Lehi Sports
Pioneer softball bows out of playoffs in bracket round
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi softball team was awarded the No. 3 seed in the final 6A RPI rankings but without their pitching staff at full health, the Pioneers lost two close games to No. 6 Mountain Ridge and exited the state tournament one game short of the Bracket 2 final.
Lehi went 3-2 in the playoffs and finished an outstanding season with a 28-5 overall record.
May 14-15: Pioneers eliminate No. 14 Lone Peak 2-0
In the best-of-3 Super Regional series, the Pioneers took on a familiar region foe and eliminated the Knights 15-0, 12-2. Sophomore Jaxie Medler handled the first game in the circle, striking out six of 13 batters she faced with two walks and two hits in three innings.
The usual suspects provided the offensive fireworks, with senior outfielder Brynlee Cook using a single and home run to drive in five runs while junior outfielder Liv Davies added two hits, three RBI and two runs. Senior first baseman Mya Maughan singled and doubled plus scored three times.
Lone Peak got a run in their turn to open the second game, but Lehi responded with three runs in the bottom half to take control for good. Junior Claire Crutchfield threw all six innings and got eight strikeouts against two walks and a single earned run.
Junior outfielder Brinlee Skidmore had the hot bat of the afternoon with two home runs for six RBI. Maughan was right there with her, going 3-for-4 including a home run, four RBI and two other runs.
Junior Reese Taylor scored twice as a pinch runner while junior shortstop Camry Wassmer and Cook made two runs apiece. Seven of the 12 Pioneer hits went for extra innings.
May 19: No. 6 Mountain Ridge 8, Lehi 6
In bracket play, the Sentinels got five runs in the opening turn of the contest for a quick lead but were held scoreless for the next five innings. The Pioneers plated four runs in the bottom of the third, tied the score with one run in the bottom of the fifth and then got their first lead with a run in the sixth.
However, Mountain Ridge rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh and Lehi was unable to answer. Crutchfield took the loss in a valiant full-game effort in the circle as the team was without the services of her ailing fellow pitchers.
Davies singled and doubled for two RBI and a run scored. Wassmer added a double, drove in a run and crossed once herself. Skidmore had two hits and a run and Maughan accounted for the other RBI. Senior outfielder Ashlyn Petersen, senior Infielder Libby Baxter and Taylor made one run apiece.
May 19: Lehi 14, No. 7 Westlake 6
The Pioneers took command early in this elimination game with five runs in the first inning and eight in the second. Crutchfield gave up just a single run after taking over in the circle with one out in the second inning to help lift her team to the must-have victory.
Petersen supplied a home run and three RBI to spark the offensive effort. Junior catcher Piper Emery had three hits including a double for two RBI and a run scored. Maughan singled three times, drove in two runners and scored twice herself.
Skidmore added a single and double, two RBI and two runs. Cook had a double, two RBI and a run while Davies supplied a double and two runs and Taylor also scored twice.
Baxter drove in one and scored once. Sophomore infielder Kolbi Beck posted a double and an RBI. Wassmer and freshman Kam Keele crossed once apiece.
May 20: No. 6 Mountain Ridge 9, Lehi 7 (8)
The win over the Thunder sent the Pioneers into a rematch with the Sentinels, who had fallen to No. 2 Herriman in the winner’s lane of Bracket 2 the day before. Junior pitcher Abbi Harroun again tried to throw but had to be relieved by Crutchfield after three innings.
Lehi got the first lead in this taut contest with a run in the second inning. Mountain Ridge got three in the top of the third, but the Pioneers knotted things up with two runs in the bottom half. The Sentinels moved back in front with two runs in the fourth, but Lehi overtook them with three runs in the sixth.
Mountain Ridge managed to squeeze a runner across in the top of the seventh to tie the score again and bring on the extra period. The Sentinels plated three runs in the top of the eighth and the Pioneers were only able to get one of those back, so that ended their playoff run.
Emery singled and homered for three RBI while Cook added a single, a double and a run scored. Crutchfield also had a double to go with her RBI. Davies drove in a run and crossed once and Keele came in as a pinch runner. Baxter scored twice and Petersen once. Wassmer and Maughan had one RBI each.
“We had an amazing season,” said Coach Tim Kennedy. “Record-wise we tied for the most program wins ever (28) with our 2015 team. We also had the second-fewest losses (5) to the four losses by our second-place 2005 and state champion 1997 teams.
“However, we don’t chase wins,” he continued. “Our goal is to always be playing for the state championship in whatever classification we’re in.
“Our team motto this season was 86,400, which we wore on our sleeves,” Kennedy said. “This is how many seconds are in a day.
“My coaching staff and I challenged the girls to not waste any seconds. You’ll never get them back. Practice, rest, take care of your bodies, diet, schoolwork, and family vs. all the other things that pull us away from our goals and mental health.
“We had the unfortunate loss of two of our starting pitchers,” the coach said. “One of them in the first round of the state tournament, and the other functionally two months into our season. We also lost a starting position player a month into the season. But we don’t look backwards with ‘what if’s.‘
“Claire Crutchfield kept us in contention and pitched her tail off,” he said. “And the top three in our lineup of Liv Davies, Piper Emery and Mya Maughan had a combined batting average of .511 with 146 hits and 129 RBI. I’m really proud of the girls for everything they accomplished this year.
“We have seven seniors returning next season, including our three pitchers from this season. So, if we can stay healthy, we like our chances,” Kennedy concluded.
Photos by Jim Ballard.
