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Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
3A quarterfinals
Union 13, North Sanpete 10
Nobody had as good a day as Union’s Haylee Moynier.
Not only did she lead her team to a 13-10 win over No. 2 North Sanpete to advance to the 3A semifinals, but she did so with stellar numbers.
Union dominated Richfield 10-0 in the Cougars’ first game at Tuesday’s state tournament. Though both wins, Moynier was six-of-seven hitting and tallied six total RBIs.
Oh, and she got back-to-back wins on the mound and totaled 20 strikeouts through both games.
That pitching came through for the Cougars against North Sanpete, but it had some uncharacteristic errors, which made things closer than Union coach Evah Taylor would’ve liked.
“Haylee’s such a good pitcher that I think sometimes when a ball is in play, they get a little caught off guard,” Taylor said. “At the same time, they’ve got to know that’s coming, and they’ve got to focus a little bit more. My defense is better than that. It might look like we don’t play a lot of balls because Haylee’s a high strikeout pitcher, but my defense is still, I think, one of the best in 3A.”
Moynier was backed up offensively with three RBIs from Payzlei Parrish and two from Teddy Oleen.
Union also hit six doubles as a team in the win.
It was a stark difference from the last time the two teams met in late April. In that game, the Cougars couldn’t score a single run and lost 6-0.
“I tip my hat to their pitcher (Kaecee Johnson),” Taylor said. “She’s a good pitcher. I think it was hot, she was a little tired, and we capitalized on it. We know hitting is contagious, and once we got rolling, it’s like they learned that the next person and the next person, it just goes through our lineup.”
Manti 14, Richfield 12
A nine-run fourth inning nearly guaranteed Manti a win over Richfield, but it almost gave it all away. However, the Templars pushed through the adversity and punched its ticket to the 3A semifinals with a 14-12 win.
After losing its first game of the day to North Sanpete, Manti rallied for back-to-back wins against Morgan and Richfield.
“It feels really good,” said Manti head coach Belinda Osborn. “It’s been a couple of years since we’ve made it to the second day. We gave North Sanpete a pretty good game, and then we had that little bit of adrenaline dump, and we got tired, but we persevered through Morgan.”
It looked as though Manti was going to walk away with a clean 13-3 mercy-rule victory after it took that lead with the nine-run fourth inning.
However, Richfield just never went away. It rallied back, including four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make things scary for the Templars.
They didn’t panic and found the third out for the win.
“I talked to my girls about digging deeper and that they’ve got to have that mindset of not giving up,” Osborn said. “‘Mind over matter’ is what I told them.
Paislee Clark led Manti offensively, hitting a home run and recording three RBIs. Savannah Ramone and Dakoda Cheney each added two more.
Emery 15, Canyon View 6
With the year Emery has had, it would’ve been easy to hang its head after it lost its first-round matchup to Grantsville.
Just a year ago, the Spartans earned a spot in the championship. This year, they walked into the state tournament with only five total wins.
That doesn’t tell the whole story. Emery coach Daniel Luke scheduled a brutal non-region schedule, yet it still came away from all except two non-region games with a loss.
The adversity Emery dealt with this year came in handy, and it rallied for back-to-back wins over Carbon and a 15-6 win over Canyon View for a spot in the semifinals.
“The girls just work hard,” Luke said. “We have had a long year, but we scheduled a tough schedule to build character, and you can see the character they got.”
In the quarterfinal win, Emery had eight players record at least one RBI. The Spartans totaled 17 base hits.
Elli Stoker led the way with four RBIs and one double, and Bailey Luke added three RBIs and a double.
“The girls come out and hit the ball well,” Luke said. “Pitching-wise, picked it up today, and so we played really well.”
Grantsville 3, Logan 0
Defending champion and top-seeded Grantsville is always the team to beat at the 3A state tournament. Once again, nobody could, and the Cowboys earned a spot in the 3A semis with a clean 3-0 win over Logan. Hits were hard to come by for Grantsville, but its defense largely increased its margin for error. That bought the Cowboys some time until they could put the game away in the fifth inning.
