4A state softball playoffs: Region 9 eliminated

SPANISH FORK — The Region 9 softball season came to an abrupt end on Thursday as all three remaining teams were eliminated from the 4A state softball tournament.

No. 3 Snow Canyon vs. No. 2 Bear River, 4A state softball playoffs, Spanish Fork Sports Complex, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

Each of Snow Canyon, Canyon View and Crimson Cliffs, Region 9’s top regular season finishers, collected their second losses of the double-elimination tournament at the Spanish Fork Sports Complex and failed to advance. The finals is now set between No. 1 Tooele and No. 2 Bear River. It marks the 10th consecutive season a Region 9 team has failed to advance to the state tournament finals.

Of the three remaining teams, Crimson Cliffs fell first at the hands of Snow Canyon. The Mustangs bested the Warriors 3-0 on Wednesday to put them on the brink but Snow Canyon got the last laugh in Thursday morning’s contest. The Warriors pulled away with a 12-2 mercy rule victory.

The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Syd McCaul tripled to drive in Tyler Mooring. The score held there until the third when Ellie Herd hit a two-run homer to give Crimson Cliffs the lead. Snow Canyon tied it in the fourth as Erin Gunn’s sacrifice fly scored Emma Bingham.

From there, the Warriors separated the contest. They scored five in the fifth and five more in the sixth to cap the walk-off victory. Gunn doubled into left to again score McCaul for the game-winning run.

No. 6 Crimson Cliffs vs. No. 3 Snow Canyon, 4A state softball playoffs, Spanish Fork Sports Complex, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

Crimson starter McKenna Cahoon, a day after holding Snow Canyon to just three hits, allowed only three through the first four innings before the wheels came off in the fifth. The Warriors collected five hits in the fifth alone, chasing Cahoon from the game. Her line finished at 4.1 innings pitched, seven hits allowed for seven runs allowed (four earned) with one strikeout. Malia Davis pitched the last 1.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits.

Jenna Thorkelson pitched all six innings for Snow Canyon, allowing six hits and striking out three. Offensively, Mooring went 2-for-3 with a game-breaking grand slam in sixth to make the score 11-2. Each of the Warriors batting in the two through five spots collected two hits.

Crimson Cliffs’ campaign ended after a tie for second place with Canyon View in their first full season, going 11-3 in Region 9 and 24-7 overall.

No. 5 Ridgeline vs. No. 4 Canyon View, 4A state softball playoffs, Spanish Fork Sports Complex, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News / Cedar City News

Canyon View won their first game of the day against Ridgeline 15-5, sending the Riverhawks home. They then were tasked with beating Tooele twice before losing once if they wanted to advance. Instead, the Buffaloes took control early and kept it through game one en route to an 11-3 victory to move on.

The Falcons scored in the top of the first but Tooele responded with two scores in the bottom half to take the lead. A three-spot in the second would turn out to be the rally that put the Buffaloes out of Canyon View’s reach.

Tooele scored once in the fourth, three times in the fifth and twice in the sixth to leave no doubt. Canyon View attempted the comeback bid in the top of the seventh with a pair of back-to-back singles. However, a ground ball double play left a lone runner on base, who scored on a Tatum Millett single.

Kate Hogan hit two home runs for the Buffaloes and ended the game with five RBIs. Paige Rydalch went 3-for-4 and drove in three.

The Falcons recorded 10 hits in the game but only one went for extra bases: a double by Kamryn Allen, who went 3-for-4.

No. 6 Crimson Cliffs vs. No. 3 Snow Canyon, 4A state softball playoffs, Spanish Fork Sports Complex, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

Canyon View finished 11-3 in Region 9 play as well and 24-6 overall. The last Southern Utah team to make the final round was the 2011 iteration of the Falcons.

Snow Canyon, the Region 9 champion, went down in stunning fashion. The Warriors manufactured a 7-1 lead entering the fifth before Bear River got within three in the fifth and exploded for eight in the sixth to take their first and determining lead.

The Warriors scored three times in the top of the first on the strength of three hits following a leadoff walk by Jael Wilde. Emma Bingham singled and McCaul doubled to score Wilde. Both Bingham and McCaul scored on a Kambrie Stuart double.

By the end of the third, Snow Canyon had seven runs. Another three spot in the inning, capped by a Mooring RBI double, put Snow Canyon ahead by six.

Thorkelson was cruising on the mound and had allowed only one hit through four innings: a home run by Oaklie Maxfield in the first.

In the fifth, however, things started to change. Bear River lined a pair of singles, drew a walk and watched Snow Canyon commit a pair of errors to get within three. The Warriors were still within six outs of a win but opted to relieve Thorkelson for Mooring in the circle as the Bears offense started to click.

No. 3 Snow Canyon vs. No. 2 Bear River, 4A state softball playoffs, Spanish Fork Sports Complex, Spanish Fork, Utah, May 20, 2021 | Photo by Rich Allen, St. George News

The momentum shift was real. The Bears’ cheers and chants got louder. In the sixth, a leadoff walk only compounded their confidence. They proceeded to rattle off five consecutive hits to take the lead and three more after two outs to build the advantage out.

Mooring singled in the top of the seventh, bringing her hit total in the game to four, but Snow Canyon did not get another base runner and watched the season end.

The Warriors went 13-1 in Region 9, their only loss coming on a forfeit due to a scheduling technicality. They finished 27-7 overall.

Tooele and Bear River begin the best-of-three championship series on Friday at noon. The full bracket is available here.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!