PAYSON — Miserable weather took its toll on the pitching as the Spanish Fork softball team took revenge on region rival Payson with an 8-7 victory and secured a tie with the Lions for first place in Region 6 with one game remaining for each team.
Heading into the game, the Lions were undefeated (8-0) in region competition, and the Dons were one game back (7-1). But though the field was a muddy mess, the balls were wet from the intermittent rain, and her hands were icy in the cold wind, Blaire Snell almost single- handedly destroyed Payson's high-powered attack.
Snell battered Payson's tough pitching going 4-4 with a double and four RBIs, including the game-winning RBI in the top of the sixth.
Starting the game at first base, Snell took over the pitching for starter Bridgette Miller in the third inning for the Dons. Spanish Fork head coach Don Andrews said he'd made the decision because Miller was just too nervous playing against the team where her mother is head coach.
Though between them the Spanish Fork pitchers gave up nine hits and two walks, Snell came on strong in the fourth, only facing 10 total batters over the last three innings.
"The weather was tough on the pitchers," said Andrews. But he felt confident in replacing his No. 1 pitcher with Snell because "she's thrown well the last couple of weeks."
Both teams sputtered in the first as the rains came down but came on strong in the second scoring three runs each. Spanish Fork used four walks, Snell's double and a wild pitch to post their three in the top half, and Payson used triples by Amanda Jolley and Shae Peery, a walk, a single and an error to tie it up in the bottom.
Snell earned her third RBI in the third as the Dons took a 4-3 lead in the back-and-forth game, but Payson used a wild bottom half, sending 10 batters to the plate, to take a 7-4 lead that most in the crowd thought would hold. Five singles, a walk and two errors spurred the Lions to the lead, which they held without change until the top of the fifth.
"I gave up twice, but my team never did," admitted Andrews as Spanish Fork rallied with two on and two outs in the top of the fifth. It made him especially nervous when the umpires informed him the game would be over after the Dons' half of the fifth if they didn't tie or take the lead, because of time considerations.
Lauri Howell tripled to deep left center to record two RBIs and get her team to within one, and Heather Barney singled down the third base line to tie it up at seven. The Dons' couldn't post another run in the inning and left the bases loaded, even though they recorded two more singles.
In the top of the sixth the Dons started with a runner on second, following international softball tie-break rules, even though the game hadn't reached a full seven innings, because umpires had called the game due to time considerations. Snell came up to bat with one out and singled in her fourth RBI, which was all the Dons needed for the 8-7 victory.
"The pitchers struggled for both teams," said Payson head coach Marilyn Miller, who also took out her starting pitcher, Candice Forsey, in the fifth, but added she wasn't upset about the loss because it was a hard-fought game.
In other games on Wednesday:
BASEBALL
REGION 1
NORTHRIDGE 8, VIEWMONT 5:Jeff LeHosky threw six shutout innings while striking out eight to lead the Knights over the Vikings.
REGION 6
AMERICAN FORK 18, TIMPVIEW 16 (9): The Cavemen defeated the T-Birds in a nine-inning slugfest to move into a tie for fourth place in the region with 5-9 marks. The two teams play again Thursday at Timpview, with the winner gaining the final state berth from Region 6.
SPRINGVILLE 14, PAYSON 0:Aaron Jensen pitched a one-hit five-inning game to lead the Red Devils to the victory.
REGION 7
MOUNTAIN VIEW 8, PLEASANT GROVE 1:Willy Newton gave up four hits and struck out 11 in a complete-game victory that gave the Bruins the Region 7 title and eliminated the Vikings from postseason play.
2A PLAYOFFS
MONTICELLO 8, MILLARD 6:
JUAB 5, GUNNISON 3:Justin Hooper threw a complete game, striking out nine and giving up only three hits as Juab moves on in the playoffs.
ENTERPRISE 4, NORTH SEVIER 3: The No. 1-ranked Wolves scored the winning run on a passed ball with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
GRAND 12, KANAB 1: Chris Brewer gave up only four hits and struck out eight, and Steve Hirschfeld and Brian Ankrum combined for four hits and five RBIs.
PAROWAN 12, NORTH SUMMIT 2:Jed Evans hit a grand slam and Jake Warren hit a three-run walk-off home run and picked up the victory on the mound.
RICHFIELD 10, ALTAMONT 0:Chris Damron pitched a five-inning shutout, giving up just two hits and striking out nine as Richfield defeated Altamont 10-0 and advanced in the 2A playoffs.
Austin Anderson had a two-run home run in the second inning and Kade Colby was 2-for-2 with four RBIs Wednesday. Brett Butler had a triple, a single and scored three runs in Richfield's victory.
MANTI 5, BEAVER 4: In a tight playoff contest, the game ended with a play at the plate as Beaver's runner was thrown out.
SAN JUAN 5, MONTICELLO 2:Duncan Olsen and Adam Lacy combined for four hits and three RBIs as San Juan advanced in the playoffs.
SOFTBALL
REGION 6
SPANISH FORK 8, PAYSON 7: The Dons scored in the top of the sixth inning to edge Payson and create a tie in the loss column in the region standings.
REGION 7
MOUNTAIN VIEW 11, LONE PEAK 0: Ashley Henry led off the second inning with a double, and she singled her second time at the plate that inning as every Bruin scored a run in the second. The victory gives the Bruins the outright Region 7 championship.