It started when Grantsville coach Tony Cloward called sophomore Brooklyne Goodnight’s number. Goodnight hasn’t hit much this season, but she stepped up and delivered a home run in her only at-bat on Tuesday.
“That one run sparked us, and that was a girl I pulled cold off the bench,” Cloward said. “Just shows Grantsville’s depth, right? I pulled a sophomore off the bench and said, ‘Go give it a try.’ And she hits a home run to give us a spark.” That home run sparked a 3-run fifth inning. With the defensive game Grantsville was having, it was more than enough to put Logan away.
The Cowboys’ defense started with pitcher Hayden Bytheway’s nine strikeouts, and then her teammates just made plays behind her.
“Our pitcher today, Hayden, threw outstanding,” Cloward said. “But we also backed her up, too. We made some great plays behind her. One run would have won it today because our defense played that well.”
3A round one, no-loss bracket
North Sanpete 10, Manti 4
No. 2 North Sanpete surged with six runs in the third inning, paving the way to a 10-4 victory over Manti. Manti stayed scoreless until the fourth inning, when it scored two runs, and added two more in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to catch up. Autumn Oldroyd’s home run with four RBIs played a significant role in North Sanpete’s win.
Logan 8, Canyon View 1
No. 4 Logan won 8-1 over No. 5 Canyon View in the 3A state tournament, with Leila Pauni hitting a two-run home run. Logan took control in the second inning with three runs and piled on four more in the sixth. Cambree Cooper was dominant on the mound, striking out 13 Falcons. Canyon View managed only one run in the seventh inning. Miley Allen hit two home runs in the win.
Union 10, Richfield 0
No. 3 Union dominated Richfield 10-0 in the 3A state tournament, showcasing a strong five-run second inning. Haylee Moynier went two-for-three at the plate, contributing two RBIs, and struck out 10 on the mound. Richfield’s only hit came without scoring as Union capitalized on their 10 hits and Richfield’s 3 errors to secure the win.
Grantsville 7, Emery 4
Top-seeded Grantsville surged in the second and third innings to win 7-4 against Emery in the 3A playoffs. SaDee Castagno led the charge for the Cowboys with a double and two RBIs, while Payten Bytheway added two RBIs of her own. Despite Emery’s late attempt in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring four runs, it wasn’t enough to overturn their deficit against the focused Cowboys.
3A round one, one-loss bracket
Richfield 9, Juab 5
Richfield secured a 9-5 victory over Juab in the 3A state tournament, thanks to Emma Wayman’s four RBIs. Juab’s Raylie Ballow recorded eight strikeouts despite the loss. After leading from the onset with three runs in the first inning, the Wildcats added a crucial three-run burst in the sixth inning to maintain their lead.
Manti 13, Morgan 11
In the 3A Playoffs, Diane Alder’s stellar performance, going 3 for 4 with a double and triple, helped Manti win 13-11 against Morgan. Manti initially took an early lead, scoring 3 runs in the first inning, but Morgan tied the game with a six-run surge in the fourth. Manti responded with a decisive seven-run rally in the sixth inning to secure their victory. Savannah Ramone and Dakoda Cheney each recorded three RBIs for Manti.
Emery 18, Carbon 11
In a back-and-forth 3A playoff matchup, Emery rallied late to win 18-11 over Carbon. Hadley Grimm delivered a strong performance for the Spartans, hitting a home run and collecting three RBIs. Despite trailing after Carbon scored three runs in the first inning, Emery surged ahead with a five-run fourth inning.
Canyon View 13, Ogden 5
No. 5 Canyon View erupted for nine runs in the fifth inning to secure a 13-5 win over No. 11 Ogden. The Falcons took control of the game with their explosive nine-run fifth inning, which was enough to hold on against Ogden’s four-run effort in the sixth. Sadie Sams and Sadie Shumway each contributed two RBIs to propel Canyon View’s victory.
