Lisa Parker was beginning to wonder when it would come back - her team's hitting that is.
As head coach of the fourth-ranked Murray Spartans, Parker had watched her team go through what she termed a "mid-season slump" over the past couple of weeks. During that time the Spartans dropped their first region game of the season and had to rally to win a pair of other contests.Parker's fears were calmed on Thursday, however, as the crack of the Murray bats filled the air during an 8-1 victory over Cyprus in Region 6/7 action. It was the second-straight day the Spartans had put on an offensive show after blasting Judge 17-1 on Wednesday.
The win not only improved the Spartans region record to 13-1 but, along with Tooele's upset loss to Olympus, gave them the region championship.
"We're back to hitting the ball really well," said Parker, whose team rapped out 11 hits in five innings against Cyprus pitching. "Those few games . . . pushed us into realizing that we can't just wait around."
The Spartans did little waiting around in this game. After a scoreless first inning, catcher Vicki Neiswender blasted a pitch over the left fielder's head for a home run and an early 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Pirates tied the game in the top of the third inning as Shauntay York's two-out single drove in the only Cyprus run of the day. But it was all Murray from that point on as pitcher Cari Dallof held the Pirates batters in check the rest of the game.
Dallof aided her own cause in picking up the win on the mound by rapping out a two-run triple to centerfield in the third inning for a 3-1 advantage. Natalie Jacobs drove in two runs with a double and Amelia Huff had a run-scoring single to bump the lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning.
Murray finished its scoring in the fifth inning on a two-out, two-run double by Amie Call.
In Thursday's other action:
Region 1
Roy 3, Layton 2: Angie Knudsen had a homerun and the Royals clinched the region title by rallying to defeat the winless Lancers.
Fremont 4, Weber 2: Amber Russell drove in three runs and the Silver Wolves rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to pin a loss on the Warriors.
Region 2
Skyline 3, Bountiful 1: McKinsey Sudbury recorded the win on the mound for the Eagles as they soared past the Braves and clinched the region championship.
Cottonwood 4, Viewmont 2: Lisa Langford had a triple, a homer and drove in a pair of runs for the Colts as they spoiled the region title hopes of the Vikings.
Highland 3, Davis 0: Codee LePrey hit a home run and Robyn Jensen tossed a three-hit shutout as the Rams dumped the Darts.
Region 3
Bingham 3, Granger 2: Natalee Child's two-run double was the key hit in a three-run fifth inning for the top-ranked Miners as they defeated the Lancers and tied for the region championship with Taylorsville. Granger finished third.
Taylorsville 10, Kearns 2: Sabrina Dinkel belted a homer and scored twice, while teammate Tracy Farley had two RBIs and two runs scored in a Warriors whipping of the Cougars.
Copper Hills 11, Hunter 6: The Grizzlies jumped out to a 10-0 lead and rapped out six extra base hits in cruising past the Wolverines.
Region 4
Mountain View 4, Orem 0: Shannon Lewis allowed just two hits and Lisa Osguthorpe drove in a pair of runs for the Bruins as they blanked the Tigers and tied for the region championship with Jordan.
Jordan 12, Timpanogos 0: The Beetdiggers used a combined 14 strikeouts from Lacey LePrey and Amy Welcker in a victory over the Timberwolves.
Alta 4, American Fork 1: Tiffany Yates and Cami Carter combined to strikeout 14 batters for the Hawks in a win over the Cavemen that gave them third place in the region.
Hillcrest 11, Brighton 0: Joni Bardsley recorded nine strikeouts and combined to drive in six runs with teammate Julie Blank as the Huskies blanked the Bengals and finished fourth in the region standings.
Region 6/7
West 9, Granite 0: The Panthers broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning and Midori Watanuki recorded the shutout of the Farmers.
Olympus 6, Tooele 5: Trailing by a run, the Titans scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning on a pair of errors by the Buffaloes to record the upset victory.
Woods Cross 10, East 0: Jennifer Wilson pitched a four-hit shutout and aided her cause by driving in four runs on three hits as the Wildcats clawed the Leopards.
Region 8
Payson 6, Pleasant Grove 3: Julie Marvin collected three hits and drove in three runs for the Lions as they doubled up the Vikings and tied for the region championship with Springville.
Springville 13, Timpview 4: The Red Devils jumped out to an early lead and a pair of pitchers combined for seven strikeouts in a win over the Thunderbirds.
Provo 3, Spanish Fork 2: The Bulldogs scored three runs on three errors by the Dons in the fifth inning to pick up their second region win of the season.
Region 10
Lehi 17, Park City 1: The second-ranked Pioneers completed a perfect region season by burying the Miners as three pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter for Lehi. Jocelyn Chamberlain had three hits and three RBIs for Lehi.
BASEBALL
Region 2
Skyline 11, Bountiful 6: A nine-run fourth inning was all the Eagles needed to defeat the Braves, tie Cottonwood for the region championship and secure the region's top seed into the state tounament.
Viewmont 2, Cottonwood 1: Matt Oman's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Paul Lawrence with the winning run as the Vikings dashed the Colts' chances of winning the region title outright.
Highland 7, Davis 3: Jake Olsen had a two-run double and earned the win on the mound in a Ram triumph over the Darts.
Region 3
Taylorsville 10, West Jordan 6: John Buck blasted a three-run homer in the first inning and Kevin Carter struck out 12 Jaguar batters as the Warriors clinced another region championship.
Kearns 3, Bingham 0: Jeremy Lambert notched seven strikeouts and also belted a homer as the Cougars earned the win and spoiled the Miners' hopes of tying for the region title.
Granger 11, Copper Hills 7: The Lancers came back from a 6-3 deficit by scoring eight runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Grizzlies.
Region 5
Bear River 10, Logan 0: Jordan Oyler recorded four RBIs and the Bears plated six runs in the first inning for a victory over the Grizzlies.
Region 6/7
West 10, Granite 2: Brian Stalker had a homer and drove in a pair of runs for the Panthers in a road victory over the Farmers.
Cyprus 14, Judge 8: Josh Jenson ripped a three-run triple and Jason Crawford added a two-run dinger as the Pirates scored in every inning to sink the Bulldogs.
Tooele 12, East 2: Nick Pratt tossed a five-inning one-hitter, while Andrew Park and Scott Rounds each had a pair of hits as the Buffaloes stampeded the Leopards.
Olympus 11, Woods Cross 5: Ryan Geertsen and Alec Farbman each went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs in a Titans victory over the Wildcats.
Class 3A play-in game
Emery 4, Uintah 0: Kenny Jones belted a two-run homer in the third inning and Evan Stilson struck out seven batters for the Spartans as they kept the 1996 3A state champions out of this year's tournament.
SOCCER
Region 6/7
West 1, Woods Cross 0: Scott Langland scored for the Panthers, while Stephen Scoville posted the shutout in goal.
Region 10
Lehi 2, Wasatch 1 : The Pioneers remained in the hunt for the state tournament by outlasting the Wasps. Lehi will meet Uintah today with the winner grabbing the region's final berth in the state tournament.