4A softball: Region 10 teams set for rematches in day two of state play

Abbigail Stout's right arm helped guide Hurricane to a win over Snow Canyon in extra innings.
Abbigail Stout's right arm helped guide Hurricane to a win over Snow Canyon in extra innings.

The 4A softball tournament kicked off on Wednesday morning, and the young Tigers from Hurricane knocked off Snow Canyon in extra innings in an upset.

The Tigers and Warriors will meet up once again tomorrow after Hurricane’s loss to Bear River, and Snow Canyon’s win over Cedar.

Desert Hills and Crimson Cliffs will meet for the fourth time after both went 1-1 in play on Wednesday.

Cedar and Dixie were knocked out after a pair of losses.

Here’s how the bracket looks ahead of Thursday’s games.

Hurricane upsets Snow Canyon

Earlier this month, the Snow Canyon Warriors knocked off the Hurricane Tigers in a two games weep, outscoring Hurricane 18-3.

Twice, Snow Canyon used late surges.

The Warriors scored four runs in the final two innings on May 3 to win 7-2.

In an 11-1 win just three days later, the Warriors scored five runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to blow open a tightly contested game.

In Tuesday’s bracket round game, there was no such late rally from Snow Canyon.

Instead, the comeback kids from Hurricane rose to the occasion once again.

With come from behind wins already against Dixie and Crimson Cliffs, the young bats of the Tigers added to their resume.

Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, a sacrifice fly from sophomore pitcher Abbigail Stout and single from freshman catcher Faith Fuller tied the game at 4-4.

Stout pitched through a 2nd and 3rd with one out situation in the sixth and a bases loaded jam in the seventh.

Sophomore McKinlee Wright broke the 4-4 tie with a single to score Morgan Stout. An error by Snow Canyon allowed Wright to score, providing a huge insurance run.

Wright's single added to her home run and double earlier in the day.

Stout pitched a perfect eighth inning to secure the win.

“I’m not sure, to be honest with you,” said Chris Hurst when asked how his team stays calm under pressure. “These girls, they don’t quit, and they do have confidence in themselves. I don’t know what it is, but they seem to rise to the occasion.”

Hurricane was knocked off by top-seeded Bear River 8-1 later in the day, and with Snow Canyon beating Cedar 3-1, the Tigers and Warriors will match up yet again.

Jenna Thorkelson pitched a complete game two-hitter for the Warriors to stave off elimination.

Jenna Thorkelson pitched a complete game against Cedar to keep Snow Canyon's season alive.
Jenna Thorkelson pitched a complete game against Cedar to keep Snow Canyon's season alive.

“I think we relied on our older a little bit to kind of just lead us, but with that said, our leadoff (hitter) Kylie Hardy was huge for us to get us going and kind of getting things started,” said Snow Canyon head coach Markay Thorkelson.

Hardy, Anyssa Montano, Erin Gunn had two hits and an RBI in the bounce back win.

Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills set for rematch

Hurricane and Snow Canyon aren’t the only pair of Region 10 teams set to faceoff tomorrow morning.

In the 11:00 a.m. game on Wednesday, the Mustangs were too much for Desert Hills, knocking off the Thunder 13-3 in five innings.

Crimson Cliffs’ offense exploded for five runs in the third and fourth innings and tacked on three more in the fifth. Riley Askland led the offense with a home run and four RBIs.

Emma Shakespear crosses home during Crimson Cliffs' win over Desert Hills on Wednesday.
Emma Shakespear crosses home during Crimson Cliffs' win over Desert Hills on Wednesday.

McKenna Cahoon had a two-run home run and pitched four innings, striking out four.

With the loss, Desert Hills was bumped to the loser’s bracket, where they beat Dixie 14-1 to knock out the Flyers and stay alive.

Saidey Spencer went ¾ with a home run and four RBIs. Aisey Gargano hit her second home run of the day in the winning effort.

The Mustangs had a chance to move further in the winner’s bracket if they could knock off #3 Ridgeline, who had handled the Flyers earlier in the day.

Markessa Jensen had other plans.

Jensen struck out 14 and allowed only four hits in a 5-1, as Ridgeline joined Bear River in the winner’s bracket as the only two unbeaten teams left in the 4A tournament.

“We didn’t make adjustments,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Kourtnie Judd. “Credit to her, she’s a good pitcher. She throws the ball and moves the ball well and spots locations, but we didn’t make the adjustment early enough when we needed to make adjustments.”

Crimson Cliffs managed to get the potential go-ahead run to the plate down 3-1 in the sixth inning, but Jensen got Ashten Taylor to strikeout to escape the jam.

Ridgeline added two runs in the seventh, and Jensen closed the door in the bottom half.

Judd said she doesn’t expect her team to overlook Desert Hills, but fully expects her team to matchup against Ridgeline tomorrow.

Payten Bensen fires a strike to first during a win over Dixie.
Payten Bensen fires a strike to first during a win over Dixie.

“We don’t look ahead. Our expectation is to get to this next game. Inning by inning, pitch by pitch, that’s been our motto the entire season. We won’t look past Desert Hills, but the expectation is to get to the end tomorrow. Our focus is game by game.”

Crimson Cliffs won both meetings in the regular season against the Thunder and will look to make it 4-0 on the year.

Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: 4A softball: Region 10 teams set for rematches in day two of state play