Third-ranked Bountiful softball beats top team
Mar 28, 2024 08:37AM ● By Catherine Garrett
Ricky Smith, Viewmont hits a Blooper to short-left field for a Double. Her efforts led the Vikings with one Double, one Triple and a Home Run for 4 Runs-Batted-In and a 14 - 4 win over Northridge, March 21 at home. Photo by Roger V. Tuttle
Third-ranked Bountiful defeated Box Elder, the number one team in 5A, 5-0 March 21 behind a 16 strikeouts-two hit performance from junior Ella Miller on the mound. The Redhawks are 3-0 in Region 5 and 7-2 overall.
Bountiful
Against the Bees, junior Claire Yates went 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple while freshman Aspen Danner hit a double off the fence to bring in the first run in the second inning. Senior Athena Tongaonevai had a two-run homer in the final inning to seal the deal. Bountiful’s offense recorded 19 hits in the win.
Earlier in the week, the Redhawks blanked Northridge 10-0 March 19. Miller recorded 13 strikeouts in the one-hit shutout win. Offensively, Danner went 3-for-3 from the plate, driving in a run while Yates was 3-for-4 with two doubles, bringing home two. Tongaonevai hit a home run in a 2-for-3 showing, recording three RBIs while senior Melissa Turpin hit an RBI double as well.
Farmington
Farmington defeated West 23-6 March 18, led by Morgan Rogers’ three doubles in the first three innings which scored five runs and five RBIs from Ella Nielson after a single, double and a triple.
Other Phoenix batters who contributed offensively were Kiley Gazafy – whose two triples drove in three runs – and Ruby Andrus who recorded three RBIs on two singles. Also with multiple productive at-bats for the team’s 21 hits were Nev Carrasquel, who scored two runs on a single, Brooklyn Wright with an RBI double, Madison Kelker with an RBI single and Lexi Crowley who brought in a run off a sacrifice fly.
Crowley also stole four bases of the team’s eight in the game while Kelker was the winning pitcher on the mound.
Against Roy March 20, Farmington won 20-10, going up 6-2 after the first inning and scoring multiple runs in each inning in the win.
Ruby Andrus hit a two-RBI double in the first inning while also blasting a home run to centerfield, scoring two in the sixth. She completed a five-RBI outing with sacrifice fly in the third.
Also part of the offense for the Phoenix were Kelker with four RBIs, Ella Nielson and Morgan Rogers with two RBIs each and Lola Ogzewalla, Carrasquel, Wright and Gazafy each bringing in a run. Kelker recorded the win on the mound.
Farmington improved to 4-3 on the year.
Davis
Davis lost to Pleasant Grove, the second-ranked team in 6A, 10-3 March 19. The Darts were down 3-0 early before putting up a run in the third inning. But, Davis gave up seven runs in the fourth inning as the game got out of hand.
“This was a great test to play a top team in the state and see how we matched up,” said head coach Todd Street. “Even though we lost, we walked away seeing what we need to improve, but we also walked away believing we could compete with the best teams in the state.”
Senior infielder Jada Chilton drove in two runs while sophomore shortstop Jewel Korth added one RBI in the loss.
“We just need to keep getting better each day,” Street said.
Against Stansbury March 21, the Darts won 12-2, turning a 3-2 game into a rout with nine late-inning runs. Korth hit two home runs, bringing in six runs, in the win.
Also recording RBIs were Hadlee Isaacs (two), Cambell Christensen (two), Sydney Marrelli (1) and Rayleigh Starnes (1).
Davis is now 7-2 this season.
Viewmont
Viewmont lost 19-2 March 19. The Vikings got on the board first but found themselves down 5-1 after the first inning and then the Bees added 13 more runs in the final two innings.
Seniors Molly Roberts and Kennedy Embrey, junior Karli Dickerson and sophomores Peyton Burningham and Ricki Smith all drove in a run in the loss.
Against Northridge March 21, Viewmont bounced back with a 14-4 win. The Vikings were down 4-1 after the initial inning before scoring 13 runs over the final three innings.
Smith’s four RBIs led the way with Burningham and senior Haley Rodabough adding three each, Embrey two and Roberts and junior Kaitlyn Riley one. Roberts struck out four Knights batters in winning the game on the mound.
Viewmont is now 3-5 this season and have a 1-2 Region 5 mark.
Woods Cross
Woods Cross lost 19-13 March 19. The Wildcats got down 11-1 at the end of the second inning before “making a good comeback,” according to head coach Casey Plowman to tie things up at 13-all in the fourth inning before giving up six runs to end the game.
“It was a fun game,” said Plowman. “Defensively we did not play very well. We had 12 errors which led to a lot of their runs. We would love to see that get cleaned up more.”
Sophomores Kaylee Moen and Tina Tuakiapimahu were both 3-for-4 at the plate, bringing in three runs collectively.
Sophomore Audrey Ayala had three RBIs to lead the offense while also pitching a complete game on the mound and recording a stolen base. Sophomore Rylee Feller drove in two runs with one each from senior Natalie Wall and sophomore Breck Harris. Sophomore Bahiyyih Hemos also stole a base in the loss.
Against Brighton March 20, Woods Cross lost 10-1. The Wildcats were down 7-0 until the final inning when Woods Cross got on the board with a two-run home run from Tuakiapimahu. Ayala struck out nine Bengals batters in throwing a complete game.
Woods Cross lost to Clearfield 17-0 March 21, getting down 11-0 after three innings before giving up six more to end the game.
“It was a rough game where we only had one hit by Audrey,” said Plowman.
The Wildcats fell to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in Region 5 play.