4A state softball: Crimson Cliffs, Hurricane win first games, lose second as tournament begins

Snow Canyon defeats Cedar in a 4A state softball tournament game, St. George, Utah, May 18, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Region 10 sent six teams to the 4A state softball tournament and four of them are still alive after the first day of action at Canyons Softball Complex.

Hurricane pulled off the upset of the day when the Tigers beat Snow Canyon in extra innings. The Warriors then defeated Cedar to stay alive in the tournament.

Crimson Cliffs started strong with a win in the first game but then slipped in the second game against Ridgeline.

No. 1 seed Bear River and No. 3 seed Ridgeline both won twice for Region 11 and lead the brackets going into Thursday’s second day.

Following are recaps of the softball action in Day 1 of the 4A state tournament.

Hurricane 6, Snow Canyon 4 (8 innings) | Bear River 8, Hurricane 1

Hurricane stunned the Warriors behind pitcher Abbi Stout.

Bear River defeats Hurricane in a 4A state softball tournament game, St. George, Utah, May 18, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

McKinlee Wright had a monster day for the Tigers at the plate, hitting two doubles and a home run and driving in three. She also scored three times.

“We are proud of them to get that victory,” Hurricane coach Chris Hurst told St. George News. “We’ve had these hurdles in front of us with other teams this year, too. Psychological hurdles, beating teams that you haven’t beaten for a while.”

“And so it was good to get that win and get over that hurdle,” he added.

Snow Canyon held leads of 2-0 and 4-2 before Hurricane rallied with a pair of runs in the sixth to tie the game and then another two-spot in the eighth to win it.

“If we can compete with Snow Canyon and Crimson and those teams and beat those teams, we know that we’re right there with them,” Hurst said. “And so it gives us some confidence.”

The Tigers’ reward for the win was a matchup against top-seeded Bear River, which broke open a close game and went on to beat Hurricane 8-1.

McCall Maxfield crushed a three-run homer in the fifth inning the lead the Bears.

“Their pitcher was good. It seemed like we had a lot of swing and miss, or soft contact,” Hurst said. “We just didn’t have quite the energy we had in the first game. That first game did take a lot out of us, too, with the extra innings.”

Hurricane will get a rematch against Snow Canyon Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in an elimination game. The winner is scheduled to take on Bear River at 12:30 p.m.

Snow Canyon 3, Cedar 1

The Warriors, in the tournament with the No. 4 seed, rebounded from the early loss to defeat the Reds and end Cedar’s season.

Snow Canyon defeats Cedar in a 4A state softball tournament game, St. George, Utah, May 18, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Jenna Thorkelson was the winning pitcher.

Anyssa Montano, Kylie Hardy and Erin Gunn each drove in a run for the winners.

Cedar saw Braylee Peterson double and Marley Geddes recorded the lone RBI for the Reds.

Cedar played Bear River close in the first game, losing to the Bears 6-3. The No. 11 seed Reds finished the season at 13-14.

Ridgeline 10, Dixie 0 | Desert Hills 14, Dixie 1

No. 7 seed Dixie ran into two hot teams and the Flyers’ season ended after the two losses.

Desert Hills won the second game behind pitcher Mav Schmid, who allowed one run off of five hits through four innings of work. She walked two batters and struck out one.

Offensively the Thunder were led by Saidey Spencer’s four RBIs. Aisey Gargono drove in three Thunder runs while Alexandra Aiken contributed two RBIs to the win.

Dixie finished the year at 15-14.

Desert Hills will get a rematch against Crimson Cliffs in an elimination game Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Crimson Cliffs 13, Desert Hills 3 | Ridgeline 5, Crimson Cliffs 1

The No. 2 seeded Mustangs rolled in their first game, then faced a tough Riverhawks team in Game 2.

Click here to access the UHSAA website and the complete 4A state tournament bracket.

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