SPANISH FORK — Jessica Anderson's heads-up solo double play saved the game for No. 1 Spanish Fork on Thursday.
The Dons staved off a comeback by Box Elder to win 2-1 and head to Cottonwood Complex next Tuesday in the winners' bracket of the 4A state softball tournament.
"I don't think I was thinking," Anderson said of the play, where she caught a fly ball and tagged third base in the top of the seventh to end the game. "I just saw it come and then I ran to the base."
Spanish Fork coach Don Andrews couldn't say enough about the game-saving play by his sophomore shortstop.
"Jessica went back to basics, just caught the ball and ran over and touched third," Andrews said. "A lot of people would have thrown it."
He wasn't nearly as happy with his team's offensive performance.
"They were very nervous," Andrews said. "I don't know what it was, but they weren't hitting the ball when they were supposed to."
Leadoff hitter Teresa Barney was another story as she turned her first plate appearance into a double and smacked a single over the shortstop's head in the fourth for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI.
"(Barney) came in pretty relaxed, and she's hitting the ball well," Andrews said.
The Dons scored twice in the third for their first two runs of the contest as Barney walked, followed by a Lauri Howell single to right field and a two-out single by Mele Vaitohi that scored two.
The Bees started their comeback in the top of the fifth as a Spanish Fork error and two singles by K'Dee Gardner and Katie Jones pushed two Box Elder runs across the plate. That got them to within one run of the suddenly vulnerable Dons.
But the Bees were unable to do anything else until the seventh inning, when they really threw a scare into Spanish Fork. Megan Kostoff led off with a triple to deep center field, and pinch-hitter Brandy Christopher, a freshman, walked and stole second to put two on with one out. That gave the Bees a solid scoring opportunity before Anderson's single-handed double play ended the upset bid.
"Ordinarily you play for the tie, but we played for the win, and we got lucky and it paid off," Andrews said of the way he set up his fielders for the final at-bat. "The book always says you play for the tie when you're at home, but I guess you don't always follow the book."
Both pitchers were finding their spots well as they each recorded eight strikeouts. Dons ace Bridgett Miller only gave up four hits in the effort.
"I thought she pitched pretty well, but I thought she got tired," Andrews said. "Overall she was pretty accurate today."
In other 4A softball playoff games Thursday:
MURRAY 11, ROY 2:Selicia Romney went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Brittany Parker drove in two runs for Murray.
OREM 6, PAYSON 0: Orem jumped out to an early lead against Payson and never looked back. Delyse Downey earned the shutout win on the mound.
BONNEVILLE 5, SPRINGVILLE 1:Shay Jenkins hit a home run for the Lakers as they downed Springville.
LONE PEAK 10, WEST 0:Jane Burgess blasted a solo home run to left field in her final home appearence for Lone Peak, a shutout win over West.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 8, PROVO 2:Katie Welling went 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Mallary Gillespie went 2-for-2 with two RBIs as the Bruins claimed a victory in the consolation bracket. Chelsie Mikalauski struck out 10 to record the victory.
BOUNTIFUL 7, SKY VIEW 6:Erin Burningham's double in the bottom of the fifth broke a 5-5 tie and helped propel the Braves to victory over the Bobcats. Burningham also went the distance for Bountiful to get the win. After scoring a run to make it 7-6 in the top of the seventh, Sky View grounded into a game-ending double play.
OLYMPUS 11, WOODS CROSS 1: Brianne Allen had a double, an RBI and two runs scored as Olympus took care of Woods Cross.