ST. GEORGE — The Region 10 softball title is still up for grabs after Snow Canyon and Desert Hills beat each other in road games in a two-game series last week.
The split left both teams with one loss in region play. Snow Canyon has played more games and stands at 11-1, while Desert Hills is 9-1, second in Region 10.
Crimson Cliffs remains in third, at 6-4, after two big wins. Following is a recap of last week’s action on the Region 10 softball diamonds.
Friday, April 21
Desert Hills 10, Snow Canyon 2
The Thunder bats roared early as the visitors scored in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead and stunning the Warriors.
Snow Canyon responded with a run in the bottom of the frame, and one more in the sixth. But the early damage was too much and the Warriors did not recover.
Lulu West continued her dramatic debut season for Desert Hills. The freshman hit the Thunder to victory with one home run, four RBI, pitched the win — striking out six.
Hallee Heath went yard for the Thunder, driving in three. Saidey Spencer had an RBI. Riley Green tripled while driving home a run. Desert Hills plated 10 runs off of six hits in the win.
Hurricane 14, Pine View 4
The visiting Tigers plated five runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to end the game early at Pine View.
Five different Hurricane batters drove in two runs each; Anna Lee, Audrey Matua, Anniston Hutchings, Elizabeth Horsley and Faith Fuller. Emma Patterson accounted for one RBI.
Hutchings pitched the Tigers to victory, hurling six innings. She walked four, allowed four runs, two unearned, off four hits and struck out four Panthers in the win. Avery Gustin and Alexis Pollack pitched in the loss for Pine View.
Kaytlyne Hunt led the Panthers at the plate, knocking two hits, scoring twice and collecting an RBI. Kylie Carpenter and Brinlee Wilstead also had an RBI for Pine View in the setback.
Crimson Cliffs 9, Dixie 2
The Mustangs won their fourth consecutive game after Abby Morris and Emma Leishman both homered. The sophomores combined for six of Crimson’s RBI, with each collecting three.
Addilyn Brinkerhoff and Riley Askind each had two Mustangs hits while Sophie Staheli, another sophomore, hit a single and scored three times.
Jamelle Mullins hat three hits and scored a run for Dixie’s cause while Morgan Staheli and Lila Fitzgerald each put up two hits for the Flyers.
Gracee Stucki, yet another sophomore at Crimson, went the distance for the Mustangs on the bump. She scattered seven hits over seven innings, conceding the two runs and striking out 11 along the way.
Morgan Staheli took the loss for Dixie, also hurling seven frames. She gave up five earned runs off of 10 hits and walked four Mustangs batters.
Tuesday, April 18
Snow Canyon 11, Desert Hills 9
In the first meeting between the two Region 10 leaders, Snow Canyon led 11-2 after five innings at Thunder Field, then withstood a furious late-inning Desert Hills rally and held on to win.
Avery Thorkelson drove a two-run homer through swirling wind in the third inning to pace Snow Canyon’s early attack. Alyssa Staheli, Kennadi Gates and Emma Daniel each had two RBI and Snow Canyon verged on ending the game early.
Desert Hills rallied for three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh before finally succumbing. The Thunder managed just five hits in the contest and committed five costly errors, and still had a chance to tie or win in the home half of the seventh.
Payten Benson swung a mighty bat in defeat, smacking two home runs and driving home five RBI for the Thunder. Lulu West also went yard and posted two RBI for Desert Hills.
On the bump, Thorkelson struck out 14 batters in the win while West mowed down six Warriors in the loss.
Hurricane 6, Pine View 5
The Tigers scored two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to rally and defeat Pine View in Hurricane. Both teams posted six hits in the contest, while Pine View committed four errors.
The visiting Panthers led 5-2 after five innings of play. Abby Rosenberg did most of the damage for Pine View with her three-run home run. Ragan Johnson and Jaycee Day posted the other two RBI in the tough defeat.
The Tigers countered with Elizabeth Horsley’s two RBI double. Abby Stout, Kymbal Jones and Aniston Hutchings each provided an RBI to Hurricane’s cause. Hutchings also swiped two of Hurricane’s four stolen bases in the win.
Stout went the distance on the bump for Hurricane, giving up five runs off three hits in the win. She issued six free passes and struck out eight Panthers in her performance.
Day took the hard luck, walk-off loss for Pine View. She allowed six runs (two unearned) from six Hurricane hits in the game. Day walked nine and struck out six in the defeat.
Crimson Cliffs 11, Dixie 1
Mustangs ace McKenna Cahoon needed only four innings for the win, giving up one Dixie hit in the process.
Cahoon recorded one run allowed off of one hit and one walk to the Flyers. She piled up seven K’s in the win, which was closed out by Gracee Stucki with one K in the fifth frame.
Crimson’s offense was efficient in victory, scoring in all four innings of work and piling up 10 hits.
Junior slugger Paisley Lantz continued to knock the cover off the ball, hitting two homeruns in the Crimson win. She has hit nine total dingers so far this year and has driven in 23 RBI.
Senior Riley Askind also homered and drove in three RBI for the Mustangs.
Freshman Eliza Kesterson went deep for the Flyers, providing their only run in the contest. The solo homer was Kesterson’s third long ball of the year.
Games Tuesday, April 25
Hurricane at Cedar 3 p.m.; Pine View at Desert Hills, Snow Canyon at Dixie, both at 7 p.m.
Region 10 softball standings (region, overall) as of April 23
- Snow Canyon 9-1, 14-7
- Desert Hills 7-1, 14-5
- Crimson Cliffs 6-4, 10-7
- Hurricane 4-5, 10-6
- Cedar 2-6, 6-11
- Pine View 1-7, 5-12
- Dixie 1-7, 5-13
Photo Gallery
Desert Hills pitcher Lulu West throws against Cedar in a Region 10 softball game, St. George, Utah, April 6, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News
Snow Canyon's Alyssa Staheli (5) comes in to score off of Avery Thorkelson's homerun against Desert Hills in a Region 10 softball game, St. George, Utah, April 18, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Snow Canyon celebrates after Avery Thorkelson (16) homers against Desert Hills in a Region 10 softball game, St. George, Utah, April 18, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Snow Canyon shortstop Alyssa Staheli catches a popup against Desert Hills in a Region 10 softball game, St. George, Utah, April 18, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
A Snow Canyon runner rounds third and scores against Desert Hills in a Region 10 softball game, St. George, Utah, April 18, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News
Hurricane High School, Hurricane, Utah, June 7, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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