeague-1.

Ed. note: When making charitable contributions it is advisable to consult with professionals for tax advice and investment risks.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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