Snow Canyon makes short work of Dixie, rolls to 15-0 softball win

Dixie sophomore Kylee Tiffany is thrown out at first base in the second inning at Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In a game shortened to just two and a half innings due to the mercy rule, the Snow Canyon Lady Warriors softball team made short work of the visiting Dixie Flyers Tuesday, pounding 11 hits in a convincing 15-0 victory.

Sophomore pitcher Payten Jensen was stellar for Snow Canyon, facing just 10 batters in three innings, allowing no hits and striking out five. Sophomore Chayden Chong was the only Dixie batter to reach first base, doing so on a fielding error in the first inning.

“Payten’s still coming back from an injury, but she looked sharp today,” said Snow Canyon head coach Tracee Heaton, who added, “Our bats were were going and we really came out strong.”

Snow Canyon sophomore pitcher Payten Jensen fires a pitch during the Lady Warriors’ 15-0 win over Dixie, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Snow Canyon scored its first four runs in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on three fielding errors by the Lady Flyers. Right fielder Marley Moala, a junior, pounded a two-run double to center field, scoring both Alex Deming and Natalie Gunn.

Then, in case you missed it and were in need of a replay, Moala repeated the feat in the second inning – twice! – with two additional two-run doubles to center. Moala herself ended up scoring both times, just as she had done in the first inning. She finished 3 for 3 with three doubles and six RBIs.

Snow Canyon’s first eight batters in the bottom of the second inning reached base and scored. Freshman Jael Wilde, the first batter of the inning, reached first on an error when her fly ball was dropped by the center fielder. The next seven Lady Warriors all delivered hits, in the form of four singles and three doubles. Kambrie Stewart, the eighth batter in the lineup and the ninth to bat that inning, grounded out to Dixie pitcher Kylee Terrell for the second inning’s first out.

Snow Canyon went on to send six more batters to the plate, with Wilde singling and bringing in another run, after which Demming flew out to right. Gunn then walked, setting up Moala’s third and final two-run double, which scored Wilde and Gunn. Moala scored the team’s 15th and final run on an outfielder’s fielding error when freshman Tyler Mooring was batting.

Dixie head coach Shayne Batt said afterward the Lady Flyers, who made eight errors in the field, “could have played a lot better than we showed today.”

“Snow Canyon is a well-disciplined team that respects their great coaches and they get the job done,” Batt added. “They deserved the win.”

Snow Canyon next plays at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 5 at Canyon View High in Cedar City. The game was originally scheduled for the following afternoon. Dixie will play at Pine View Friday, April 6, starting at 4 p.m.

Desert Hills 10, Pine View 0

In other Region 9 action Tuesday, the Desert Hills Lady Thunder shut out Pine View 10-0 in five innings at Pine View.

Desert Hills opened up the game with four runs in the top of the first inning, then added four more in the second inning to take an early 8-0 lead. Then, in the fifth inning, Desert Hills scored two more runs and held Pine View scoreless in the bottom of the inning to invoke the 10-run mercy rule and end the game after five innings.

Senior pitcher Brianna St. Clair went the distance for Desert Hills, allowing only one hit while striking out eight batters and walking three.

The Lady Thunder racked up eight hits during the contest, including three home runs – two by sophomore Tori Hinton and one by junior Addi Betts.

Pine View next hosts Dixie on Friday, while Desert Hills’ next region game is Tuesday, April 10 at Canyon View.

Region 9 standings (region, overall)

  1. Cedar 3-0, 9-5
  2. Canyon View 2-0, 3-3
  3. Desert Hills  4-1, 13-2
  4. Hurricane  2-1, 9-2
  5. Snow Canyon 2-2, 7-5
  6. Pine View  0-4, 5-9
  7. Dixie  0-5, 1-12

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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