For four years, seniors Nichole Dowell and Afton Abbott have been turning heads. They've helped the South Sevier Rams climb to the top of rankings and even played for several championships in basketball and volleyball. But until Saturday morning they'd never achieved one goal — a state championship.
"We've taken too many seconds and thirds," said Abbott, the team's second baseman and a starter in volleyball, basketball and softball. "It's about time we win one."
So warm up the fire trucks, the Rams earned their first softball title with huge 14-4 and 12-2 wins over the defending 2A champions, Juan Diego, Saturday at Cottonwood Complex. It is the first state title for any girls team at South Sevier since 2000. The Rams beat Juan Diego in five innings, thanks to the 10-run rule in the first game, forcing the second game about 15 minutes later.
The Rams had to come through the losers' bracket after dropping a game to Juan Diego 10-7 on Friday night. The loss meant they had to play region rival Manti again to get into the championship games. They hadn't beaten Manti this season or last.
"I think we lost to them five times last year," said a now-grinning coach Boyd Price. Both coaches and players said the team's come-from-behind win Saturday morning put it in the perfect state of mind to take on what has become a softball powerhouse in Juan Diego. Price said his strategy against the Soaring Eagle was the same as it has been all tournament.
"We knew we had to get out in front right from the start," Price said of the team's effort to bunt and steal bases aggressively. "It couldn't be back and forth."
Assistant Rams coach Randy Madsen, who is the girls basketball coach, said the win takes some of the bitterness off their second-place finish in basketball two months ago.
"Our kids showed so much character today," he said. "Manti jumped up on us 4-1, and the girls just hung in there. In this game, the hits and errors in this game don't show how well they bunted the ball. Our kids just came through."
Juan Diego started both championship games with an error, and that seemed to set the tone for numerous fielding mistakes the Rams capitalized on by running and swinging even more aggressively. First-year coach Todd Dahlman said he felt maybe he hadn't prepared the girls adequately, but it wasn't that they overlooked the Rams.
"I think they tried too hard," he said. "They had too much go, and they were in high gear when they hit the floor. I'll take responsibility for that. . . . South Sevier was just in attack mode. We never counted that team out one bit. They have a great program, and they're here every year. They came out today and played smart ball."
The Rams have used the short game the entire tournament with incredible success. They upset the only 2A team to beat Juan Diego before the tournament, sending Grand High to the losers' bracket last weekend. They continued to dominate until Friday's loss to the Soaring Eagle.
Abbott and Dowell said they're glad they got the chance to win the school's first softball title against such a dominating program.
"We came out and showed them a totally different team," Dowell said. Both girls said they got a little tired playing three tough games in the unusual spring heat, but emotion kept their energy level high.
"Beating Manti, that just gave us more fire," Dowell said. "We'll go home now and ride the fire engines around town."
And as Madsen points out, in a small community like Monroe, it won't be just the girls who will get a thrill from the celebration.
"These smaller communities live and die with these teams," he said. "It means a lot to everyone."
In the two earlier games:
SOUTH SEVIER 5, MANTI 4: Pitcher Shanae Marsh entered in the seventh inning and earned the save for the Rams as they beat the Templars for the first time this season.
Nichole Dowell knocked in the game-winning run with a single to left in the bottom of the sixth inning. Shannon Abbott scored that run after getting the inning's only other hit as the lead-off batter.
Manti finished the 2A tournament as the third-place team.
SOUTH SEVIER 12, JUAN DIEGO 2: Errors doomed the Soaring Eagle in the first game of the 2A state championship finale Saturday as the Rams came out on fire. The lead-off batter, Nichole Dowell, got on when Juan Diego made a fielding error. Second hitter Afton Abbott moved her to second with a single, and Dowell then stole third and scored on a wild pitch. Elle Lindgren smacked a triple to score Abbott, and she scored on the throw.
2A softball all tournament team
Infielders
Afton Abbott, S. Sevier
Nichole Dowell, S. Sevier
Holli Harman, Manti
Leane Welly, Juan Diego
Morgan Dahlman, Juan Diego
Shantel Winn, S. Sevier
Outfielders
Elle Lindgren, S. Sevier
Alex Starbuck, Beaver
Ashley Nielsen, Juan Diego
Catchers
Meridee Miles, South Sevier
Jessie Nielson, Manti
Pitchers
Mandy Hatch, Manti
Shanae Marsh, S. Sevier
Jessica Goddard, S. Sevier
Atalea Rainaldi, Juan Diego
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com